A Yemeniyah's Recipes

Mandee 2 — مندي دجاج

April 5, 2011 by lamyaalmas

I made another Mandee today, but this time with chicken. We’re just two people as I mentioned, and since I cook everyday I only make what we eat on a particular day. I don’t like having any leftovers, so my quantities are measured. So, you can double, triple or quadruple according to the number of members in your family. I usually measure 1/2 cup of rice per person, if you are not serving anything else. Otherwise it is 1/4 cup of rice per person.

For two servings you will need the following:

1) Half of a whole chicken–literally cut in half and leave the skin on. Or you can use a whole Cornish hen.
2) One cup of rice, washed
3) 2 dried lemons (available at the Middle Eastern stores)
4) one whole green hot pepper–you can slice it through the middle
5) 2 tsp of ground cumin
6) 2 tsp of ground coriander
7) salt to taste
8) 1/2 tsp of black pepper
9) 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
10) a couple of pepper corns
11) a cinnamon stick
12) a couple of cardamon pods
13) 1/2 tsp of tumeric
14) 4 tblsp of Olive Oil
15) a medium onion finely chopped

Marinate the chicken–it turns out better if you do it the day before–but you can also marinate it on the same day. Use half of the oilive oil, cumin, coriander, black pepper, and cinnamon powder. All of the tumeric. Add salt. Cover every nook and cranny of the chicken with this mixture.

Place a pot on medium heat, and add half of the oil, onions and half of the cumin and enough salt for the rice. When the onions starts to turn a golden brown add the green hot pepper, dried lemons, rice, half of the coriander, black pepper, cinnamon powder, cardoamon,cinnamon stick, and pepper corns. Mix well and let the spice mix with the rice by stirring for about 2 minutes.

Add hot water (2 cups) to the rice. Take a piece of foil and fold once and cover the mouth of the pot tightly. With a fork pierce the foil randomly. Place the spiced chicken on the pierced foil. Then take another piece of foil and cover the chicken. Make sure you cover it well so no steam escapes. Leave on very very very low heat–one you can hardly see– for about 45 min-1 hr.

After half an hour take the foil off and place the chicken under the broiler to brown, and finish cooking if it hasn’t already.

To serve, place the rice on a platter and arrange the chicken on top. Serve hot. Goes well with a green salad.

More pics of the dish:

Posted in Chicken, Rice, Yemeni Dishes | 5 Comments »

Aseeda (Yafe’iyah) with Maraq [soup]–called “Luqmah” [ عصيد يافعي — لقمة]

April 4, 2011 by lamyaalmas

I waited long to meet my college mate from Yemen, who is currently married and living in Buffalo/New York to show me how to make this Aseeda. With Aseeda, it is best to see it made in front of you–but I to be able to help you make it with this entry. This is a very rich Aseeda, and can be eaten with honey or the soup [maraq] that it usually comes with. So, choose either or. Plus there is an ingredient that you have to get from Yemen–but you can choose to leave it out if it’s not available on hand. The concentrated tamarind–that by the way is optional but an absolute necessity for us from the southern part of Yemen–will give the soup [maraq] the dark color.

You will need:

1) 2 tblsp of burned onion–this is the ingredient that we usually get in Yemen. But I think if you absolutely want it, then you can fry some onions, until they are dark, and then wait for them to cool and then grind them.

2) 1 whole chicken–cut into four parts.

3) 4 cloves–whole

4) 2 tblsp of oil–I use Olive Oil.

Place all of these in a pot and let cook under medium heat, for about 5-6 minutes. Then add:

5) 2 whole cardimon

6) 1 onion –finely chopped.

7) 1 small tomato–finely chopped.

8 ) 2 cups of water

9) 1/2 tsp of black pepper

10) 1/8 of tsp of cream of tartar

11) 1 tsp of concentrated tamarind–this is optional

12) salt to taste

Let boil until it all comes together, and the oil moves up to the surface. Turn off and leave aside. Now it is time to make the Aseeda. First combine equal parts of three flours–if you have any left you can place in a container and store for future use:

1) 2 cups white flour

2) 2 cups finely ground corn flour

3) 2 cups of Juwar flour

Combine all three–the amount really depends on how much aseeda you are making. It it very filling, so don’t be fooled by how little it is, because usually a little goes a long way. In a pot–medium sized pot add:

1) 2 cups of butter milk

2)1 cup of milk

3) salt to taste–make sure the salt is enough because it is what will salt the flour that you will be adding to this as we go along.

Let boil. Once it starts bubbling–using a whisk first, and later on as it gets thicker either an aseeda paddle [you can buy this from Yemen] or a strong wooden paddle [by strong I mean it won’t break easily as you work the dough]–add fistfuls of the flour. Add one fistful at a time–waiting a couple of minutes as you add the next. Once it starts to thicken–like a very thick custard stop adding anymore. Let cook under medium heat, and keep on mixing with the paddle. It takes a long time, at least 1 hour and a half for it to cook, even more. So, keep on mixing–not continuously, but like every 10 minutes–and you will see the mixture pull away from the pot and thicken. When it is finally a soft and silky dough that pops out of the pot onto a plate, then it is ready to go.

To serve, place on a plate and make a hole in the middle and fill with the maraq [soup] we made earlier. Serve hot. Enjoy.

Posted in Appetizers, Chicken, Yemeni Dishes | 10 Comments »

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