Goat Mandi with aromatic basmati rice

Mandi is a traditional celebration dish from hadhramout, Yemen. It is traditionally prepared and cooked in a pit underground with a big pot of spiced rice and the meat suspended, so all the drippings fall into the rice to add the rich flavour. No other technique beats the taste, the juiciness and the tenderness of any meat prepared this way, but the beauty of cooking is that we can alter any recipe to make it work for our style of living.

The dish is super easy to execute, and spices used may vary but here in my recipe I have used tender young local goat, and I really want nothing to mask the flavour of the meat. As Speed is an essential element in many of my recipes, I have opted to cook the goat meat in the pressure cooker to cut down on time, but also cooking it in this method helps the meat fall off the bone yet retaining all its moisture.

This recipe can be prepared with any meat in the oven as well, but this is the fastest way from pot to table. This recipe is high in carbohydrates, so I do recommend preparing some fresh saute, steamed or grilled vegetables on the side or a big salad to create a balanced meal.

My mother loves Mandi, and this recipe is dedicated to her.

Servings: 5

Preparation Time: 10 minutes

Start to finish: 1 hour

Ingredients:

1 1/2 kilograms goat ( shoulder and rib cut)

1 egg

1 teaspoon saffron threads

salt

black pepper

1 recipe aromatic basmati rice

Method:

· Ask the butcher to cut the goat meat on the bone into chunks.

· Whisk the egg with the salt, pepper and saffron threads and coat the meat with this sauce.

· Cover and place in the fridge for a few hours.

· You would need a pressure cooker big enough to accommodate a small pot of rice and the steaming basket.

· Prepare the rice ingredients in a small pot as in my recipe for aromatic basmati rice and add enough water to cover the surface by 1 cm.

· Put 3 Cm level amount of water in the base of the pressure cooker and have a stand at the bottom that will hold the rice pot just above the water level.

· Place the steaming basket on the rice and arrange the meat in it.

· The juice from the meat will drip into the rice pot creating a fantastic flavour.

· Cover and set the timer for 40 to 50 minutes (time depends on the size of the chunks and the quality and age of the goat) you may need more time.

· Once time has elapsed open and fluff up the rice and spoon on the serving platter, then arrange the meat chunks on top of the rice and finish with toasted pine nuts if desired.

· Serve with Omani salsa or Indian style yogurt

Notes:

· You can follow the same recipe steps by placing it in the oven wrapped in foil. Also, you can use chicken by leaving it uncovered.

· Any meat can be substituted.

· I recommend using saffron or turmeric and advise against using any colourants.

· I have used white basmati rice, but you are free to use any variety even brown rice.

Per Serving excluding the rice: 342 Calories; 8g Fat (22.0% calories from fat); 63g Protein; trace Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 213mg Cholesterol; 260mg Sodium.