Yemeni Chicken Mandi easy recipe (2024)

Merhaba From Türkiye 👋

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Today I am going to share one delicious middle eastern dish calls, Chicken Mandi. It's one of popular traditional dishes from Yemen.

Mandi is now popular among other Arab countries as well. Traditionally, the meat is slow-cooked in a tandoor (underground oven) which makes the meat extremely tender and delicious and served over aromatic rice.

The spice rub used to marinate the meat (lamb or chicken) is called Hawaij– coriander seeds, cumin seeds, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, whole black peppercorns are roasted till aromatic and made into a powder. See also how to make hawaij spices mixture in my previous post.

This is a very mild dish, not spicy at all. The rice was extremely aromatic and tasted very flavorful. Enjoy this Mandi in its authentic way!

My husband loves it and me as Asian also enjoy it very much. And since it's not hot spice at all, my kid eat her portion happily.

There are many recipes around the web to make this chicken mandi. And as I mentioned before traditionally Mandi dish slow-cooked in tandoor (underground oven). Some method is cooked inside the oven for slow cooking method nearest to the tandoor method, which cooks chicken on a grill rack over the rice to let chicken dripping drops to the rice and enrich its flavor.

But for our weekend dinner yesterday I went with a simple recipe and method I found. Even though I still got a delicious and very satisfying dish.
The recipe I copy from Munatyco*king.com. Please do visit her page to see her Chicken mandi recipe.


If you want to experience this Yemeni Chicken Mandi as well for your family or friends, here I rewrite the recipe for you.

Yemeni Chicken Mandi and rice

Adapted from MunatyCooking

Recook by me

Serve 3

Ingredients:

For chicken

  • Half whole chicken (about 700 gr)
  • 2 Tbsp Hawaij spice mix, recipe here
  • about 2 tbsp butter, room temperature
  • Salt to taste

For Rice

  • 1 cup long-grain rice (about 225 gr), washed and soaked
  • 2 cups boiling water
  • about 3 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 medium onion, finely chopped
  • 1 large tomato, wedge
  • 1 green chili
  • 1 ½ teaspoon Hawaij spice mix
  • salt to taste
  • Raisins and almond sliced for serving ( I skipped this)

Method:

1) For the chicken; season the chicken with salt. Mix hawaij spice with butter. Rub evenly the chicken with the spice and let it rest for about 10 minutes. I made the chicken the night before, so I kept my chicken marinated the whole night before and cooked it the day after.

2)Preheat oven at 180°C (me, 190°C). Roast the chicken cover with aluminum foil for about 30~40 minutes. Then continue to roast without cover for about 25 minutes and golden brown and chicken cooked.

3) Making rice; heat olive oil in a pan, saute the chopped onion until translucent. Stir in green chili and tomatoes, continue to cook for about 3 or 4 minutes more. Add the yemeni spice mix, stir for couple minutes more. Add in rice, stir to combine with the spices. Add in boiling water and mix once. Cover with the lid and lower the heat.

4) Let the rice cook for about 10 to 15 minutes. Lowest the heat and uncover the pan, gently scoop or fork the rice from the bottom up to make rice fluffy and prevent browning the bottom part. Then continue to cook over the lowest heat you can get with tightly cover for about 7 minutes more. Turn off the heat and without openinging the lid, let the rice sit for few minutes more to absorb all the steam to get yummy fluffy rice. That's my way to cook rice generally.

Serve Chicken mandi over the rice and sprinkle with raisins and almond slices if using.


    Mandi(Arabic: المندي‎) is a traditional Yemeni dish fromHadhramaut,Yemen. It is also eaten in many other Yemeni cities, such asSana'aandAden. It is now very popular in other areas of theArabian Peninsula, and it is also common inEgyptandJordan. It is also popular among theHadhrami peoplein theMalabar regionofKerala,India. The word"mandi"comes from the Arabic wordnada, meaning "dew", and reflects the moist 'dewy' texture of the meat.

    Mandi is usually made from rice, meat (lamb or chicken), and a mixture ofspices. The meat used is usually a young and small sized lamb to enhance the taste further. The main thing which differentiatesmandiis that the meat is cooked in thetandoor(taboon in Hadhrami), which is a special kind of oven. The tandoor is usually a hole dug in the ground and covered inside byclay.


    To cookmandi, dry wood is placed in the tandoor and burned to generate a lot of heat turning into charcoal. The meat is then suspended inside the tandoor without touching the charcoal. After that, the whole tandoor is closed without letting any of the smoke out.Raisins,pine nuts, orpeanutscan be added to the rice as per one's taste.

    Mandi is considered the main dish served during special events, such asEid, weddings, and feasts.

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    Yemeni Chicken Mandi easy recipe (2024)

    FAQs

    What is the traditional food of Yemen mandi? ›

    Mandi (Arabic: مندي) is a traditional dish that originated from Hadhramaut, Yemen. consisting mainly of meat and rice with a special blend of spices, cooked in a pit.

    What is chicken Mandi made of? ›

    Chicken Mandi is a popular authentic Yemeni dish that consists of 3 components: chicken (or any other meat), a Yemeni spice mix called "Hawaij", and rice.

    What is the difference between mandi and biryani? ›

    The meats used in Hyderabadi biryani are generally chicken or goat, while lamb or beef are used in Mandi biryani. Mandi biryani is normally spicier than Hyderabadi biryani, due to the addition of green chilies, whereas Hyderabadi biryani is milder.

    What is the difference between chicken Madhbi and mandi? ›

    The difference between Mandi and Madhbi I was told was that the chicken in Madhbi is grilled and not baked like its done for Mandi. The rice was soft and flavourful, the chicken succulent and tender. The portions are quite large for one person.

    What is the most famous dish in Yemen? ›

    Despite its regional variations, saltah is considered to be the national dish of Yemen. The most common dishes consumed all over Yemen are made with rice and lamb. There are many ways of preparing lamb in Yemen. In general though, the lamb is usually bone-in large chunks.

    What is Yemen's national animal? ›

    In 2008, the Government of Yemen declared the Arabian leopard as its national animal, recognizing the leopard's endangered status and threats to its habitat, such as human population, prey depletion, and poaching.

    What is the difference between chicken Mandi and chicken Kabsa? ›

    What is the difference between Kabsa and Chicken Mandi? One of the main differences is the cooking method. Yemeni Chicken Mandi is traditionally prepared in a vessel that is partially buried in the ground, much like an earthen oven, however, Saudi Chicken Kabsa is prepared on a stove in the kitchen.

    What country invented chicken Mandi? ›

    Mandi is a traditional dish originated from Yemen, consisting mainly of meat and rice with a special blend of spices. It is cooked in a pit underground.

    Is chicken Mandi good for health? ›

    Chicken mandi is a good source of thiamin, vitamin B5, vitamin B6, vitamin D, vitamin E, phosphorus, magnesium, copper, manganese, and an excellent source of protein, niacin, selenium. It helps strengthen muscles and boost immunity.

    What is Arabic mandi? ›

    Mandi (Arabic: مندي) is a traditional dish that originated from Hadhramaut, Yemen, consisting mainly of meat and rice with a special blend of spices, cooked in a pit underground. It is popular and commonly consumed in most areas of the Arabian Peninsula, and even considered a staple dish in many regions.

    Which is best Kabsa or mandi? ›

    The major difference in Kabsa and Mandi is that, Kabsa has more spice's than Mandi.

    Which is better Kabsa vs biryani? ›

    Both are synonymous, considering the process of making them (rice and meat cooked together, with the flavour of meat induced into the rice). However, Biryani is stronger in flavour compared to Kabsa, which is milder and sweeter (if you may).

    Is Mandi an Emirati dish? ›

    Mandi is a popular Emirati dish consisting of tender, slow-cooked meat (usually lamb or chicken) marinated in aromatic spices such as cardamom, cinnamon, and cloves. The meat is placed atop fragrant rice, cooked in the same meat broth, resulting in an irresistible flavor.

    How many types of Mandi are there? ›

    The 3 types of Mandi: mutton madfoon, mutton mandi and chicken madbee.

    What is Kabsa and Mandi? ›

    Mandi is cooked in a tandoor oven, the rice of Mandi is. yellowish because of saffron spices in its recipe. However, Kabsa has brownish rice because of the meat. broth containing tomato (paste) and chilies.

    What are the different types of mandi dishes? ›

    The 3 types of Mandi: mutton madfoon, mutton mandi and chicken madbee.

    How is mandi served? ›

    A rice dish made with meat, mandi differs from biriyani in the way it's cooked and served — the meat is cooked separately and then piled on top of the rice before it's served.

    How do you eat mandi? ›

    Traditionally it was cooked on weddings and family gatherings. They served mandi in a large plate and everybody sat in a circle around to eat it with their bare hands. Still some restaurants, that serve authentic Arabian food, have a a few areas reserved for such floor sitting arrangement.

    What is the name of Mandhi rice? ›

    Mandi rice or Mandhi rice, also known as Haneeth, is the traditional spicy rice dish that very popular in the rest of the Arabian Peninsula and in many other Arab …

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