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1
Roast the Chicken
50 Mins
Oven 200°C (400°F)
Set the chicken pieces skin-side up on a rack over a roasting pan, so the drippings fall into the pan below, and roast at 200°C (400°F) for 50 minutes, until the skin is crisp and deep golden and the meat is cooked through to 74°C (165°F) at the thickest part. Lift the chicken out and keep it warm; pour the drippings from the pan into a jug — you need them for the rice.
A rack is not optional: the chicken must roast above the pan so the fat drips away and the skin crisps instead of stewing.
Done when: The skin is crisp and mahogany-coloured, the juices run clear, and a thermometer reads at least 74°C (165°F).
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2
Cook the Rice in the Drippings
25 Mins
Low heat, ~95°C (200°F), then rest
Melt the ghee in a large pot, fry the onion for 4 minutes until soft, then add the tomato and grated carrot and cook for 3 minutes. Pour in the reserved drippings plus the 1.1 L of water and the rest of the salt, and bring to the boil. Drain the soaked rice, tip it in, stir once, and add the soaked saffron with its water. Cover tightly and cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes without lifting the lid, then rest off the heat, still covered, for 5 minutes.
The rice is cooked separately from the meat, in the meat's own drippings — that is the mandi method, and it is what keeps the rice pale, fluffy and fragrant instead of stewed.
Done when: The rice is tender and separate, pale gold from the saffron and carrot, with no liquid left at the bottom.
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3
Smoke the Dish with Charcoal
10 Mins
No heat — live charcoal, glowing red-hot
Fluff the rice with a fork, lay the roasted chicken pieces on top, and make a small well in the centre of the rice. Set a small heatproof metal bowl or a cup made of foil in the well, and place the red-hot piece of charcoal in it with tongs. Drizzle a teaspoon of ghee over the charcoal, and as soon as it billows smoke, clamp the lid on tight and leave it for 5 minutes. Then lift the lid and take the bowl and charcoal out.
Work fast once the ghee hits the charcoal — the smoke escapes in seconds, and a tight lid is what traps it in the rice and chicken.
Done when: The whole pot smells of wood smoke when the lid comes off, and the chicken skin has a faint smoky sheen.
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4
Serve on One Wide Platter
5 Mins
No heat
Spoon the smoked rice onto one wide platter, arrange the chicken pieces on top, and scatter over the toasted almonds, pine nuts and raisins. Serve at once, family-style, with small bowls of the hot stock or a light soup alongside.
Do not stir the chicken into the rice — mandi is served as a proud mound of rice with the roasted meat on top.
Done when: A pale golden mound of smoky rice with crisp, mahogany chicken on top, studded with nuts and raisins.
auto_awesome Finishing Touches & Plating
Serve the mandi on one wide platter, smoky roasted chicken on top of the pale golden rice, scattered with almonds, pine nuts and raisins, with soup and salata on the side.
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