Mandi مندي is a traditional dish that originated from Hadhramaut, Yemen, consisting mainly of meat and rice with a special blend of spices It is a popular dish and commonly eaten up in most areas of Arabian countries like Saudia Arabia, Qatar, and UAE. It is also loved by the people of Egypt, Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Turkey.

The “mandi” word comes from the Arabic word “nada”, which means “dew”, and reflects the moist ‘dewy’ texture of the meat.

Mandi is made from rice, and any type of meat (chicken, lamb, beef, goat)and served with a sauce of tomatoes and herbs. The meat used is usually a young and small-sized lamb to enhance the taste further.

Recipe:

• 2 cups cups rice, rinsed and strained
• 1.30 lbs (600g) lamb meat
• 2 onions, cut into cubes
• 2 tomatoes, cut into cubes
• 10 whole cloves
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 6 cardamom pods
• 3 bay leaves
• ½ tsp white pepper
• 1 ½ salt (to taste)
• ½ tsp black pepper (to taste)
• ¼ tsp turmeric
• 4 tbsp ghee melted
• roasted nuts and fried onion.

Direction:

1. Heat one liter of water in a big pot over a high flame.

2. When the water starts boiling, stir in the meat and cook it removing the foam resulting on top. Stir in the cloves, cinnamon, cardamom, bay, onion, tomato, white pepper, turmeric, salt, and black pepper. Stir to combine.

3. Reserve half of the stock to serve with the mandi later as soup. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and cook for 20-25 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, pour two cups of water into a big pot over high heat and stir in the rice. When the water starts boiling, lower the heat and add the melted ghee on top of the rice. Cover the pot and cook the rice for 15-20 minutes.

5. Arrange the cooked rice on a serving platter and top it with the cooked meat.

6. Serve hot with the reserved stock and roasted nuts and fried onion.