Homemade Chicken Mandi is a traditional chicken and rice recipe in Yemen. Take your dinner to another level with perfectly baked, seasoned, and tender chicken on a bed of fluffy, flavorful basmati rice.
A special blend of spices is involved in making this recipe; with it, you will give this chicken recipe an amazing taste. Like my Jollof Rice Recipe, the spices make the rice alone so flavorful. No worries! I mentioned how to prepare the spice mix in the recipe card below, which is super easy.
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🥘 INGREDIENTS YOU'LL NEED
- Chicken: Use a whole chicken or thighs and legs if you prefer. The baking time will depend on the size of the chicken.
- Basmati Rice: There are three types of basmati rice, parboiled, regular, and brown. For this recipe, we will use regular white rice.
- Onion and tomatoes: These vegetables will go into making the rice, and they are essentials.
- Mandi Spice (Hawaij): It is a mixture of spices used in Yemeni dishes. All the spices are easy to get in any store. The combination of earthy spices and the amount is the key. (More in the recipe card).
🥄 HOW TO MAKE
We are going to bake the chicken in the oven, which will give us enough time to cook the rice on the stovetop. This recipe is straightforward, but it's best to watch the video on the recipe card to aid you.
Step 1
Mix the melted butter with the Hawaij spice blend.
Step 2
Brush the chicken with the butter and spice mix. Set the marinated chicken aside for 10 mins. Bake the Marinated Chicken in a preheated oven of 375 degrees Fahrenheit or 190 degrees Celsius.
Step 3
Start by taking a pot and heating some olive oil in it. Fry the onion until they’re translucent. Add tomatoes and green chilis and stir on medium heat for 4 minutes. Now add the spice mix and stir for two minutes.
Step 4
Pour the boiling water into the pan. Once the water has come to a boil again, add the rice. Cover tightly. Reduce the heat to the lowest.
Step 5
After 15 minutes, uncover the rice and gently stir to bring the bottom rice to the top. Cover tightly and cook for another 15-17 minutes. Garnish it with almonds and raisins.
💭 COOKING TIPS
- For more flavor, do not remove the chicken skin.
- Do not fry the onions until brown or you'll taste a hint of sweetness in the rice.
- Add an additional teaspoon of the spice mix to the rice if you are preparing it without the chicken.
- You can grill the chicken, it will add more flavor to the dish.
- Never skip soaking the rice for at least 20 minutes, it makes it fluffy.
- Every rice brand is different; you may not need to cook the rice for a further 16 to 17 minutes.
📖 TASTY VARIATIONS
Try this recipe with red meat. The best meat for mandi is Lamb, it is tender and delicious. Marinate the lamb for four hours covered in the fridge and bake in the oven. It will take around two hours and a half to cook.
Go vegan and bake your preferred vegetables using the same method mentioned in this recipe. It is best if you cut the vegetables into large pieces. Potatoes, carrots, zucchini, bell pepper, and mushrooms will taste great.
💬 FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Mandi is traditionally cooked under the ground. In Yemen, they dig a hole in the ground, fill it with hot coals, place a big mandi pan on top, cover the hole with sand, and leave it slowly to cook for hours.
Hawaij means “The things you need” or simply "Things" in Arabic. This is the special Yemeni spice mix used to make Chicken Mandi.
It depends on how you prepare it, but in general, it is high in carbs.
Yes. However, the chicken might be a little on the dry side. The skin prevents the meat from getting direct heat and keeps it tender.
Yes. Short grain rice has more starch, it's best to add it before the water, and cook it for 2 minutes before adding the water.
🍛 MORE DINNER RECIPES YOU'LL LOVE
🌡️ STORING AND REHEATING
Fridge: Place the leftover Mandi in an airtight container and refrigerate for up to 3 days.
Freezer: Follow the previous step except for placing the chicken mandi in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Reheating: You can microwave it or heat it on the stovetop in a pan. When frozen, place it in the fridge overnight to thaw and later reheat in the microwave or on the stove.
Note: Always make sure to seal the dish properly to prevent it from contamination and changing of flavor.
Please rate my recipe and let me know how you liked it. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
📖 Recipe
Chicken Mandi
Ingredients
Yemeni Spice Mix (Hawaij)
- 2 ½ tablespoon cumin powder
- 2 tablespoon coriander powder
- 1 tablespoon black pepper powder
- 1 tablespoon cardamom powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- ½ teaspoon cloves powder
- 1 tablespoon turmeric powder
- ½ teaspoon red chili powder Optional
For the chicken
- 1 chicken with skin cut in half
- 2 teaspoons Yemeni mix spice
- Salt to taste
- 2 tablespoon melted butter
For the rice
- 1 onion chopped
- 1 tomato chopped
- 1 green chili
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 ½ teaspoon Yemeni mix spice
- 1 cup Basmati rice washed and soaked
- 2 ½ cups boiling water Read the notes
- 2 teaspoon Salt, or to taste
- ½ cup Raisins and sliced almonds for garnish (optional)
Instructions
For the spice
- Mix them all up and keep in airtight container.
For the chicken
- Season the chicken with salt. Mix butter with 2 teaspoons from the spice mix and brush the chicken. Cover and refrigerate for 10 minutes. You can skip the 10 minutes if you don't have much time.
- Preheat oven to 190C/375F. Cover the chicken with aluminum foil and bake for 35 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for 25 minutes. If the chicken is bigger you will need to bake it a little longer. Keep aside.
For the rice
- In a pan add the olive oil, when hot add the onion and fry until translucent.
- Add the tomatoes and green chili, stir on medium heat for 4 minutes.
- Add the Yemeni spice mix, stir for two minutes. Pour the water and season with salt.
- When the water comes to a boil, add the rice. When it starts to boil again, cover tightly. Heat should turned down to the lowest.
- After 15 minutes, uncover the rice and gently stir, just to bring the bottom rice to the top. Cover tightly and cook for another 15-17 minutes.
- When serving, place the chicken on top of the rice and garnish with almonds and raisins.
Video
Notes
- Depending on the weight of the chicken, it might take longer to cook in the oven.
- If you want to use more spices on the chicken, add a tablespoon and a half to the melted butter and then brush the chicken.
- It’s best to use Basmati rice in mandi recipes, but you can get good results using parboiled rice or short-grain rice.
- You can use 2 cups of boiling water for cooking the rice if you want it to have a bite.
- Every rice brand is different; you may not need to cook the rice for a further 16 to 17 minutes.
- This post was published in 2016 but is updated with more text, new photos, and a video.
Ami@NaiveCookCooks
I love that how flavorful this chicken is!! All those spices - omg I can't wait to try this out!!
munatycooking
Thanks Ami, do let me know how you like it whenever you make it 🙂
Chris Scheuer
This looks amazing and what a wonderful combination of spices. It must smell incredible as it cooks!
munatycooking
Oh yes, the spice mix is just amazing!
Dawn @ Words Of Deliciousness
This looks like a wonderful chicken dish. The chicken and rice sound like they would have a lot of flavor.
munatycooking
Thanks Dawn 🙂
Angie@Angie's Recipes
It looks fingerlickingly delicious. I have to try that spice rub.
munatycooking
It's amazing how every country has its own unique blend of spices, but I think you'll like it 🙂
Hiba
I loved this recipe! I cheated a bit and got the open Mandi mix you get here in the UAE. Added a few of your recommendations and followed the rest of the recipe. Came out perfect! In the add I gave it a little coal smoke to it too.
Thanks for sharing!
munatycooking
Thanks for sharing your feedback Hiba, glad you liked the recipe 🙂
Karla
I made this the other day. I love sauteed vs raw veggies in my rice dishes so I sauteed the green chili peppers, onions, and the yellow bell peppers (ran out of chili peppers). I also added shredded fresh carrots and the raisins to the rice when I added the broth so they were cooked together. Lastly I decided to top it with some sauteed onions with a side of plain yogurt. The family loved it! The only thing that would have made it better would have been if I had been able to top it with sauteed almonds.
Melanie @ Melanie Cooks
This chicken looks amazing, look at this perfectly browned skin! I can almost smell the spices just by looking at it!
munatycooking
Thanks Melanie, hope you give it a try 🙂
Citra Kale @Citra's Home Diary
Hi Munaty... I tried your chicken mandi recipe and turned out perfectly yummy. My husband and my kid love it. Thx for the recipe. Please do visit my chicken mandi using your easy recipe. http://myhomediaryinturkey.blogspot.com.tr/2016/05/yemeni-chicken-mandi-recipe.html
munatycooking
Wow! Thanks for trying my recipe and I'm glad that your family loved it 🙂
Fakiha Sultana
Hi
I tried your recipe and it came out yum. Except that I shallow fried the chicken since I couldn't bake it and it was very dry inside. Maybe baking it would had made the chicken more tender and delicious.
Thank you for the recipe, it's amazing.
munatycooking
Thanks for trying my recipe 🙂 ... When frying the chicken make sure to fry the breast part first since it takes less time to cook and keep the heat medium high. Hope it turns better next time!
Alex
Flavours were really good. 1 1/2 cups of water to every cup of rice in my opinion, a little less cooking time as well. Followed the recipe, despite my suspicions and the rice (basmati) hmm was very sticky/clumpy.
munatycooking
Hi Alex, thanks for trying my recipe and for the feedback. I agree with you, some basmati rice brands require less water. If you are using a brand for long time you'll know how much water it will need, so go by the measurement that worked for you. Also if you soak the rice for long time it will take lesser time to cook. I'm glad you shared your experience, it will help other readers too 🙂
Lotus Food Gallery
soo delicious recipe i must try this one thanks for sharing keep it up dear
Sameera
Hi
Can you tell me any good brand of Mandi spice available in stores? I am in Dubai.
Recipe and pic looks yummy and I will try it soon after getting hold of the mandi spice.
Thanks
munatycooking
Hi Sameera! I always mix the spices at home. I'm not aware of any good Mandi spice mix in Dubai!
Eman
Girl! I have made this recipe about 10 times. My mother who is an excellent cook even asked me for it! We made it when we invited friends over and it was a huge hit! I followed the recipe exactly the way you posted it, no changes because idk better lol but seriously this recipe is the best! I even made extra spice mix so I can make it faster whenever I have chicken on hand!
munatycooking
Hi Eman! Thanks for your feedback you just made my day. I'm happy that you and your family enjoy this recipe 🙂
Becky
Hi,
I really enjoyed this dish. I skipped out for the chicken and had ribs on the side. I'm having it again tonight. It's been about a month since I made it.
Definitely a five-star winner.
Best Regards,
Becky
munatycooking
Hi Becky, Thanks a lot for your feedback 🙂
Theresa
Love it and easy to make.
munatycooking
Thank you so much 😊