It’s Ramadan and every few days or so we inevitably end up breaking fast with friends or family at one of the many wonderful iftar sessions, be it at restaurants or five-star hotels. I recently had a lovely buka puasa with my former colleagues at Dua Sentral, where they brought in some absolutely delicious nasi Arab from Restoran Saba. After having easily two heaping plates of rice and lamb, I felt inspired to try out a Middle Eastern recipe for a change. There are different dishes I could try making – mandy, kabsah, haneeth, among others. Scouring around the Net for a recipe that didn’t seem too daunting, I found one chicken mandy recipe by the Queen of Sheba.
Updated Apr 12 2024: I’ve come a long way since I first made this in 2014 (10 years!). I’ve perfected this recipe and it has now become one of my signature dishes during Hari Raya celebrations. This is one of the dishes I am most proud of. Give it a try, I’m sure you’ll find it worth your while.
A Few Tips
It has been an interesting journey. I have now switched to using whole chicken legs instead of a whole chicken, which requires a more consistent and shorter cooktime. Besides, I noticed that when using a whole bird, the chicken breast pieces were always unpopular among guests, and they always dried up when reheated.
To get those fluffy, beautiful unbroken grains of rice, the best type to use is basmathi, of course. Not just any type, however. After years of searching, I have narrowed it down to a few keywords: pusa basmathi 1121, usually parboiled (you’ll usually also see the words ‘sella’ and ‘cream’ on the packaging). This is of course premium stuff, but it is definitely the best rice to use for Nasi Arab.
To simplify the process even further, I air-fry the chicken and cook the rice in the rice cooker. These appliances free me up to prepare the other accompaniments, the sambal Arab and acar timun. I also serve this rice with a lamb counterpart, either lamb mandy or lamb makhtoum.
Prep Work
If you don’t have any already on hand, put together your Hawa’ij spice mix. It’s really worth the effort, but if you’re not feeling up for it, you can use store-bought Arabic spice mix or mandy spice mix.
Place the saffron threads in 2 tablespoons of warm water. Let sit overnight or for at least several hours, until the water turns deep orange.
In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, hawa’ij spice mix, turmeric powder, and 2 teaspoons salt.
Pat the chicken dry using paper towels. It is important that the chicken is dry for the marinade to stick well.
Brush the butter and spice mixture generously all over the chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator, at least two hours or up to 24 hours.
The Rice
Make the rice. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the ghee and olive oil.
Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly browned, 5 minutes.
Add the rice, cardamom pods, whole cloves, whole black peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves, green chillies, 2 teaspoons salt, chicken stock powder or cubes, and water. Stir to combine.
Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. If using a rice cooker, transfer the mixture into your rice cooker, and start the White Rice program and let cook until done.
If not using a rice cooker, turn down the heat to low, cover and cook, undisturbed, until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 to 13 minutes.
When the rice is done, remove from heat and let rest, 10 minutes.
The Mandy Chicken
Air fry the chicken. In your air fryer basket, arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer, leaving some space in between.
Air fry at 200 degrees C, 25 minutes. The chicken should come out crispy and very tender. Remove from the air fryer and let rest, 5 minutes.
Pour any juices from the tray into your rice.
Scoop out some rice into a bowl, and add the saffron water mixture. Stir until the rice is evenly coated.
Swirl the food colouring over the remaining rice in the pot, and return the saffron coated rice to the pot.
Stir until the different coloured rice is evenly mixed.
On the stove, heat a small piece of coal (about the size of your thumb) until red hot.
Meanwhile, cut up the chicken legs, separating the drumsticks from the thighs, and place them in the rice pot.
Final Touches
Place a small bowl containing some cooking oil in the center of the rice and chicken.
Then add the red hot coal inside the oil and cover the pot with a lid. It should smoke, giving the rice a smoky flavor.
Serve your chicken mandy with rice, with some acar timun and sambal Arab. Enjoy!
Chicken Mandy with Rice
Equipment
- Air fryer
- Rice cooker
- 1 small ramekin
- 1 small piece natural coal
Ingredients
For the chicken
- 4 tablespoons melted butter about 60 grams
- 2 teaspoons hawa’ij spice mix OR mandy spice mix
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 2 kilograms whole chicken legs about 6
For the rice
- 1 pinch saffron threads
- 2 tablespoons water
- 1 tablespoon ghee
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 onion chopped
- 4 cups long-grain basmathi rice soaked for 30 minutes and drained [See Note 1]
- 1 teaspoon cardamom pods
- 1/2 teaspoon whole cloves
- 1/2 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
- 1 stick cinnamon
- 2 bay leaves
- 3 whole green chillies
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 6 teaspoons chicken stock powder OR 2 chicken stock cubes
- 6 cups water
- yellow food colouring optional
Instructions
- Place the saffron threads in 2 tablespoons water. Let sit overnight or for at least several hours, until the water turns deep orange.
- In a small bowl, combine the melted butter, hawa'ij spice mix, turmeric powder, and 2 teaspoons salt.
- Pat the chicken dry using paper towels.
- Brush the butter and spice mixture generously all over the chicken. Cover and marinate in the refrigerator, at least two hours or up to 24 hours.
- Make the rice. In a large Dutch oven over medium heat, heat the ghee and olive oil.
- Add the onions and cook, stirring, until soft and slightly browned, 5 minutes.
- Add the rice, cardamom pods, whole cloves, whole black peppercorns, cinnamon, bay leaves, green chillies, 2 teaspoons salt, chicken stock powder or cube, and 6 cups water. Stir to combine.
- Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Transfer the mixture into your rice cooker, start the White Rice program and let cook until done. [See Note 2]
- When the rice is done, remove from heat and let rest, 10 minutes.
- Air fry the chicken. In your air fryer basket, arrange the chicken pieces in a single layer, leaving some space in between.
- Air fry at 200 degrees C, 28 minutes. The chicken should come out crispy and very tender. Remove from the air fryer and let rest, 5 minutes.
- Pour any juices from the tray into your rice.
- Scoop out some rice into a bowl, and add the saffron water mixture. Stir until the rice is evenly coated.
- Swirl the food colouring over the remaining rice in the pot, and return the saffron coated rice to the pot.
- Stir until the different coloured rice is evenly mixed.
- On the stove, heat a small piece of coal (about the size of your thumb) until red hot.
- Meanwhile, cut up the chicken legs, separating the drumsticks from the thighs, and place them in the rice pot.
- Place a small bowl containing some cooking oil in the center of the rice and chicken.
- Add the red hot coal inside the oil and cover. It should smoke, giving the rice a smoky flavor.
- Serve with some sambal Arab and acar timun.
Notes
- If using a digital rice cooker, which usually takes about 45 minutes to cook rice, you can skip the rice soaking step.
- If not using a rice cooker, turn down the heat to low, cover and cook, undisturbed, until all the liquid has been absorbed, about 10 to 13 minutes.
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