Table for TwoChicken Mandi
Tender spiced roast chicken on smoky golden rice — a Yemeni-born favorite eaten all over Saudi Arabia.
Photo: Dr Muhammad Amer / Unsplash
⏱ 75 min📶 Medium👫 Serves 2☪ Muslim-friendly
Ingredients (for 2)
- Chicken legs, 2
- Mandi spice mix (or cumin, coriander, turmeric, cardamom and black pepper), 2 tsp
- Basmati rice, 1½ cups
- Onion, 1, sliced
- Ghee or oil, 2 tbsp
- Cardamom pods, 3
- Cloves, 3
- Bay leaf, 1
- Turmeric, ½ tsp
- Hot water, 700 ml
- Lump charcoal, 1 small piece (optional, for smoke)
Steps
- Rub the chicken with the spice mix, a little oil and salt, and roast at 200°C for about 45 minutes until golden.
- Meanwhile soak the rice for 20 minutes, then fry the onion in ghee, add the whole spices, turmeric and drained rice.
- Pour in the hot water and cook, covered, on low for 18 minutes.
- For a smoky finish, set a small foil cup on the rice, add a red-hot piece of charcoal and a drop of ghee, cover tightly for 5 minutes, then remove it.
- Serve the chicken on the rice with a fresh tomato and chili salsa.
Cook it together: One roasts the chicken, the other cooks the rice — the charcoal smoke step is a fun two-person job.
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