Recipe
🥙 LUNCH
Mandi
Smoky spiced rice and tender meat traditionally cooked in an underground oven, a celebrated dish of Yemen and the Gulf.
Yemeni · medium · serves 6
prep 25 min · cook 90 min
~657 cal · 46g protein · 90g carbs · 10g fat · 3g fiber · 4g sugars · 3g sat fat (estimated, per serving)
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Mandi is one of the most beloved dishes of Yemen, and from there it spread across the Arabian Peninsula. Its name comes from the Arabic nada, meaning dew, describing the moist, tender meat produced by its distinctive cooking method.
Traditionally, marinated lamb or chicken and a pot of rice are lowered into a taboon, a clay pit oven, and cooked by the enclosed heat and smoke, so the fat drips onto the rice and the meat turns meltingly tender. The rice is seasoned with hawaij and other warm spices and coloured with . Served on a huge shared platter, sometimes with a smoky charcoal touch, it is a feast for gatherings.
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Make it yours
✓ Naturally gluten-, dairy-, egg- and pork-free. No swaps needed.
Toggle a diet and the ingredients rewrite themselves with regional substitutes.
🥕 Vegetarian
🌱 Vegan
🌾 Gluten-Free
🥛 Dairy-Free
🥜 Nut-Free
🥚 Egg-Free
🐖 Pork-Free
Dietary labels are a cooking guide, not allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish; we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, read the label on every product you use, and note that a kitchen can cross-contaminate in ways a recipe cannot control.
Ingredients
US
Metric
Serves 6
2 lb lamb or chicken pieces
3 cups basmati rice
2 tbsp hawaij spice blend
2 dried lime (loomi)
1 pinch , steeped
2 onion
6, 2 and 4 pods, cinnamon sticks and cloves (for the rice)
2 tbsp salt
1 cup total caramelised onions, toasted almonds and raisins, to garnish
1 cup sahawiq (herb and chili relish), to serve
1 a lump of charcoal (for smoking, optional)
Instructions
1
Rub the meat with hawaij, salt and a puree of onion, ideally overnight, then braise it covered and sealed until it falls apart, reserving the juices.
✎ Chef’s note
Pureed onion in the marinade is the trick that both tames the gaminess of lamb and keeps it moist. Seal the tray tightly so no steam escapes, and give it a few minutes under the broiler at the end for a golden crust.
2
Toast the whole cardamom, cinnamon and cloves in oil, add the rice, then the skimmed meat broth topped up to twice the volume of rice, with the dried lime. Cook covered and undisturbed, then drizzle over the bloomed saffron and rest.
3
Layer the meat over the rice; for the traditional smoky note, place a hot piece of charcoal in a small dish on top, drizzle with oil, and cover to trap the smoke.
✎ Chef’s note
The optional charcoal-smoke step is what gives mandi its signature aroma; a minute under the lid is enough.
4
Serve on a large platter for sharing.
Yemeni and Arabian tradition.
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🌏 While it simmers, know your destination
📍
Sana’a. Sana'a is famous for saltah, a bubbling stew crowned with whipped fenugreek froth and served still boiling in a stone pot. Yemeni bread, hot green zhoug relish, and slow-roasted lamb feed a highland kitchen at the base of the Arabian coffee trade.
🗺️
Yemen. The green relish Israelis call zhug is sahawiq or bisbas in Yemen, and it is chilli, coriander, garlic and cardamom pounded fresh rather than jarred. Bint al-sahn is the layered honey bread, brushed with clarified butter between sheets, and the honey poured over it is a serious export, sidr honey in particular fetching prices that surprise outsiders.
🌍
Asia. Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, and its food spans the delicate seasonality of Japanese washoku, the chili-fired curries of India and Thailand, and the wheat-and-lamb traditions of Central Asia. Rice, noodles, soy, and fermentation recur across its regions, while ancient spice routes and religious traditions shaped distinct grammars of flavor. Whether from a street-cart wok or a monastery kitchen, eating is deeply communal and ritual-rich.
The story behind this dish is up top, worth a read while the pot works.
More from Yemen
SaltahA bubbling stone-pot stew crowned with whipped fenugreek froth (hulba) and fiery green sahawiq, Yemen’s national dish.
MasoubMashed flatbread and ripe banana bound with honey and topped with cream, nuts, and dates.
Bint al-SahnMany paper-thin layers of buttery dough baked and drenched in honey and scattered with nigella seeds, Yemen's honey cake.
Browse all Yemen recipes →
Good to know
You’ll need: Grill or barbecue, Blender.
Storing it: Cool leftover rice quickly and refrigerate within an hour. Keep up to 2 days and reheat until piping hot all the way through.
Make it a Yemen meal
QishrDrink
Bint al-SahnDessert
FahsaDinner
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Frequently asked questions
What is Mandi?
Smoky spiced rice and tender meat traditionally cooked in an underground oven, a celebrated dish of Yemen and the Gulf.
Where does Mandi come from?
Mandi is a Yemeni dish from Sana’a, Yemen.
Can Mandi be made vegan, gluten-free, or dairy-free?
This Mandi recipe includes substitution suggestions for vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, and pork-free versions, including several at once such as gluten-free and dairy-free together. Treat them as a starting guide rather than a guarantee, and see the allergen note below.
Is Mandi safe for people with food allergies?
Our dietary labels and substitutions are a cooking guide, not medical or allergen-safety advice. We track dairy, egg, gluten, tree nuts and peanuts (we count coconut as a tree nut, following FDA labeling), fish, and shellfish, but we do not screen for sesame, soy, mustard, celery, or sulphites. If you have a food allergy, always read the label on every product you use, and remember a home or commercial kitchen can cross-contaminate ingredients in ways a recipe cannot control.
How long does Mandi take to make?
About 115 minutes total (25 minutes prep, 90 minutes cooking), serving 6.
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