Lamb Mandi

Lamb Mandi: Step by Step

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1. Rub the lamb all over with the combined spices, salt and ghee. Cover and marinate in the fridge for at least 4 hours, ideally overnight.

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2. Heat the oven to 160°C / 320°F.

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3. Fry the onion in ghee in a large ovenproof pot for 10 minutes until golden, then add the whole spices, bay and turmeric.

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4. Drain the rice, add it to the pot and toast 3 minutes, then pour in the stock and salt and bring to the boil.

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5. Set a wire rack or trivet over the rice so it sits clear of the liquid, and lay the lamb on it.

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6. Cover the pot very tightly with foil and then the lid, and cook for 3 to 3½ hours until the lamb pulls easily from the bone.

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7. Lift the rack and lamb out. Fluff the rice, which will have absorbed the dripping fat, and pile it onto a large platter.

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8. Set the lamb on top. Put a small heatproof bowl in a hollow in the centre.

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9. Heat the charcoal on a gas flame until glowing red, drop it into the bowl, pour the ghee over it, and immediately cover the whole platter tightly with foil for 3 minutes.

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10. Remove the foil and the bowl, scatter with almonds, raisins and coriander, and serve with sahawiq.

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Related guides: Prep, cook and total time · Choosing rice.

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Keep an Eye on These

1. Use natural lump charcoal, never briquettes, which contain binders you do not want to smell or taste.
2. Three minutes under the foil is enough. Longer and the smoke turns acrid.
3. The rack is what makes mandi mandi. Without it the lamb boils in the rice.

If You're Missing Something

• Dried chilli flakes can stand in for the green chilli. Heat varies a great deal between chillies and between jars, so start with a small pinch and add more to taste.

Good to Know About Lamb Mandi

Cooking the lamb suspended above the rice lets its fat and juices drip down through the grains, seasoning them from within in a way no amount of stock can replicate. The dhungar smoking step — hot charcoal, a spoonful of ghee, a closed lid — deposits aromatic compounds directly onto the meat in about two minutes.

On the Table Alongside

Sahawiq or a green chilli and coriander sauce · Plain yoghurt · A simple tomato and onion salad

Sides from the same cuisine on this site: Tabbouleh, Fattoush Salad, Flatbread.

Leftovers

Refrigerate up to 3 days and freeze 3 months. Reheat the rice covered with a splash of stock and the lamb separately.

Questions People Ask

Lamb Mandi Nutrition

No nutrition figures are given for this recipe: they cannot be worked out reliably from its ingredient list (some ingredient lines cannot be read). Why some recipes have none.

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