vegetable yakhni pulao

yakhni pulao is amongst the top ten rice dishes of mine, obviously the first being a hyderabadi veg biryani.

mom makes awesome yakhni pulao, but its made with chicken back at home. before turning to vegetarianism, i have had mom’s yakhni pulao and it used to be great. i would only eat the rice and not the chicken and my folks use to think i have gone crazy.

i have made a vegetarian version of the yakhni pulao. along with the veggies, you could make it more wholeseome by adding soya chunks, tofu or paneer.

yakhni pulao is a nawabi recipe made with a lot of care and attention like the biryani. a little here and there and your yakhni pulao may become a not so good pulao

the rice grains have to be separate and yet cooked. the veggies also should be tender and not mishmashed. yes this recipe demands perfection.

as they say practice makes a man…. or a woman perfect. i tried making yakhni pulao many times. something or the other would go wrong. most of the times the rice would always be over cooked. the taste was alright but the texture was not so nice.

finally after some practice, now i can make a better yakhni pulao. much better, both taste wise and texture wise than what i have done before. try this one at home as its much different than a regular pulao.

its called as yakhni pulao as the rice is cooked in yakhni which means “soup” or “stock”.  the stock is made first by cooking the meat with the spices. this is a veg version. so obviously, i have made the yakhni with the veggies and spices.

the veggies are half cooked. the yakhni or stock is strained and added to the rice along with the half cooked veggies and then cooked on dum till the rice is done.

the result of cooking in this manner, is that the rice absorbs all the flavors of the yakhni and what you get and taste is an aromatic flavorful rice pulao.

the veggies are cooked in water and a bouquet garni made of spices. the spices are kept in a muslin cloth and then tied tightly. this small bundle of the spices is called bouquet garni.

the bouquet garni is kept with the veggies, water & salt and the whole mixture is allowed to cook till the veggies are half done. the bouquet garni is squeezed and discarded. the stock is strained and the veggies are kept aside.

later the veggies,stock and rice are cooked on dum. its better to use basmati rice for this pilaf recipe. for best results soak the basmati rice in water for about 30 minutes. drain it before adding it to the veggies and yogurt.

i have used 5 cups of water to make the yakhni pulao. so that i don’t need to add extra water later to the rice in case its needed. and if at all any extra yakhni remains, it can be gulped as a soup.

i have garnished the pulao with fried onions, mint leaves and cashews. you could just garnish with fried onions also known as birista.

do try this aromatic and healthy yakhni pulao at home. the pulao is best served with an onion raita or cucumber raita. you can also serve it with a veg curry of your choice.

you might love to check these interesting pulao recipes:

1. Chana Pulao Recipe
2. Baingan Pulao Recipe
3. Easy Mix Veg Pulao Recipe
   
4. Mushroom Pulao in Goan Style
5. Mix Veg Pulao made in microwave oven

vegetable yakhni pulao recipe details below:

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vegetable yakhni pulao

Rating: 51

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Serving Size: 4

ingredients

For the bouquet garni:
• 3-4 strands of mace
• 1 tbsp coriander seeds/dhania
• 1/2 tbsp caraway seeds/shah jeera
• 3 cloves/laung
• 2 inch cinnamon/dalchini
• 1/4 tsp nutmeg/jaiphal
• 1/2 tbsp chopped ginger garlic
For the Veg Yakhni:
• 2 cups chopped veggies like cauliflower, carrots, beans, peas
• 5 cups water
• salt
For the Pulao:
• 3 or 4 tbsp ghee
• 2 cups basmati rice, soaked for 30 minutes
• 1 tsp caraway seeds/shah jeera
• 1 tsp ginger garlic paste (optional)
• 1 medium sized onion, sliced
• 1 inch cinnamon
• 3-4 green cardamom
• 3 cloves
• 1 cup curd/yogurt
For the Garnish:
• 1 small onion, thinly sliced and fried - also known as birista
• 1/2 cup chopped mint leaves - fried
• 1/2 cup fried cashew nuts (optional)

method:

To make the bouqet garni:
1. take all the ingredients mentioned above for the yakhni in a muslin cloth. Tie the muslin cloth securely with the spices inside it. this is the bouquet garni.
Preparing the yakhni:
2. heat 5 cups of water. add the chopped veggies and salt.
3. cook the veggies till they are half done.
4. squeeze the bouquet garni and discard away the spices.
5. through a strainer strain the stock/yakhni and keep the veggies aside.
Preparing the Pulao:
6. heat ghee in a pan.
7. add the caraway seeds and fry till they sizzle.
8. add the sliced onions and fry them till they are browned.
9. add the other whole spices - cloves, cinnamon, cardamom along with the ginger garlic paste.
10. fry for a minute or till the raw smell of the ginger garlic disappears.
11. now add the half cooked veggies and curd.
12. mix everything.
13. add the drained basmati rice and mix the rice with the spices and curd.
14. now pour 4 cups of the broth/yakhni.
15. add salt if required. we have already added salt to the yakhni. keep this in mind before adding the salt.
16. mix well and cover with a tight lid.
17. cook for 15-20 minutes on dum.
18. garnish with fried onions, fried mint leaves and fried cashew nuts.
19. serve hot with onion raita or with onion mint kuchumber.

my notes

if the rice appears not to be completely cooked, just add some warm yakhni/broth to the rice. stir gently with a fork. cover tightly and cook for a few minutes more.

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