Mutton Yakhni Pulao

Mutton yakhni pulao is a classic meat and rice comfort dish. It is flavorful, delicately spiced and pretty easy to make. 

Yakhni pulao is made with long grain basmati rice cooked in a delicately spiced meat bone- broth. In this post, I am sharing awadhi yakhni pulao recipe which belongs to Lucknawi (oudh) cuisine and for this reason it is also known as awadhi pulao. 

Pulao or rice pilaf are pure comfort food. Be it egg pulao or vegetarian pulao like mushroom pulao or soya pulao, these rice dishes consistently excel in delivering both wholesome nourishment and delightful flavors.

This particular yakhni pulao recipe holds a special place in my family's culinary traditions. During the winter season, yakhni was made on a regular basis. I remember mom would ladle it into teacups and give us to drink on a cold winter evenings.

This pulao recipe is a perfect choice when it comes to feeding large families or entertaining guests. The delightful thing about it is that it tastes even better the next day, allowing you to prepare the pulao a day in advance for your upcoming party.

What Yakhni Means

Yakhni = Stock or Broth. In the indian subcontinent, yakhni refers to dishes with lot of liquid- either a light curry or soup. It is made by slow boiling mutton, goat meat, lamb meat or chicken together with spices, herbs and alliums like onions & garlic.

In Kashmiri yakhni, yogurt and saffron is added giving this dish a unique flavor. Once the yakhni is ready, it is either served as shorba (soups) or used to make pulao (rice dishes). 

South asian stocks have amazing depth of flavor due to use of spices. The key is slow boiling the fresh meat. I dont pressure cook the meat, I let it simmer for couple of hours or more depending on the quantity.

Slowly the meat renders its fat and flavor (juices) into the water. This delicious liquid (yakhni) is warming and perfect for sipping on its own. Due to collagen of bones, it is extremely nourishing. 

Delicately spiced and fragrant, yakhni has robust flavors. No powdered spices are used when making it. All the flavor comes from whole spices, dried chilies, ginger and garlic.

You can also use this recipe for making just the yakhni if you wish. 

Why is it Called Yakhni Pulao

Pulao = Rice Dish. Instead of water, we use yakhni for cooking the rice and meat togther. Yakhni is believed to have roots in the middle east and it slowly made its way along the silk route to Asia. It is a signature dish of chefs & home cooks across north india and is served on special occasions.

The aromatic spices used for making Yakhni set the base of flavor of the pulao. In my family recipe, yakhni has a woody fragrant from black cardamom, cumin and cloves.

All over india, different regions have their own recipes with slight variations. For example,hey use short grain gobindbhog rice in bengali cuisine instead of basmati rice. The kashmiri version of yakhni pulao has a licorice flavor from use of fennel seeds. Perfect yakhni pulao has tender pieces of mutton

What is Difference between Biryani, Yakhni Pulao & Regular Pulao

Biryani is a layered meat or chicken and rice dish.Biryani is labor intensive. Firstly, meat or chicken is cooked in a rich masala and the rice is par boiled separately. Then, the rice and meat are layered in a large vessel (deg or handi) along with fried onions (birista), herbs like mint, lemon slices, dried plums, saffron,etc. Then everything cooks together via a technique called dumpukht (or cooking in own juices). 

In Pulao dishes, unlike biryani, rice and meat cook together without layering. Secondly, there is no dum cooking. Usually a thick masala base is prepared with onions, garlic, spice powders together with meat or chicken or vegetables. Then soaked rice and water are added and the pulao cooks together till rice has absorbed the water and the rice grains are fluffy.

Yakhni pulao differs from a regular pulao in the sense that instead of adding water to cook the rice, we cook the rice in stock of meat or chicken. Also, powdered spices are not used when making yakhni pulao. 

Ingredients (Notes)

• Bone in Mutton, Goat, Lamb Or Chicken. For a delicious yakhni, we need bone in meat. Most of the flavor of yakhni comes from bones because we dont go heavy handed on spices. If you are using chicken - use bone in dark meat pieces or whole chicken up. For bone in lamb, make sure that the meat is from shoulder or leg portions. 
• Whole Spices - Cumin Seeds, Coriander Seeds, Cloves, Black Peppercorns, bay leaves, black cardamom pods, cinnamon Sticks, Nutmeg. 
• Fresh Ginger & Garlic
• Onions
• Long Grain Basmati Rice. Any good quality basmati rice will do. If you can find long grain basmati rice, go for it. I usually use Royal brand basmati rice available in Walmart as well as Costco. If you are purchasing from indian stores, you may choose brands like Laxmi Foods, Tilda, Dawaat or India Gate Basmati ric. 
• Oil. Or you can use Ghee. However, keep in mind that yakhni is quite rich in itself due to fat of the meat, ghee will make the pulao quite heavy. 

How To Make Yakhni Pulao(Step Photos)

The process of making Yakhni Pulao involves two main steps. 

Step 1:- Make The Yakhni

1. Start by gathering the whole spices. Roughly chop the onions. Peel the garlic cloves and roughly chop the ginger. If you wish, you can tie everything in a cheesecloth or clean muslin cloth (bouquet garni). This is not necessary, my mom never did and neither do I. Once we strain the yakhni, it takes barely 1 minute to separate the meat pieces. 
2. Add the meat, spices, onion, garlic and ginger to a large pot (I use my dutch oven). Cover with water. Add salt. Set the pot on stove and bring it to a rolling boil. Reduce the heat to low (not very low), cover and let the the meat simmer for 1.5 to 2 hours. This time will depend on how big or small your meat pieces are. Make sure that the meat is tender at the end of simmering but not falling apart. Note :- You can do this in an instant pot or pressure cooker but slow cooked yakhni is something else 🙂 For reference, both for pressure cooker and IP high pressure cook for 12-15 minutes. 
3. Place a soup strainer over a large bowl. After 10 minutes or so, open the pot/cooker and strain the yakhni. Don't mash the ginger, onion or garlic or spices, it will make the yakhni cloudy. Using tongs or spoons, pick up the meat pieces on to a plate and immediately cover the meat with cling film or a plate, this makes sure that the meat doesn't dry out. 
4. Measure the yakhni. Make sure that it is enough to cook the rice. The variety of rice I use needs double amount of liquid to cook. If yakhni is less, top it with water. 

Step:-2 Cook The Rice in Yakhni

5. You can use the same pot or dutch oven to make the pulao. Return it to stove and add the oil. 
6. Once the oil is hot, add the onions. Fry onions for 8-10 minutes till they are nicely browned (but too dark). The color of your rice/pulao will depend on the color of the onions. Dont rush this process.  
7. Then, add the meat pieces to the caramelized onions, red chilli powder and stir along with onions for 2-3 minutes. You will see that the meat will start browning from edges. 
8. Then, add the rice and the yakhni. Add a tablespoon ghee (if you wish). Mix and then taste the salt.It should taste sharp salty right now, this will make sure that the pulao will come out well seasoned. 
9. Cover the pot and let boil. Once bubbling, lower the heat and let cook for 20-25 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed and the rice is soft. Switch off the stove and let the pot sit undisturbed for at least 10-12 minutes. 
10. Fluff the rice gently, I like to use a small plate and start fluffing from the side of the pot. Garnish with cilantro, fried onions, ginger julienne etc and serve. 

Useful Tips

• Give it Time - A delicious yakhni needs time for flavors to develop. Don't rush the process. 
• Bone In Meat- Use bone in meat or chicken for making yakhni. I use lamb shoulder, goat leg or chicken dark meat portions- bone in things or drumsticks. Remove the skin from chicken before using. 
• Avoid Fatty Meat- Use trimmed meat for making yakhni. We want to make a yakhni that is rich, however we dont want fat floating on top. See the photo above of yakhni for reference. 
• Dont cook in Advance- Dont make the yakhni a day before, the taste is not the same. However, you can make it a few hours (4-6 hours) ahead. If you are making ahead, always strain it and store the yakhni and meat pieces separately. 
• Basmati Rice- Use good quality basmati rice. These days brown basmati rice is also available in stores but any kind of brown rice is not suitable for making this recipe so please avoid. 
• Use Whole Spices - Make sure you use at least 5 kinds of whole spices and skip any you do not have in your cabinet, the yakhni will taste good, I promise. 
• Caramelize Onions - Brown the onions slowly. The color and caramelization of onions contributes a lot to the taste of pulao. 
• If you are making the yakhni for serving as soup, reduce the quantity of chilies. Do check out this recipe of chicken shorba if you love desi style clear soups. 
• Taste the yakhni before adding it to rice. It should taste sharp and salty, this will make sure that the pulao will have good seasoning. 

More Pulao Recipes

FAQ

What to Serve With Yakhni Pulao?

Serve it with dahi chicken or chicken curry. I like it with raita (yogurt) and nimbu pyaz (sliced onions mixed with lemon juice & salt)

How do I make sure that the rice comes out fluffy in Yakhni pulao?

Please keep these few things in mind. 1) Don't use un soaked rice. Soak it for at least 15 -20 minutes. 2) Don't skimp on oil when cooking pulao else the rice will be sticky. 3) Once the rice has finished cooking, let it rest for 10-12 minutes before fluffing. Fluff using a fat wide rice spatula or a small plate from side.