Pulao is originally a Persian dish in which rice is boiled with meat and spices. It was introduced by the Mughals in India. Yakhni, meaning stock, was a later innovation by the cooks, during the Nawabi rule in Awadh, in which rice was cooked with mutton or chicken. As per Sharar Lucknow had seven popular varities of pulao. He could recall only five of them – gulzar, nur, koku, moti and chambeli.
THE RECIPE
Ingrediants:
1/2 kg mutton
1 medium onion sliced
1 medium onion whole
Whole garam masala (4 cloves, 2 cardamoms, 1 tsp coriander seeds, 1 tsp fennel seeds, 1-inch cinnamon stick)
1-inch ginger crushed
3 big garlic cloves crushed
1/2 cup beaten curd
2-2.5 cups basmati rice
1/2 cup ghee or refined oil
Procedure:
Put the whole garam masala in a muslin cloth and tie it into a bag. Add the mutton, two glasses of water, the muslin bag, ginger, garlic, whole onion, and salt to taste, in a pressure cooker. Cook it till the mutton is 70 per cent cooked. Remove the mutton in a separate dish and let the stock stay in the cooker. Throw the bag after squeezing out the juice.
Now in a pot, pour some ghee and make it hot. Fry the onion till golden brown and then add the boiled meat. Cook for five minutes and then add the curd. Cook for another two minutes and then add the stock. Add the rice also at this stage. You could add more water just to cover the rice. Close the lid on the pot and let it cook on low heat for 15-20 minutes.
You add food colour or saffron after mixing it in two teaspoons of milk. Sprinkle with fried onions (optional) and serve.
Courtesy: Jahan-e-Awadh