Mutton Yakhni Pulao By Aparna Bose
Mutton Yakhni Pulao is a flavourful amalgamation of mutton and rice, cooked to seal the aroma and taste of the exotic spices that lend the beautiful seasoning.
Aparna Bose is a home cook and also the Proprietor of Gograshe – a food catering organization.
INGREDIENTS
- Mutton (curry cut) =10 pcs
- Basmati = 1 cup
- Onion =4 medium
- Ginger = 1 inch
- Garlic = 10 cloves
- Cardamom = 5
- Cloves = 5
- Bayleaf =4
- Cinnamon = 2 sticks
- Black pepper corn =4
- Nutmeg (Jaiphal) = 1 pinch (grated)
- Mace (Javitri) powder = 1 pinch
- Sugar = half tspn
- Saffron = a generous pinch
- Warm water or milk = 1/4th cup (to soak the saffron)
- Ghee = generous amount
- Mustard oil = as required
- Fennel seeds = 2 tspn full
- Yogurt = 1 tbspn
- Salt = as per taste
METHOD
1.Marinate the mutton with two onions, ginger, garlic, crushed roughly. Also add the whole spices ( except bay leaf, jaiphal and javitri, and just one tspn of fennel seeds at this stage) and little salt and sugar. Marinate overnight or for 4 hours at least.
2. Wash and soak the rice for 30 minutes, then drain properly. Spread it in a thin layer evenly till.the rice dries up. Add little sugar and ghee and let it rest.
3. Add the marinated meat to about three cups of water and one table spoon of ghee in a pressure cooker and cook on a high flame till two whistles then lower the heat and let it cook for about 8 minutes.
4. Once done, cool and strain the broth/ yakhni. Slot out the meat from the spices. Further slot out the onion-ginger-garlic and the whole spices.
5. Make the onion-ginger-garlic paste and the garam masala paste with the cooked masalas.
6. In a pan , take about two tblspn ghee/ clarified butter, slide in the mutton pieces, yogurt and the onion-ginger-garlic paste . Now mix nicely and stir fry on a high flame for one minute. Add salt, cover and slow cook. Keep turning the meat and stirring the masala but very carefully as the meat is already tender by now.
7. While the meat is getting ready, measure two cups of yakhni, that is exactly double the quantity of rice taken here, pour it into the wok or handi that you are using for the recipe. Let it come to a boil and lower the heat. Add the bayleaves, rice, salt, sugar, and cover.
8. After 5 minutes, slide in the mutton which has almost dried up but don’t mix at this stage. Cover cook for another 5 minutes.
9. Now give it a gentle stir, add about one tspn full garam masala paste or more of you want and copious amount of ghee. Add the water or milk with the saffron strands. Cover with a lid heavy enough to trap the steam and let it cook.
10. In a separate pan, deep bottomed preferably. Smoke mustard oil, and make beresta with the remaining fennel seeds and two onions (sliced finely). Adding beresta is completely optional. I added the fried onions, and chopped coriander leaves because my son loves them. You can skip this step if you wish.
11. I did not check the time required for this recipe while cooking, so please, keep in mind that basmati which has been soaked and rinsed will cook very fast. Keep checking and be very attentive. Once the grains are done, sprinkle the beresta, little bit ghee and chopped coriander and cover the handi .
12. Give it a standing time of 10 minutes then take it out in a serving bowl. Done and ready to serve.