Rice and meat buried and slow-cooked underground, a distinct Bedouin method related to but not identical with mandi. Most associated with northern and Bedouin practice, often served with its own clear soup.
Madfoon is a Bedouin method of the Saudi north, related to but not identical with mandi. Rice and meat are buried and slow-cooked underground in a sealed pit, the meat often suspended above the rice so its juices drip down. The defining difference from mandi is that madfoon uses a fully buried pit (not just a covered one), giving a deeper, smokier result. It is most associated with the northern and Bedouin practice and the Gulf, and is often served with its own clear soup (marga) on the side.
Deeply smoky, tender meat over rice that has drunk in every drip of juice, the grains dark and savoury, a clear, intense soup on the side. Eaten from a shared platter, it is smoky, rich and the buried treasure of Bedouin cooking.
A pit is dug, lined with hot coals, and the meat (lamb or chicken) is lowered in on a rack or suspended, with the rice below in a pot to catch the drippings. The pit is sealed completely with clay or a lid and earth, and the dish cooks in the trapped heat and smoke for hours. The fully buried pit (the defining difference from mandi) gives a deeper, more even smoke. The rice absorbs the meat's juices as they drip, giving it a dark, intense flavour.
Variations
A chicken version is common for everyday. Some add whole heads of garlic to the lamb.
On the Palate
Where Madfoon Saudi sits in the Saudi flavor cloud
Ingredients
Serves 10How it's made
6 steps · 40 min
- 18 min
Marinate 2kg lamb with 2 tbsp mixed spices (cumin, coriander, cardamom, black pepper), salt and 4 cloves crushed garlic; rest 4 hours.
- 220 min
Prepare an underground pit with hot coals at the bottom; place a rack above them.
- 310 min
Place a pot of 600g soaked basmati rice and 800ml water on the coals; suspend the lamb above the rice on the rack.
Watch outSet the rice pot right under the suspended lamb so it catches every drip — the rice takes on a dark, intense flavor from the meat juices falling into it as it cooks.
- 45 min
Seal the pit completely with clay or a tight lid and earth.
Watch outSeal the pit completely with clay or a tight lid and earth — the fully buried, airtight cook is what traps the smoke and heat for that deep, even flavor; any leak and it won't cook through.
- 560 min
Cook in the sealed pit 3-4 hours until the lamb is smoky and falling apart and the rice has absorbed the drippings.
- 68 min
Open; rest 15 minutes; serve the lamb on the rice, with the clear broth (marga) on the side.
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