Middle Eastern

Mandi

Name: Mandi
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 45 min
Total time: 1 h 5 min
Yield: 1 serving
Cuisine: Middle Eastern
Ingredients: 90 g basmati rice; 1 chicken leg quarter; 1 tbsp ghee; 50 g onion; 60 g tomato; 1 clove garlic; 2 tsp hawaij spice mix; 2 green cardamom pods; 2 cloves; 1 cinnamon stick; 1 bay leaf; 1 dried lime (loomi); 0.75 tsp salt; 200 ml water; 1 tbsp raisins; 1 tbsp flaked almonds; 1 pinch saffron threads; 1 piece lump charcoal

The Yemeni classic from Hadhramaut: long-grain basmati simmered in spiced chicken broth, crowned with a roasted, hawaij-rubbed chicken leg and perfumed at the last minute with a glowing coal so the whole dish carries the smoke of the old buried ovens.

Mains 8g+ fibre

65 min20 prep · 45 cookMedium583 kcalper serving

Instructions

Rinse 90 g of basmati rice in several changes of cold water until it runs clear, then leave it to soak in fresh cold water for 30 minutes. Drain well in a sieve and set aside.
Pat the 1 chicken leg quarter completely dry and slash the thickest part of the thigh and drumstick twice down to the bone. Rub it all over, and into the slashes, with 1 tsp of the hawaij and 0.25 tsp of the salt. Leave at room temperature for 15 minutes while you prepare the base.
Melt 2 tsp of the ghee in a small heavy lidded pot over medium-high heat. Lay the chicken in skin side down and brown for 4 minutes without moving it, then turn and give it 2 minutes on the flesh side. Lift onto a plate.
Lower the heat to medium and add 50 g of chopped onion to the same fat. Fry for 5 minutes until soft and golden at the edges, then stir in 1 clove of crushed garlic, 60 g of grated tomato and the remaining 1 tsp of hawaij and cook for 3 minutes until the tomato darkens and the fat separates. Drop in 2 bruised cardamom pods, 2 cloves, 1 bay leaf, the cinnamon stick and 1 pierced dried lime.