Mutton Yakhni Pulao

I have always had the love for Pakistani cuisine ... My neighbor who is a close friend has started this love and craving for these dishes... I even have a board in my Pinterest which has a collection of Pakistani recipes. I had some mutton left over in my freezer after the quick mutton roast i prepared last week. So i wanted to try any of the Pakistani rice varieties and was going thru pinterest to find any and came across the Yakhni pulao which attracted me...

We love spicy food alot in my house but this Yakhni pulao is a very bland kind but very aromatic and flavor filled one... So i tweaked the recipe a bit to make it fit for our tastebuds...

Here is my tweaked version...

Ingredients:

2 cups Basmati rice, soaked for 1 hour

DRY MARINATION:

2 tsp Garam masala powder
2 tsp Ginger powder
500 gms mutton, (preferably meat with bone-in)
Salt for mutton

FOR THE MASALA BAG:

8 green cardamom
10 cloves
2 tbsp cumin
2 tbsp whole coriander seeds
1 large stick cinnamon
2 bay leaf
2 tsp black peppercorns
1 medium-sized onion, peeled
1" fresh ginger
6-8 cloves garlic
2 tbsp chilli powder (for spicy version)
4 cups water
Salt to taste

FOR FRYING

3-4 tbsp canola oil
6 Green chilli (for spicy version)
1 medium-sized onion sliced thin
15 - 20 whole cashewnuts

Method:

Preparation for the yakhni stock:

Marinate the meat with the dry marination for minimum 1 hour or overnight and keep in fridge.

Wrap the spices (cardamom , cloves, cumin, coriander seeds, cinnamon stick, bay leaf, black peppercorns, whole onion marked with an ‘X’ on top n bottom and ginger) in a muslin cloth and secure tightly and  place it in a large stockpot with the marinated meat, chilli powder, garlic cloves, salt and water.

Pressure cook for 4 - 5 whistles. Make sure the meat is tender (3/4 cooked) but not falling off the bone.

The garlic cloves will soften up as they cook, mash them into the stock with the back of a spatula.

Take the meat out of the stock and drain the stock thru a strainer, press hard on the muslin bag to strain out the juices. Set the meat aside.

You should have approximately 3 - 4 cups of stock. If not add enough water to make 3.5 cup stock for 2 cups rice.

Preparation for the pulao:

In a heavy-bottomed pan add oil and sliced onions. On medium heat, fry the onions till caramelized, when the onions start to brown add the green chillies, cashew nuts and fry.  The onions will darken considerably, don’t worry, this gives the pilaf it’s unique golden color.

Turn the heat to low. Add the stock, soaked rice and the reserved meat. Check for salt.

Cover pot with a tea cloth and place lid on top. Allow rice to cook for 20 minutes on very low heat.

Please don’t open the lid during the steaming process. Turn the heat off and allow the rice to settle and rest for 15-20 minutes before opening the lid.

Fluff the rice with a fork or spoon. Serve with plain yogurt or a raita.

I served with onion, coriander leaves and pomegranate raita.

Note:

* I had some bone broth in my hand so i added 2 cups of the broth instead of the water, you can even add mink which makes the Pulao more richer.

* Instead of the oil i used the fat collected from the bone broth which actually gave a great flavor to the pulao.

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