Name: Mutton Yakhni Pulao
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 1 h 30 min
Total time: 1 h 55 min
Cuisine: Pakistani & North Indian
Ingredients: 1 kg mutton, on the bone; 1.5 litres water; 1 onion, quartered; 1 tbsp ginger–garlic paste; Spice bag: 2 tbsp coriander seeds, 1 tbsp cumin, 8 peppercorns, 5 cloves, 5 cardamom, 1 cinnamon, 1 bay leaf, 1 black cardamom; Salt to taste; 500 g (2½ cups) basmati rice, soaked 30 min; 3 onions, sliced; 150 ml (¾ cup) oil or ghee; 1 tbsp ginger–garlic paste; 3 green chillies; 1 tsp cumin seeds

Mutton yakhni pulao with tender lamb and fragrant rice — Photo: 赤猫法師 · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mutton yakhni pulao is a celebrated dish for family gatherings and religious occasions. Lamb or goat is simmered into a deeply savoury spiced stock, which then cooks the rice to fragrant perfection. Less spicy than biryani but every bit as satisfying, it lets the quality of the meat and rice shine.

Servings: 5
Prep: 25 minutes
Cook: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total: 1 hour 55 minutes
Difficulty: Intermediate
Rice: Aged long-grain basmati

Method

Tick a step to mark it done.

Step 1: Simmer (or pressure-cook) the mutton with the water, onion, ginger–garlic paste and spice bag until very tender, about 1 hour on the stove or 25 minutes in a pressure cooker. Strain and reserve the yakhni; keep the meat. Aim for about 1 litre of stock.
Step 2: Fry the sliced onions golden in the oil; reserve a little for garnish.
Step 3: Add cumin, ginger–garlic paste, chillies and the cooked mutton; fry for 5 minutes.
Step 4: Add the drained rice and stir gently. Pour in the measured yakhni (about 1:1.5 rice to liquid). Check salt.
Step 5: Boil, then cover and cook on low until absorbed and fluffy, 15 minutes.
Step 6: Rest 5–10 minutes and fluff gently.