Chicken Yakhni Pulao

Yakhni is supposedly the stock of meat with few aromatic spices. The meat, i.e. the Chicken, the Mutton or the Lamb, is boiled with the ingredients. Chicken Yakhni Pulao is a recipe for the most fragrant, comforting and delicious chicken and rice dish cooked in chicken broth (Yakhni). This is a really easy recipe for a popular rice dish. It involves very little work and is one of the easiest pulao recipes you will ever make!

Table of Contents

1. About the recipe

2. Ingredients

3. Step-by-step method

4. Tips

1. About the recipe

For preparing this flavoursome pulao, long-grain Basmati Rice or pulao rice is cooked with flavorful chicken stock and infused with spices. The potli which we wrap with the aromatic spices, is put into a pot along with the chicken pieces. Boil everything together until chicken pieces cook to the right texture.

Serving Suggestion 5

Preparation Time: 30 minutes

Cooking Time:    20 minutes

2. Ingredients

• 500gm chicken (curry cut)
• 2 cups long-grain basmati rice
• 2 tablespoons of ginger garlic paste
• 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon of fennel seeds
• 1 tablespoon of coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon of black pepper
• 5 to 6 whole dry red chilli
• 4 to 6 cloves
• 5 green cardamom
• 3 bay leaf
• 1 cup yoghurt
• Salt
• 2 onion ( thinly sliced)
• 1 tablespoon of red chilli powder
• 4 green chilli
• 150 ml Oil or ghee 

3. Step by Step method

Preparation for Yakhni 

• To make yakhni (chicken stock), I have taken fennel seeds, jeera (cumin seed), red chilli, cardamom, cloves, and coriander seeds.

• Take a clean muslin cloth, and add all the ingredients for potli . Now, tie it well with the string to secure all the whole spices into it to form a potli .

• Then, put the potli in a pot along with the cleaned and washed chicken pieces and 5 cups of water. Add some salt, ginger garlic paste, cinnamon sticks, and bay leaf, put it on the heat and bring it to a boil.

• Once it starts boiling, lower the flame and cook for 30 minutes. Now, once the chicken is done. Carefully separate the chicken pieces and the Yakhni stock (chicken stock). Also, squeeze the potli very well into the stock to extract all the flavours of spices. Discard the potli.

                                                                                                   Chicken Stock ( Yakhni)

                                                                                                                Boiled Chicken 

  Preparation for the Pulao 

• Clean and soak the long-grain basmati rice for at least 30 minutes. Usually, I soak it for 45 minutes for better results.
• Heat ghee or oil in a handi or pan. Once the ghee is hot, add sliced onions and fry until they start picking up a golden colour. Add green chillies slit and fry for another few seconds.

• Now,  add boiled chicken pieces, yoghurt, red chilli powder, garam masala powder.

• Then, add the yakhni (chicken stock), counting to the exact 4 cups. If the Yakhni stock is less in amount, then add some water along with the stock. But the total should be 4 cups only.

• Now, drain the water from the rice. Then, add rice and mix gently. Lastly, add garam masala powder, mix it, and boil it. Once it starts boiling, allow it to cook on low heat. Cover the pot and put it on Dum for 15 minutes.

• Garnish it with birista (golden fried onions) and serve with raita, yoghurt or salad of your choice.

4. Tips

• Always soak basmati rice for at least 20 minutes before cooking. Soaking the rice is very important for this recipe.
• If you only have some of the spices, it is okay to skip some, but don’t use ground spices in the muslin bag/cloth(potli).
• I am using ginger garlic paste in this recipe, but you can use chopped ginger and garlic in the muslin bag/cloth(potli).
• You can add or remove green chillies according to your taste.
• Yakhni Pulao keeps well for up to 3 – 4 days in an airtight container in the fridge.