Representing Yemen, Chicken Mandi is typically cooked under the ground over hot coals for several hours. Given I don’t have many hours (much less a place to put a whole in the ground) I elected to make this flavorful chicken dish from the comfort of my kitchen on a Monday night. Bone-in chicken is ideal here (I opted for split chicken breasts) as it keeps the chicken very moist. The Yemeni spice blend suggested in the recipe below was wonderful (I would suggest cutting it by 1/4 for just this recipe) and that paired with a sweet and slightly spice rice (thanks to raisins and green chili peppers) made this a great weeknight meal. Of the various riffs on rice I’ve made as part of this project, this one was a bit less spicy but the inclusion of sliced almonds, tomatoes and onions (along with the raisins and peppers) made it unique. I’m going to add this dish near the top of an ever growing list of chicken and rice combos I’ve cooked as part of this project.

Recipe: https://www.munatycooking.com/yemeni-chicken-mandi/

Overall Level of Effort: 2

Skill Level: Beginner

Would Make It Again? Yes

Additional Notes: We eat a lot of chicken in this house and regularly turn to one of the many Penzey’s spice blends in our pantry to flavor the meat. I definitely put this spice blend up there for ways we might “spice up” (pun completely intended) our regular baked chicken nights.