Mandi, a traditional dish prepared in the middle-east is flavorful and subtly spiced with a slight hint of smokiness from the charcoal. Traditionally Mandi is prepared in an oven, but this time I thought why not try it on a stove-top. It yielded the exact same results as that of the traditional oven baked mandi. People who do not have an oven can definitely try out this recipe.

The choice of protein used here is mutton, you can also use chicken instead, follow the same cooking method below. I have pressure cooked the mutton to save time, but you can go ahead and make it in a pot. It will take a longer time to cook.

Do Check out my Chicken Mandi recipe which is done in the oven.

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Mutton Mandi

Ingredients

For Arabic Spice Mix

• Coriander seeds- 2 tbsp
• Cinnamon stick- 1 tbsp
• Cumin- 1 tbsp
• Cloves- 1 tsp
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Cardamom pods- 1 tbsp
• Dried lime- 1

For rice

• Oil- 5 tbsp
• Basmati Rice- 3 cups
• Cinnamon stick- 2
• Cardamom- 5
• Cloves- 6
• Raisins- 1/2 cup
• Onion- 2,sliced
• Ginger-garlic paste- 1 tbsp
• Reserved stock- 4 and 1/2 cups
• salt- to taste

For Mutton

• Mutton- 1 Kg
• Arabic Spice- 2 tsp plus 1 tsp
• ginger-garlic paste- 2 tbsp
• Salt- 1 tsp
• Saffron- a pinch, soaked in hot water
• Turmeric powder- 1 tsp
• Olive oil- 1 tbsp
• Charcoal- 1

For Arabic Salsa

• Tomatoes- 4 medium
• Garlic cloves- 4
• Coriander leaves- a handful
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Chillies- 2
• Salt- to taste

Instructions

1. For Arabic Spice Mix– Roast all the ingredients mentioned above except turmeric powder. Remove the seeds from the dried lime. Cool the whole spices and blend them to a fine powder. Then add turmeric powder. Store this mix in an airtight jar.
2. For Mutton marination– In a small bowl, add arabic spice, salt, ginger-garlic paste, saffron, turmeric powder and olive oil. Mix it well. Rub the marinade onto the mutton pieces. Marinate the mutton for half an hour or overnight if possible.
3. Put the marinated mutton into a pressure cooker. Add 5 cups of water. Pressure cook the mutton for 4 whistles. Once the pressure is released separate the mutton from the stock. Do not throw away the stock. We will use this stock to prepare the rice.
4. For Rice– In a pot, add olive oil, once the oil becomes hot, add the onions. Cook the onions till they turn brown. Add in the ginger-garlic paste, whole spices i.e., cinnamon stick, cardamom, cloves and raisins. Saute till the raw smell of the ginger-garlic disappears. Add in the rice and reserved stock. Season it with salt according to your taste. Cook till the rice is tender.
5. To the cooked mutton add 1 tsp of of the arabic spice mix and roast the mutton pieces on a hot pan. Keep it aside.
6. Layer the roasted mutton pieces on top of the cooked rice. Place a small bowl inside the pot, heat the charcoal till red hot and place it inside the bowl. Pour oil on top of the hot charcoal and immediately cover the pot with an aluminum foil so that the smoke does not escape. Smoke the entire dish for 15 min. After 15 min remove the foil and the bowl.
7. For Arabic Salsa– Blend all the ingredients into a coarse paste.
8. Serve Mutton Mandi with Arabic Salsa.