Trav-EL! - Melt in the Mouth - Chicken Mandi!

Hey from EL The Cook!

EL The Cook was in Dubai, the land of the Sheikhs and home to the highest building in the world, The Burj Khalifa!

With stunning views and unforgettable memories, Dubai certainly enchants with its food scene! With truly sensational fine dining at the Burj Al Arab and so many famous restaurants dotting its malls, Dubai is a foodies dream!

However, EL The Cook, wanted to find out how the locals dine, which is something people rarely do when they come to this paradise in the sand..

After a little research, we found that the locals love a dish called Mandi, which involves slow cooking meat in a tandoor oven for close to 8 hours! Leaving the meat succulent and tender. This is served over a bed of flavored rice.

"Mandi" is orginally of Yemeni origin, and comes from the Arabic word, nada,meaning dew, reflecting the texture of the meat..

Exploring local cuisine took us into the heart of International City, a place for tourists and immigrants alike. We entered a small restaurant called Mandi Time. Not exactly the place you'd associate with the metropolis of Dubai.

AMBIANCE:

At Mandi Time, the ambiance is rustic, and the crowd is usually locals. The restaurant is divided into 2 parts one a casual dining location and the other private carpeted booths. 

This offers privacy when dining especially during namaz and Ramadan seasons.

There is a large kitchen in the center of the restaurant which is used for cooking desserts available.

FOOD:

The food we ordered was 2 dishes, Chicken Mandi and Chicken Madfoon. The difference in these dishes are that the Mandi is cooked in the tandoor while the Madfoon (meaning buried)  is supposedly slow cooked under the sand, as they did in the old days when ovens weren't around!  

Inside the booth, a large plastic sheet is laid down and the waiter gets you a soup and a salad to start with.

The soup is a peppery blend of tastes.. Its tastes like a flavored chicken soup with a spicy finish. The salad is a mix of rucola and a few fresh vegetables.

1) CHICKEN MANDI:

The dishes were served on the same plate, on a bed of rice. The mandi, which is the piece of chicken on the right, is a well marinated half of chicken with skin. The fragrant flavors of chilly, cumin, cardamom and cinnamon shine through on the first whiff! The textures are soft and juicy with no signs of over cooking. 

The chicken melts in your mouth when you take a bite!   

2) CHICKEN MADFOON:

The Chicken Madfoon, on the left, has completely different flavours, being cooked on sand, the madfoon, has a roast chicken flavor. Earthy textures of the meat break in your hand as you touch the chicken, its just super tender!

 The flavors are milder and offers less chilly flavor. Madfoon encompasses flavors of ground pepper, coriander, cloves and cumin, which are infused well with the meat

The fragrant rice is not to be missed..with hues of saffron and sunset yellow, the rice is beautifully cooked, with each grain separate. The rice also serves as a vehicle for draining the excess oil of the chicken which makes the rice even tastier!

The Mandi experience was one which was both an astonishment and a delight! It really taught us to look for the local cuisine as a place has its true riches, in the food of its ancestors!

Do visit a Mandi restaurant next time you are in Dubai!