Yemini Mandi (smoky chicken & rice)
It seems that every culture has a version of a chicken and rice dish. OK, perhaps not every culture, but there are many variations around the globe. After a foodie friend learned of my love for the flavors of the Middle East and India, she asked if I had ever been to Yemen.
After trying Yemini foods, I fell in love with the flavors of Yemini cuisine. Sadly, the ongoing civil war has made traveling there difficult, so another chance to recreate the dish to enjoy at home—and with you.
Below is a recipe for Yemini Mandi, a chicken and rice dish that would typically be cooked slowly in a tandoor oven from which it gets it’s characteristic smoky flavor. Working with a standard American kitchen, that sadly does not include a charcoal pit or tandoor oven, I have modified the recipe “work with what I’ve got” as they say. That’s the beauty of cooking—you can always modify!
Mandi is a traditional dish in Yemen, and is a special occasion dish now often served at weddings or in celebration of Eid in many parts of the Middle East. Of course, each area modifies the recipe based on local ingredients and meat selections (this can often be seen made with lamb instead of chicken). I’ve also found this recipe to be similar to a Saudi Arabian Kabsa, but with a bit more smokiness.
For this recipe you will need:
rice cooker
food processor (or blender)
standard oven
Ingredients:
1 chicken, quartered.
(This dish can also be made with chicken breasts, if preferred, in which case substitute 4 chicken breasts for the whole chicken)
3 Tbsp yogurt
4 cups basmati rice
2 tablespoons ghee
1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 Tbsp vinegar
½ tsp liquid smoke
7 garlic cloves
4 bay leaves
1 medium onion, quartered
2 tomatoes, quartered
1 green jalapeno chili pepper (remove seeds)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp smoked paprika
1 Tbsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp ground cardamom
5 pods whole cardamom
1 tablespoon allspice berries
1 tsp cinnamon
2 cinnamon sticks
2 dried lemons
1 teaspoon whole cloves
2 tsp turmeric, ground
1 pinch saffron
2 Tbsp almonds slivered or pine nuts
2 Tbsp yellow raisins
1 Tbsp parsley (for garnish)
Preparation:
- Prepare a marinade for the chicken. Quarter the chicken and wash all parts. Remove innards and discard. Mix together yogurt, ¼ cup oil, vinegar, ¼ tsp liquid smoke, 3 smashed cloves of garlic, bay leaves, paprika, salt, pepper, ground cardamom, garlic, 1 tsp turmeric, ground cinnamon, and saffron. Place chicken and marinade mix in a sealed container and refrigerate for 4-8 hours.
- When ready to cook, preheat oven to 350 degrees. (180 degrees C)
- To prepare rice, wash and soak with ½ tsp of salt for 30 minutes. Drain and set aside.4
- In a food processor, combine 4 cloves of garlic, onions, tomatoes, jalapeno, ¼ tsp liquid smoke and tomato paste. Blend until smooth.
- In a skillet, heat 1 Tbsp oil and ghee and stir in cardamom, allspice, 1 tsp turmeric, dried lemons, 2 bay leaves, cinnamon sticks and cloves until fragrant. Add the blended mixture from step #4 and stir.
- In a rice cooker, add rice and cover 1.5x with water (about three cups), then add all above ingredients from #5 and stir until evenly combined. Turn on rice cooker.
IF, you were to make Mandi the traditional way, you would place a rack for the chicken over the pot of rice and wrap the two together such that the steam from the rice would help cook and moisten the chicken, and the drippings from the chicken would flavor the rice, and put all this in the oven. But, we will aim to capture those flavors without a large tandoor or any balancing skills (of which I have none—just ask my yoga instructors!
7. Place the marinated chicken in a baking dish, cover with aluminum foil, and place in oven to cook at 350F for 20 minutes.
8. While the rice and chicken are cooking, prepare the Dagoos sauce that is served with the dish as follows:
Dagoos sauce: Add the following to a food processor: 1 onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 jalapeno (seeds removed), 3 tomatoes, and 2 Tbsp olive oil. Blend until slightly chunky and transfer to skillet. Heat on stove over medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in 2 Tbsp lemon juice and salt to taste. Set aside until ready to serve
9. After 20 minutes, uncover the chicken, and continue to bake for 20 minutes.
10. While chicken and rice continue to cook, heat ½ Tbsp ghee in a pan and quickly sauté the almonds or pine nuts until golden brown. Just before they are done, add in raisins and stir quickly. Careful not to burn nuts or raisins. Drain onto paper towel and set aside as garnish.
11. Once your rice has absorbed all the water and chicken has reached an internal temperature of 320F (160C), you’re ready to serve.
12. Fluff rice while mixing in half of the nuts and raisins. Spread rice onto a large serving plate. Layer chicken over rice. Scatter remaining nuts, yellow raisins and parsley leaves on top, and serve with dagoos sauce. You can also accompany Mandi with side dishes of yogurt, boiled eggs, dates, olives, figs, and lemon slices.
Enjoy!
Sadly, the war continues in Yemen as of the writing of this post. To learn a bit more about the conflict, click here: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2016/06/key-facts-war-yemen-160607112342462.html