Chicken Mandi

Name: Chicken Mandi
Prep time: 15 min
Cook time: 27 min
Total time: 42 min
Yield: 4 servings
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 1 Chicken; 2 cups Basmati Rice; 4 cups Water; 1 large Onion; 4 cloves Garlic; 2 Green Chilli; 1 ½ tsp Salt; 3 tablespoons Oil; 1 tablespoon Turmeric Powder; 1 teaspoon Coriander; ½ tbsp Cardamom; ¼ teaspoon Cloves; 1/2 tsp Cinnamon; 1 tsp Pepper; 2 Bay Leaf

By The Spice & Simmer Kitchen · Published May 3, 2026

A one-pot Chicken recipe with India flavors, built for busy weeknights when you want real food without a sink full of dishes. Comes together in roughly 69 minutes, serves about 4, and uses ingredients you can find at any normal grocery store. The technique is simple: build a base in your pot, layer in the main ingredients, simmer until everything has had time to talk to each other, and serve straight from the pan. If you're cooking for picky eaters, this one tends to land — the flavors are recognizable, the texture is comforting, and there's nothing weird hiding in the ingredient list. Perfect for the kind of evening where you want dinner on the table by 7pm and the kitchen empty by 7:30.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings · 42 min total

1 Chicken
2 cups Basmati Rice
4 cups Water
1 large Onion
4 cloves Garlic
2 Green Chilli
1 ½ tsp Salt
3 tablespoons Oil
1 tablespoon Turmeric Powder
1 teaspoon Coriander
½ tbsp Cardamom
¼ teaspoon Cloves
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp Pepper
2 Bay Leaf

Step-by-step instructions

Clean and cut the chicken; marinate briefly with salt, turmeric and a little oil.
Rinse and soak basmati rice 20–30 minutes.
In a large pot, heat ghee/oil. Fry chopped onion until golden. Add minced garlic and green chillies and fry 1–2 min.
Add whole spices (cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, bay leaves) and ground spices (coriander, cumin). Stir until fragrant.
Add chicken pieces, brown lightly and add enough water/chicken stock to cover. Simmer until chicken is nearly cooked.
Remove chicken; measure remaining liquid and add soaked rice. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat, cover and cook rice until almost done.
Return the chicken to the rice pot on top, cover tightly and steam on low for 10–15 min so flavors meld.
(Optional) For authentic smoky aroma: heat a small charcoal until red hot, place it on a small foil cup in the centre of the pot, add a tsp of butter/oil on the coal then cover immediately to trap smoke for 5–10 minutes. Remove coal.
Garnish with fried onions, chopped coriander and serve with chutney or raita.

Why this works on a weeknight

Chicken Mandi lands at about 42 minutes total — a little longer than our 30-minute target, but most of that time is hands-off simmering, which is why it earned a spot in our Skillet & One-Pan collection. The technique is forgiving, the ingredient list is grocery-store standard, and the active cooking time is short enough that you can answer a text message in the middle without ruining dinner.

Cleanup notes

This is a single-pan recipe, so the cleanup is exactly one pan, one cutting board, and one knife. While the dish rests, fill the pan with hot soapy water — by the time you are done eating, the residue lifts off with a single pass of a sponge. Skip the steel wool on cast iron; a stiff brush and warm water are all you need to keep the seasoning intact.

Make-ahead and leftovers

Leftovers keep covered in the fridge for up to three days. Reheat in a dry pan over medium-low with a splash of water or stock to loosen the sauce. Chicken Mandi actually improves overnight as the flavors keep talking to each other, so doubling the recipe and packing tomorrow's lunch is a high-leverage weeknight move.

Filed under 🥘 Skillet & One-Pan Chicken India