Spiced Chicken and Rice with Smoke — Chicken Mandi
Yemeni hawaij-spiced chicken slow-roasted on a bed of basmati rice with caramelised onion, finished with charcoal-smoke aroma and a fresh tomato-chilli sahawiq sauce.
Categories
Nutrition per Serving
Ingredients
For 2 servings
Instructions
Prep
Mix hawaij, turmeric, black pepper, salt, and 2 tbsp of oil into a paste. Rub under chicken skin and all surfaces of both chicken thighs; rest 5 minutes. Thinly slice onion, mince 3 garlic cloves and reserve 1 garlic clove for sauce. Deseed and dice tomato, deseed and chop green chillies, chop coriander. Combine tomato, chillies, coriander, reserved garlic clove, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt in a bowl for sahawiq.
Saute
Heat oven to 200C. In a 24cm oven-safe pan over medium, add remaining 2 tbsp oil and sliced onion. Cook 7 to 8 minutes until deep golden at edges. Stir in minced garlic, cinnamon sticks, cardamom pods, and cloves; toast 30 seconds until fragrant.
Build
Add rinsed rice, salt to taste, and hot chicken stock to the pan. Bring to gentle simmer. Lay chicken thighs skin-side up on rice and transfer uncovered to oven.
Roast
Roast uncovered 35 to 40 minutes until skin is deeply burnished and juices run clear when thighs are pierced. While mandi roasts, heat lump charcoal over gas flame or under broiler 4 to 5 minutes until glowing red-orange.
Finish
Lift charcoal with tongs into a small heatproof bowl. Set beside chicken in pan, drizzle 1 tsp oil over hot charcoal to smoke. Cover tightly with lid or foil; let smoke infuse 5 minutes off heat. Remove charcoal.
Plate
Gently fluff rice around chicken. Divide between two plates and serve with sahawiq sauce and lemon wedges alongside.
Recipes use AI and Edamam. Always check for allergens before cooking. Spotted something wrong—email us at hello@grubplanit.com.