Pakistani Punjabi Karachi Style Yakhni Pulao Chicken Stock Pila Recipes

PAKISTANI PUNJABI/KARACHI STYLE YAKHNI PULAO (CHICKEN STOCK PILA

Steps:

• Mix all ingredients for yakhni. Bring them to a boil & let them boil on medium high heat for 20 minutes or till the chicken gets tender. Strain the yakhni only leaving the chicken in it.
• In a pan heat oil. Add sliced onions & fry the onions till they turn golden brown. Take 1/4 out of it & keep aside.
• Now add cumin seeds (zeera), ginger garlic paste, tomatoes, salt, red chilly powder & coriander powder to the remaining fried onions & stir fry for 3 minutes.
• Next add yogurt, garam masala and green cardamom (choti elaichi). Cook on medium high heat till the tomatoes get tender.
• Add anise seed (saunf) & chicken pieces to the masala & let it simmer for another 2 minutes.
• Finally pour the masala in the yakhni, already back in the cooking pot. Add rice & cook it uncovered on high heat for 5 minutes or till the water dries up.
• Sprinkle the fried onions & mint leaves. Close the pot by tightly covering the pot with foil just where the lid goes making sure no steam passes out. Cook on low heat for 15 minutes or till the rice is done.
• Enjoy with chutney or cucember raita.

CHICKEN PULAO

Steps:

• Rinse the rice several times to help remove the starch. When the water starts to run clear, fill the container with cold water and 2 tsp salt until it is 2 inches about the level of the rice in the container. Set aside to soak.
• Remove the skin and extra fat from the chicken thighs and set the thighs aside. In a dutch oven, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Fry the skin and fat until the skin is crispy (about 5-8 minutes), turning several times. Place on paper towel to cool off. Set aside.
• In the same dutch oven on high heat, brown half of the chicken thighs until they are golden brown (6 minutes), turning once. Remove to paper towels to drain. Fry the other half of the chicken thighs. Remove to paper towel to drain.
• Lower heat to medium heat and stir fry the onions until they are opaque. Return all of the chicken to the dutch oven and add the tomatoes, parsnips and carrots. Cook until the tomatoes start breaking down (about 6 minutes).
• Stir in 3 cups water and 1 1/2 tsp salt, raise the heat to medium high heat and bring to a boil. Lower the heat to maintain a simmer and cook, partially covered, for 5 minutes.
• Drain the rice and add to the dutch oven. Bring to a boil, cover tightly and then lower heat to medium and cook for 10 minutes. Lower again to simmer and cook for 30 minutes. At this point the chicken and the rice should be done. Check to see if the rice is and if it is not, take the cover off and allow to simmer for 5 minutes more.
• Set the dutch oven aside covered while you take the yogurt and pour it onto a cheesecloth lined colander. Allow the yogurt to drain for 10 minutes. Once it has drained, pour into a mixing bowl. Mix in remaining yogurt sauce ingredients and serve alongside pulao.
• Remove chicken thighs from rice. Pile rice on a serving platter, top with chicken thighs and fried chicken skin pieces.

MUTTON YAKHNI PULAO

Steps:

• Gently wash and soak the rice in water. Set aside.
• Cook the mutton with the red chilli, ginger, fennel seeds, black and green cardamoms, coriander seeds and salt in a pressure cooker, adding eight cups of water. Cook till tender, about 20 minutes.
• Remove all the spices and strain the stock.
• The stock should measure six (6) cups. Add water if the stock is not sufficient. Set aside.
• Keep the mutton pieces separately.
• In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat the oil, and add the bay leaf and cinnamon and sliced onions and fry till onions are light brown.
• Add the mutton and fry for a few minutes.
• Add the stock.
• Stir in the rice gently, ensuring that it does not break.
• Cover and bring the stock to a boil over high heat, then simmer till the rice gets cooked.

YAKHNI PULAO

Steps:

• Gently wash and soak the rice in water. Set aside.
• Cook the mutton with the red chilli, ginger, fennel seeds, black and green cardamoms, coriander seeds and salt in a pressure cooker, adding eight cups of water. Cook till tender, about 20 minutes.
• Remove all the spices and strain the stock.
• The stock should measure five cups. Add water if the stock is not sufficient. Set aside.
• Keep the mutton pieces separately.
• In a heavy bottomed vessel, heat the ghee (or oil), and add the bay leaf and cinnamon.
• Add half the sliced onions and fry till light brown.
• Add the mutton and the beaten yogurt and fry for a few minutes.
• Stir in the rice gently, ensuring that it does not break. Add the stock and cook the rice.
• Cover and bring the stock to a boil over high heat, then simmer till the rice gets cooked.
• Heat a little oil in a pan and fry the remaining onions till brown.
• Sprinkle the fried onions over rice just before serving.

CHICKEN YAKHNI PULAO

Steps:

• Wash the rice in several changes of cold running water until the water runs clear, then place in a bowl and soak for 30 minutes in more fresh cold water with 1⁄2 teaspoon salt.
• In a frying pan (skillet), heat the oil over a medium-high heat. Add the sliced onions to the pan and fry gently, stirring occasionally, until golden brown and caramelized. Using a slotted spoon, remove the onions from the oil, leaving as much of the oil in the pan as possible to cook the chicken, and place on a plate to drain. Spread the onions across the plate so they crisp as they cool.
• Keeping the heat on medium-high, add the chicken to the pan and sear it on all sides. Return half the caramelized onions to the pan.
• To make the spice bag, place the spices in a piece of cheesecloth or muslin and knot the corners securely together so the bag does not open during cooking process.
• Add the spice bag to the pan. Pour over enough cold water to cover the chicken and add 2 1⁄4 tsp salt. Bring the water to the boil, then lower the heat, cover with a lid and leave to cook for 20 minutes. After 10 minutes, check the chicken to make sure it is not falling apart.
• Once the chicken is cooked, using a slotted spoon, carefully remove the chicken from the pan and place on a plate, trying to keep the meat on the bone.
• For the yakhni, you will need approximately twice the volume of stock to rice (so 4 cups of stock to 2 cups of rice). If you have more than 4 cups, reduce the stock. If you have less than 4 cups, add some water.
• Return the 4 cups of stock to the pan. Drain the rice and add to the pan, together with the chicken and green chiles, if using. Place the pan over a medium-high heat. Leaving the spice bag in the pan, bring the stock to the boil. Once boiling, lower the heat, cover with a lid, and leave to simmer. Check the pan often to see if the stock has been absorbed, but that the rice still retains some bite.
• At this point, remove the rice pan from the direct heat and reduce the heat to low. Place the rice pan on a tawa (flat iron griddle pan), or the closest thing you have to a tawa-an iron plate or a flat pan-to diffuse the heat. Leave the rice pan on the tawa over a low heat for 10 minutes. Alternatively, place the rice pan in a preheated low oven for 10 minutes.
• Once the pan has been removed from the heat source, cover the top of the pan with a dish towel and leave it undisturbed for 10 minutes.
• Check the rice-there should be no liquid at the edges of the pan-and gently run a fork through to lift and separate the grains. To serve, garnish with the remaining caramelized onions and sprigs of mint.