Chicken Mandi with Zough

Chicken Mandi or Manthi (a chicken+rice delicacy from Yemen, now popular worldwide) served with Zough, a mild chilli pepper relish. 

Typically the marinated chicken is grilled oven rice in an underground oven. But I mimicked the process in a very hot oven. I cooked the marinated the chicken @470 F for about 18 minutes on a grate placed over the rice so that the drippings would flavor the rice.

Note: there are numerous regional recipes for this dish. I have used garam masala. Some yemeni and middle eastern recipes call for different combinations of spices such as pepper, cardamom, coriander etc.

The recipe below is my own adaptation.

Step 1: 

Cut 3-4 boneless skinless chicken thighs into large pieces.

Marinade with 1 teaspoon each of coriander, turmeric, garlic paste, garam masala, ground black pepper, cumin powder, lemon juice, 3 tbsp olive oil and salt to taste. Set aside for 30 minutes to an hour or longer in the fridge.

Step 2:

Soak 2 cups of Basmati rice for 15 minutes. Drain.

Preheat oven to 470F.

Heat deep oven-proof dish on a stove  Add 2 tbsp olive oil, 5 cardamom pods, 5 cloves, 1 bsp chopped garlic, a small piece of cinnamon stick, salt, one green chilli pepper diced, 1/2 cup fried onion. Saute for a few minutes. 

Add rice, 1-3 tbsp chopped cilantro, and a pinch of saffron. Mix well. Add 4 cups of hot water. Mix well. 

Place a rack on top of the casserole and arrange the chicken in such a way that any drippings will fall on the rice. Place in oven and cook for 20 minutes or so until the chicken is well cooked.

Step 3:

Remove casserole and chicken from the oven. Mix the rice well and arrange the chicken on the rice. 

Optional step: 

Heat a piece of charcoal over the flame (only for gas stoves) until red hot.

Places a small steel bowl on the rice. Place the charcoal in the bowl and add a few drops of oil to start the smoking process). Cover casserole for a few minutes for the rice to absorb the smoky flavor.

Serve hot with Zhoug (grind together 2 cloves of garlic, 2 jalapeños chopped, 3 tbsp of chopped cilantro, salt, and 3 tbsp of olive oil).