This chicken pilaf is very much famous in South Asian cuisine and is generally known as “yakhni pulao”. This pilaf can be prepared with any meat of your own choice, it is very light and healthy rice recipe. This is pulav is rich in taste and ingredients since it contains many spices, and fresh chicken stock. This recipe is nawabi recipe which has its roots in Awadhi cuisines which is widely famous all over the world. Nawabs were known for their rich taste and meats. As such this pulao can be made using any meat, but chicken is the meat which goes very well with this.
But do remember to chop the chicken in big pieces so that you can enjoy its taste and juicy spicy flavour.
Reading this, many might think that pulaos are having same spices. Yes it does, but the style of cooking them and specific blend of spices makes them different from each other. There many types of pulaos and Briyanis which are famous in India like Hydrabadi Briyani, Yakhni Pulav, Matar Pulao, Dum Briyani , Nawabi Briyani etc to name few. In all this recipes, the spices are almost same to some extent, but ingredients and style of cooking differs from recipe to recipe and from place to place.
This recipe Yakhni Pulav specially is made from chicken stock and is cooked in manner which keeps them soft and tasty, unless various pulav where yoghurt is used to soften the food. Yakhni Pulav is usually served with any Indian curry, but it goes best with Non veg Indian curries like Kofta curry, Nargisi kofta curry shahi chicken or any moghlai curry.





Ingredients:
1 kg Chicken pieces (keep it big pieces)
4 -6 cups Chicken Stock (here is the chicken stock recipe)
1 kg rice, use Basmati Rice for good aroma and taste (soaked in water for an hour)
1 medium size onion (cut into julienne)
2 medium size tomato (cut into large pieces)
1 tablespoon ginger garlic paste
1 cinnamon stick
2 cloves
2 green cardamom
1 black cardamom
1 tbspn red chili powder
1 tspn turmeric powder
5-6 black pepper seeds
1 tbspn cumin seeds
3-4 green chilies
½ cup mint leaves (chopped)
Salt to taste
2/3 cup oil.




Method:

1. Prepare Chicken Stock beforehand and keep aside. Click the chicken Stock underlined for chicken stock recipe.
2. Take a deep-wide sauce pan so that rice can easily prepare in it.
3. Fry onions in the oil until they become light golden in color.
4. Mean while add cinnamon, cloves, cardamoms in the onion so that a pleasant smell and aroma starts to come from the oil.
5. Now add tomato pieces, ginger garlic paste, red chili powder and turmeric powder and cook until tomato becomes soft and tender to form gravy.
6. After that add green chilies, mint leaves and cook for further 2 minutes with ½ cup of water.
7. Now add hot boiled and drained chicken stock with chicken pieces only to the gravy and let it boil and mix in the gravy.
8. Add rice in the end and if rice would not completely dip in the stock sauce, add more water so that all the rice should cover.
9. Cover the pan and cook rice on high flame until the sauce starts boiling and absorb in rice, it would take 8-10 mins.
10. When the sauce almost absorbs in the rice, reduce the flame to very low and cook for further 10 mins so that rice become tender and soft.
11. When the chicken pilaf becomes ready serve it hot in a beautiful rice dish with raita or any meat curry.
    

Preparation time: 25 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: 4 persons
Shelflife:1 day
Serving Suggestion: Serve hot with raita and any Non veg indian curry or moghlai curry like nargisi kofta, Shahi Korma, Chicken tikka masala etc.




Note:

• In case, chicken stock is not available with you, then use normal water. Chicken stock would make the recipe even more tastier but water can be used when it is not available.
• Chop the tomatoes finely and also chop the onions finely like julienne.
• Some do add chopped green chillies. But I havent opted for it.
• Use a non sticky deep bottom pan to avoid any trouble of stickings at the bottom.
• This Pulao doesnt need Basmati rice as importantly. So even a normal rice can be used to cook Yakhni Pulao.
  

Click here to Know more about Uttarpradesh Cuisines and Foods- An Introduction To Uttarpradesh Foods And Recipes.