In today’s post, I am going to tell you about Saudi Arabia’s most famous dish, Camel Meat Mandi—a dish that is incredibly aromatic and flavorful. Traditionally, it is cooked in an underground tandoor (earth oven), but it can also be prepared at home in a standard oven; when cooking it at home, charcoal smoke is used to infuse it with its authentic flavor. I am going to show you how to prepare it in a home oven because I need to make a small portion; if I were preparing a large dish, I would prefer to cook it in a tandoor.
Essential Ingredients
Camel meat: (bone-in or boneless)
Mandi spices: (whole black peppercorns, cumin seeds, whole coriander seeds, cloves, green cardamom, cinnamon, nutmeg, and mace)
For meat marinade: (ground Mandi spices, turmeric, olive oil, salt, and saffron)
For the rice: (Super Basmati rice, green chilies, onion, garlic, curry leaves, dried lemon, Mandi spices, salt, and meat stock)
For garnishing and charcoal smoking: (charcoal, oil, almonds, cashews, and raisins)
Step-by-step recipe for preparing Mandi
Step 1- In the first stage, the meat is boiled. To do this, take a large pot and add the meat along with the required amount of water, bay leaves, salt, cinnamon sticks, and green cardamom; place it on the heat and cook until the meat is about 90% tender. Once cooked, remove the meat pieces and strain the broth, setting it aside.
Step 2- The second stage involves marinating and roasting the meat. Prepare a paste by combining salt, turmeric, the prepared Mandi spice mix, olive oil, and saffron in a bowl; coat the meat thoroughly with this mixture, then roast it in the oven at 200°C for 15 to 20 minutes.
Step 3- In the third stage, the rice for the Mandi is prepared. To begin, heat about three to four tablespoons of ghee or oil in a large pot. Add the chopped onion and sauté until golden brown. Next, add the crushed garlic, dried lime, green chilies, Mandi spice mix, bay leaves, and other aromatics, and sauté briefly. Then, add the soaked Super rice and mix gently. Pour in the stock and cook over high heat until the liquid evaporates, then reduce the heat to low.
Step 4- In the fourth and final stage, the dish is steamed and infused with the smoke of burning charcoal. First, the camel meat is placed atop the rice and sprinkled with a little saffron water and raisins. A small bowl is placed between the meat and the rice; a piece of burning charcoal is put into this bowl, and oil is poured over it. Once the smoke begins to rise, the cooking vessel is tightly covered with its lid to prevent the smoke from escaping, and the dish is then allowed to steam over a low flame for approximately 15 to 20 minutes.
After removing the lid and the piece of coal from the center, transfer the rice to a large platter. Arrange the pieces of meat on top, garnish with dried fruits, and serve. Accompany the dish with Saudi Daqqos—a sauce prepared from green chilies, tomatoes, lemon, and garlic.