Yemeni Mandi with Sahawiq Sauce
This is a Yemeni chicken mandi recipe made in a clay pot or in the oven with foil. It uses Banjabi rice or kabsa rice with whole spices and hot water, then the chicken is cooked over the rice with a saffron or alternative coloring marinade. Once cooked, the chicken is browned on top, then the rice is smoked with fat and charcoal to take on the mandi flavor. It is served with sahawiq/dakous sauce made with tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, and lemon.
A Yemeni mandi rice dish cooked in a clay pot and served with sahawiq sauce.
Like spiced rice with meat and a fresh chili sauce.
Use a pot that traps steam well so the rice cooks evenly.
Ingredients
- 1200 grams chicken
- 4 cups Pakistani Banjabi rice or kabsa rice
- 6 cups water
- 1.5 tsp salt
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 3 pieces dried black limes
- 3 leaves bay leaves
- 6 pods cardamom
- 6 pieces cloves
- 1 small finjan vegetable oil
- 2 pieces lamb tail fat or ghee for smoking the rice with charcoal
- a pinch saffron, saffron powder, or natural red food coloring
- 1 small cup warm water
- 1 small finjan oil
- 1/2 tsp ginger
- 1 tsp paprika
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 kilogram tomatoes
- 1 cup or 1 tbsp fresh cilantro or dried coriander
- 1/2 tsp salt
- juice of 1/2 lemon lemon juice
- 2 cloves garlic
- a handful raisins
- mentioned as an unspecified optional addition onion
- mentioned as an unspecified optional addition red and green hot peppers
- mentioned as an alternative to hot peppers chili paste
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- mentioned as a step rather than an additional ingredient tahsh/smoking with lamb tail fat and charcoal
Instructions
- In the pot, wash the Banjabi rice or kabsa rice until the washing water runs clear.
- In the pot, soak the washed rice in warm water for half an hour.
- In a bowl, wash the chicken and clean it with vinegar, salt, and water for 15 minutes.
- In a bowl, prepare the chicken coloring mixture from saffron, saffron powder, or natural red food coloring with warm water, oil, salt, ginger, paprika, and turmeric.
- In a bowl, mix the saffron with the warm water until the color releases, then use the colored water in the marinade.
- In the pot or clay pot, place the rice spices: the cinnamon stick, dried black limes, bay leaves, cardamom, and cloves.
- In the pot or clay pot, add 6 cups of rice water and heat it with the spices.
- In the pot or clay pot, add the soaked, drained rice along with salt and a small coffee finjan of vegetable oil.
- In the pot or clay pot, stir the rice gently so the salt and oil are distributed without making it mushy.
- On the clay pot, cover the opening with two layers of foil placed in opposite directions.
- In the foil, make small slits across it with a knife.
- On the chicken, rub the coloring mixture over the entire piece.
- In the clay pot, place the chicken over the rice, then seal the foil tightly.
- In the preheated oven, bake the clay pot at 180 to 200°C for 40 minutes.
- In the oven, after 40 minutes, move the dish to a higher rack or turn on the top broiler only to brown the chicken.
- In another baking tray in the oven, place hot water at the bottom to create steam and keep the chicken and rice tender.
- In a frying pan, render the two slices of lamb tail fat or ghee until the fat comes out.
- In the lid or designated bowl, place the charcoal with the rendered fat to smoke the rice.
- In a blender or food processor, prepare dakous sauce from tomatoes, cilantro, garlic, juice of half a lemon, and salt.
- In a blender or food processor, tomato paste can be added if the tomatoes are not local or are not red enough.
- In a blender or food processor, hot peppers or chili paste can be added if desired, but they are not among the stated essentials.