Mandi
Photo: Evan Bench · CC BY 2.0

History

Mandi comes from Hadhramaut in eastern Yemen, where the meat hangs inside a clay tandoor sunk into the ground and the rice cooks underneath, catching the fat as it falls. The name traces to nada, the Arabic for dew, for the moisture the sealed pit keeps in. Yemeni restaurants in Hor Al Anz, Al Muraqqabat and Al Karama brought it to Dubai and serve it the original way: one tray on the floor or table for the whole group, hands only, with a fiery green sahawiq chilli relish and a bowl of broth. Portions are calibrated to families, so two people ordering a full mandi will leave with a box.

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Common allergens: None typical

Make it at home

Yield Serves 4Hands-on 30 minTotal 2 hr 30 minDifficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1.2kg lamb shoulder or leg on the bone, in large pieces
  • 500g basmati rice, soaked 30 minutes
  • 1 onion, quartered
  • 2 tablespoons hawaij or mandi spice mix (cumin, coriander, cardamom, cinnamon, clove, black pepper, turmeric)
  • 4 cardamom pods, 1 cinnamon stick, 3 cloves, 2 bay leaves
  • 2 tablespoons ghee
  • 1.5 litres water
  • Salt
  • 1 piece of natural lump charcoal and a small metal cup, for smoking
  • For sahawiq: 3 green chillies, 1 garlic clove, a handful of coriander, 1 tomato, juice of half a lemon, salt

Method

  1. Put the lamb, onion, whole spices, half the spice mix, 2 teaspoons salt and the water in a pot. Simmer covered 90 minutes until tender, skimming the top.
  2. Lift out the lamb, brush it with ghee and the rest of the spice mix and roast at 220C for 25 minutes until the edges char.
  3. Strain the stock and measure 900ml. Bring it to a hard boil in a wide pot, taste for salt, add the drained rice, cover and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes.
  4. Blitz all the sahawiq ingredients to a rough green paste.
  5. Heat the charcoal on a gas flame until it glows. Set it in the metal cup, push the cup into the middle of the cooked rice, drizzle a teaspoon of ghee onto the coal and clamp the lid on for 5 minutes.
  6. Remove the cup, pile the roast lamb over the rice on one tray and serve with the sahawiq and a bowl of the leftover broth.

Tip from the editors. The charcoal step is the difference between mandi and any other spiced rice. Use lump charcoal, never a briquette, which tastes of accelerant.

Where to eat mandi

Mandi in Dubai

Al Yemen Mandi ★ 4.0

$ YemeniDeira

Al Yemen Mandi smokes lamb and chicken mandi over coals in Hor Al Anz East, a Yemeni dining room that Deira, Dubai regulars fill through the night.

OrderLamb mandi over smoked rice, ordered with a side of chilli sahawiq sauce.

TipMandi comes on one tray for the table with rice underneath, so order by the group rather than per person.

Directions

Zam Zam Mandi ★ 3.9

$$ YemeniAl Karama

Zam Zam Mandi cooks chicken and lamb mandi opposite Gate 3 of Zabeel Park in Al Karama, a fast moving Arabic kitchen that stays open until 01:00.

OrderChicken mandi with grilled fish on the side and a glass of fresh juice.

TipIt sits opposite Gate 3 of Zabeel Park, handy after an evening in the park.

Directions

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