Mandy is a Yemeni dish of spiced rice served with meat. Traditionally, it is cooked in an underground oven over burning charcoal. Many recipes today have been adapted for the modern kitchen. This is Fatih’s version, served with Chicken.

Ingredients:

Chicken leg, basmati rice, yellow onion, 1 piece of charcoal, oil, red and yellow colouring.

Powdered spices: coriander, cumin, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, turmeric powder, salt.

Whole spices: Cinnamon sticks, cloves, cardamom pods, black peppercorns, bay leaves.

Instructions:

1. Boil the chicken leg with onion, and a pinch each of cumin, cinnamon and black pepper. Boil for 30 minutes. While the chicken is boiling, soak the basmati rice with water.
2. After 30 minutes, remove the chicken from the pot. Save the broth to cook the rice.
3. In a bowl, combine oil, salt, and a little red colouring. You may add the powdered spices for extra flavour: a pinch each of coriander, cumin, green cardamom, cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, turmeric powder. Glaze the chicken with the mixture, and bake in the oven for another 30 minutes at 190 degrees celsius.
4. While the chicken is baking, add the chicken broth and basmati rice into the rice cooker. Add the whole spices in and cook.

5. When the rice is done, add red and yellow colouring to the rice. Take care to add the colouring in separate streaks, so that the result is a tri-colour rice.

6. Heat up a small piece of charcoal, until it glows red. Place the charcoal on top of the cooked rice on a small piece of metal or onion peel, and pour a little oil over it. Cover the rice quickly to keep the smoke in the pot. This replicates the smoky flavour that comes from cooking Mandy the traditional way – in an underground oven.
7. Remove the lid after 5 minutes. Mix the rice together, combining the different colours. Serve it with the chicken.