Chicken Mandi is a mildly spiced, and flavor-filled traditional dish that originated in Hadhramaut, Yemen. It is usually prepared with red meat or chicken and rice with a special blend of spices called hawajj or mandi spice. The recipe I have shared here shows you how to make Chicken Mandi, popular flavored rice in Arabian countries.
This Arabic Mandi Rice is one of the best flavor-loaded dishes with perfectly roasted chicken and intensely flavored rice. And it can be an excellent dish to serve for lunch and dinner along with raita.
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What is Chicken Mandi
Chicken Mandi is a traditional and delightful dish originated from Hadhramaut, Yemen, consisting mainly of meat and rice with a special blend of spices, cooked in an underground oven. The main technique which differentiates mandi from other meat dishes is that the meat is cooked in the tandoor (taboon in Arabic). And this delicious dish can be served for lunch and dinner.
The recipe given below delivers a similar taste to a traditional mandi but with chicken as the main meat ingredient(usually it is done with red meat). And this chicken mandi is a mildly spiced and flavor-filled meal that can be perfect for parties or get-togethers. To achieve a smoky and charred flavor you can also infuse the chicken and rice with charcoal as suggested in the recipe card below.
You could serve this chicken mandi with Andhra Green Chilli Chicken, and Chicken 65 for a perfect food feast.
Types of Mandi
There are different variations in mandi dishes, we have given some of the types below,
- Mutton madfoon
- Mutton mandi
- Chicken madbee
How to make Chicken Mandi?
The recipe I have shared here is a popular Mandi Rice also called Chicken Mandi. Even though authentic Mandi Rice is made in a tandoor, here I have baked the chicken in the oven and mandi rice on the stovetop.
Following are the high-level instructions to make this recipe but for detailed step-by-step instructions with photos and video, please check out the recipe card below.
Prepare Chicken
- In a bowl mix all the ingredients in the marination list to make the mandi marinade
- Now marinate the cleaned chicken leg pieces with the mandi marinade and allow them to rest for 30 minutes
- Place the marinated chicken pieces in the oil-greased oven-safe tray
- Place it in the preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake it for about 40 to 45 minutes or until it turns golden brown in color. I also suggest checking the whether the chicken has reached the safest internal temperature of 165°F as suggested by FDA
- Once the chicken legs are cooked, remove them from the oven
Prepare Mandi Rice
- Grind onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, and green chili in a blender until smooth and reserve it for later use
- In a pan with medium heat, add oil or ghee, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaves, and chicken bouillon and saute it until it’s fragrant
- Now add the blended paste, and chili powder and saute it until the raw aroma leaves
- Add the soaked basmati rice, water, and salt to the above mix
- Allow the rice to cook to 70%. At this stage, the edges and middle start to bubble, and the rice would break if you press it with your fingers
- Now simmer the heat to low and close the pan with its lid and cook the rice for 10 to 15 minutes. Or until the rice becomes fluffy. (Meanwhile, fry the cashews and raisins in oil or ghee and reserve it for later use)
- Now remove the rice from the heat and place the oven-grilled chicken legs on the rice. Garnish it with fried cashew and raisins
- Now burn the small charcoal piece on your stove using a stainless steel tong to hold it. When it turns hot, place it in a small cup and pour a tsp of oil. It will start to smoke
- Place the cup inside the Chicken Mandi rice and cover the pan with foil or its lid. Allow it to rest for 5 to 7 minutes undisturbed. This will help to achieve the smoky and tandoori flavor to your mandi rice
- Now remove the foil and now the Arabic Chicken Mandi is ready for you to taste and enjoy
Serving Suggestions
Serve this Arabian Chicken Mandi with your favorite sides or veggie salad of your choice.
Related Recipes
Please find similar recipes below. Visit Chicken and Biryani recipes for more. You could also find more at rice recipes and roasted & baked meat recipes.
- Mughlai Chicken Biryani
- Chicken and Rice
- Middle Eastern Chicken Rice
- Chicken Chinthamani
- Chettinad Chicken Chukka
- Indo-Chinese Chicken Manchurian Dry
📖 Recipe
Arabian Chicken Mandi
Ingredients
To Marinate Chicken
- 4 Chicken Leg, slited
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- 1 tsp Ginger garlic paste
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- ¼ tsp Cumin Powder
- ½ tsp Black Pepper Powder
- 2 tbsp Curd, yogurt
- ½ tsp All spice powder
- ½ tsp Lemon juice
- 1 tsp Salt, as needed
- 1 tsp Olive Oil
To Prepare Rice
- 1 cup Basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 1 Tomato, chopped
- 1 tsp Ginger, grated
- 3 Garlic cloves
- 3 Green chili
- 1 tsp Chili powder
- 5 Cardamom
- 1 Cinnamon stick, a small piece
- 1 Bay leaves
- 3 cloves
- ¼ tsp All Spice Powder, you can also substitute with biryani masala
- 1 tsp Cashews and raisins
- Salt, as needed
- 2 cups Water
- 2 tbsp Olive oil, or butter, or ghee
- 1 cube Chicken Bouillon
- 1 Barbecue Charcoal Briquette
Instructions
To Prepare Chicken
- In a bowl mix all the ingredients in the marination list to make the mandi marinade
- Now marinate the cleaned chicken leg pieces with the mandi marinade and allow them to rest for 30 minutes
- Place the marinated chicken pieces in the oil-greased oven-safe tray
- Place it in the preheated oven at 350 degrees Fahrenheit and bake it for about 40 to 45 minutes or until it turns golden brown in color
- Once the chicken legs are cooked, remove it from the oven
To prepare Rice
- Grind onion, tomato, garlic, ginger, and green chili in a blender until smooth and reserve it for later use
- In a pan with medium heat, add oil or ghee, cinnamon stick, cloves, cardamom pods, bay leaves, chicken bouillon and saute it until it’s fragrant
- Now add the blended paste, chili powder, all spice powder and saute it until the raw aroma leaves
- Add the soaked basmati rice, water, and salt to the above mix
- Allow the rice to cook to 70%. At this stage, the edges and middle start to bubble, and the rice would break if you press it with your fingers
- Now simmer the heat to low and close the pan with its lid and cook the rice for 10 to 15 minutes. Or until the rice becomes fluffy. (Meanwhile, fry the cashews and raisins in oil or ghee and reserve it for later use)
- Now remove the rice from the heat and place the oven-grilled chicken legs on the rice. Garnish it with fried cashew and raisins
- Now burn the small charcoal piece on your stove using a stainless steel tong to hold it. When it turns hot, place it in a small cup and pour a tsp of oil. It will start to smoke
- Place the cup inside the Chicken Mandi rice and cover the pan with foil or its lid. Allow it to rest for 5 to 7 minutes undisturbed. This will help to achieve the smoky and tandoori flavor to your mandi rice
To Serve
- Now remove the foil and serve this Arabic Chicken Mandi with your favorite sides or veggie salad
Nutrition
Frequently asked question
Chicken Mandi is a rice dish in which chicken is cooked in tandoor along with flavored rice and spices.
Yes, mandi can be made with goat, lamb, and other red meats.
In Chicken mandi, the chicken is cooked in tandoor along with flavored rice. But in Kabsa the meat and rice are cooked together with special kabsa spices which are different from mandi spices. Usually, mandi is dry and tastes similar to mild biryani.
Enjoy the recipe and let us know how it turned out for you!
If you have any other questions, please feel free to post them in the comment section below and we will try to answer them as soon as possible.
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