Mutton Yakhni Pulao -Iftar Special. Eid is around the corner and I believe, all are really very excited about it. Eid is a festival of love and glory. The most special part about Eid is its delicacies.
Yakhni Pulao or Lucknowi mutton pulao is significantly a traditional pulao recipe preparation of long grain basmati rice cooked aromatic spiced mutton stock, meat, and saffron.
Yakhni is supposedly the stock of the meat with few aromatic spices. The meat i.e. the Chicken or the Mutton or the Lamb, is boiled with the ingredients in a potli. The potli , (a muslin cloth is used to wrap all spices) in which we wrap with the aromatic spices are put into a pressure cooker along with the meat. Boil everything together until meat cooks to the right texture.
Remember to cook the meat pieces just right and do not overcook it. The soupy texture that we get after the meat cooks is called as Yakhni. And you can add this yakhni either in a pulao or a korma/Shorba. Rice is then cooked along with some spices and yakhni stock, hence the Yakhni Pulao
Mutton Yakhni Pulao -Iftar Special. Serve this mutton pulao (Gosht Yakhni Pulao) with raita on the side. Here is how to make best mutton yakhni pulao recipe at home:
Key Ingredients
To make yakhni (Bouquet Garni /Potli):
- 2 onions medium size, quartered
- ¾ tablespoon fennel seeds
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 16-18 cloves garlic
- 2 inch ginger piece, sliced or crushed
- 2 star anise
- 8-10 cardamom
- 10– 12 cloves
- 2 flower of mace javitri
- 3 inch cinnamon sticks (3 sticks of 1 inch each)
- 2 tablespoon coriander seeds
- 7 cups water
For Mutton yakhni pulao:
- 1 kg mutton on bone
- 4cups(900 grams ) good quality long grain basmati rice
- 61/2 cups yakhni stock
- 7 green chilies slit
- 1 cup yogurt/curd
- 2-3 bay leaves
- 3 onions large size, finely sliced
- ¼ cup golden fried onion
- Fried raisins & cashewnuts 10 to 15 each
- 1 lemon juice
- 2 drops of kewra essence
- a pinch of saffron soaked in ¼ cup milk
- 1 teaspoon garam masala powder
- ghee or oil
- Salt to taste
Directions
- First & foremost, clean and soak the long grain basmati rice for at least 30 minutes.
- Also, soak a pinch of saffron in 1/4 cup of milk.
To make yakhni (mutton stock):
- Take a clean muslin cloth, add cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and all the other ingredients listed above to make potli.
- Now, tie it well with the string to secure all the whole spices into it to form a potli .
- Then, put the potli in a pressure cooker along with the cleaned and washed mutton and 7 cups of water. Add some salt, put it on the heat and bring it to a boil.
- Once the it starts boiling, pressure cook until the mutton is just done. Do not over – cook it.
- Once the mutton is done, allow it to release the pressure to its own.
- Gently, separate the mutton pieces and the mutton stock.
- Also, squeeze the potli very well in to the stock to extract all the flavours of spices. Discard the potli.
To make yakhni pulao
- Heat ghee in pan.
- Once the ghee is hot, add bay leaves and fry for few seconds. Add sliced onions and fry until they start picking up golden color.
- Add green chilies slit and fry for another few seconds.
- Then, add boiled mutton and gently sauté it on high heat for 2-3 minutes.
- Add salt and whisked yoghurt and mix. Cook for a minute.
- Now, drain the water from the rice. Add rice and mix gently.
- Then add, the yakhni (mutton stock) counting to the exact 6 ½ cups.
- If the Yakhni is less in amount then add some water along with yakhni but it should be 6 &1/2 cups in total. For the reason that we are adding a cup of curd, it will also add the liquid to pulao, so we are adding 6& 1/2 cups of yakhni stock only.
- Lastly, add garam masala powder, kewra essence/water and mix, bring it to a boil.
To dum yakhni pulao:
- Allow it to cook on high heat until 90% water dries up.
- Now, pour the saffron soaked milk over the rice. Cover the pot with foil/lid (seal off edges with dough) and put it on dum for 15 minutes.
- To make dum, heat a pan for 5 to 10 min on medium flame & place the pot on the pan.
- The delicious Lucknowi mutton yakhani pulao is ready, garnish it with golden fried onions, raisins & cashews.
- Serve with raita, yogurt or salad of your choice.
