Yakhni Biryani

Here goes the basic recipe for the delicious Yakhni Biryani, a meat and rice dish of marvelous taste.  It is a classic North Indian dish cooked differently south Indian Biryanis and holds a high place in north Indian menu.  It gets its name from the Yakhni - the meat stock - it is cooked in.

Home cooked Yakhni Biryani
Photo: Seema Iqbal

Ingredients - group 1

1. Lamb/Mutton: 1 Kg

2. Onion (medium size, chopped lengthwise): 3 - 4 Nos

3. Turmeric powder:  a very small pinch

4. Tomato (small - medium size chopped): 4 - 5 Nos

Ingredients - group 2

1. Oil: 5 - 6 Tablespoons

2. Onion: 2 (medium size, chopped lengthwise)

3. Ginger-garlic paste: 2 ½ Tablespoons

4. Green chilies (less hot ones): 8 - 10 Nos

5. Salt:  To taste

6. Lemon juice: 1½ Tablespoons

7. Yogurt: 2½ Tablespoons

8. Rice: 1 Kg. (Soaked in water for 10 minutes. Use short grain rice like Jeerakasala or the rice which is generally used to prepare ghee rice)

9. Coriander leaves (Cilantro) coarsely chopped:  1 Cup

10.Water (generally for short-grain rice, a ratio of 1.5 cups of water is required to every 1 cup of rice)

Ingredients used to cook this Yakhni Biryan
Photo: Seema Iqbal

Step by step method for easy cooking:
Step 1:  Keep all the ingredients ready and handy.

Step 2:  Take a cooker, add lamb/mutton, turmeric powder and chopped onion, mix it and let it cook till the mutton is 75% done.  Then remove the lid and add chopped tomatoes and cook it until tomatoes are dissolved, then keep aside. (This step needs only the ingredients listed in group 1 above. No oil or water is needed at this stage).

Step 3:  Take a heavy-bottom cooking vessel and heat the oil.  Add chopped onion, ginger-garlic paste and sauté them for 2 to 3 minutes.  Now add green chilies (less spicy ones), already cooked mutton/lamb (step 2) and sauté it for 2 more minutes.  Now add salt, lemon juice, yogurt and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, keep stirring from time to time.  Then add water as per the ratio mention above (refer item 10) and turn the flame to high.  While it starts to boil, add soaked rice and wait for 1 minute.  Now add chopped Cilantro leaves and mix the whole thing very carefully without causing any damage to the boiling rice.  Now cover the lid tightly and cook in low flame until rice is fully done.  This would take 6 to 7 minutes but keep checking to be on safer side.  The delicious Yakhni Biryani is now ready to serve.

Yakhni Biryani served with onion-tomato salad
Photo: Seema Iqbal

Serving:

Serve the hot and yummy Yakhni Biryani with a portion of traditional onion-tomatoes salad or raita, or any other side dish of your liking.  Pickle is a great combination too.  Bon appétit!

Yakhni Biryani served with home cooked KFC type chicken
Photo: Seema Iqbal

Important and useful tips:

1. You may adjust the water-rice ratio based on the type of rice you would use.

2. Short grain rice is always advised for this dish but basmati rice also goes well.

3. If the meat is real tender then avoid using cooker at Step 2.

4. You may replace the lamb/mutton with chicken or any meat of your liking, but adjust the cooking time accordingly.

5. In case you don’t find the chilies that are less hot, you may have to reduce the quantity.

My Yakhni Biryani recipe is published in:

     1.  www.coastaldigest.com

     2.  www.seemaiqbal.blogspot.in 

Meat Steaks in Ginger-Garlic Sauce

Steaks are flat cuts of meat pan-fried or barbequed and served in thick sauce of different flavors.  Loaves of bread with butter, potato chips (french fries) and green salads are great accompaniment for the steaks.  Condiments like mayonnaise and ketchups goes well too.  Steaks can be served for breakfast, lunch or dinner, and a great idea for picnics.  Boneless flat cuts of tender beef is always preferred.  This particular recipe is modified and Indianized, so that even those who do not have barbeque facilities can also cook it with ease at homes.

Home-cooked steak arranged on veg bed
Photo: Seema Iqbal

Ingredients - set 1 (for marinating)

Boneless meat: 1 kg (cut into flat pieces)

Ginger-garlic paste: 3 tablespoon

Soya sauce: 3 tablespoon

Olive oil:  3 tablespoon

White vinegar: 1.5 tablespoon

Salt:  to taste

Ingredients - set 2 (for sauce)

Chicken stock: 1 cube

Ginger-garlic paste: 2 tablespoon

White vinegar: 1 tablespoon

Soya sauce: 3 tablespoon

Corn flour: 2 tablespoon

Cabbage: 1 cup (sliced) 

Bell pepper (capsicum): 1 no (sliced) 

Carrot: 1 no (peeled and cut)

Ingredients - set 3 (for presentation)

Sliced cabbage: 1 cup 

Sliced bell pepper: 1 cup 

Sliced carrot: 1 cup

Steak in ginger-garlic sauce, ready to eat
Photo: Seema Iqbal

Method:  Step by step method for easy cooking

Step 1: Take the meat pieces and hammer them using a meat hammer or rolling pin and put them in a bowl.  Now add ginger-garlic paste, soya sauce, white vinegar, salt, olive oil (ingredients set 1) and marinate the meat for 1- 2 hours.  You may also refrigerate the marinated steaks overnight. 

Step 2: Take a serving plate; arrange sliced cabbage, carrot, and bell peppers (ingredients set 3) on the sides and keep aside.  You may also make a bed of these veggies to arrange the cooked steaks over it.    

Step 3: Take a heavy-bottom pan and pre-heat it.  Add some oil and pan-fry the hammered and marinated meat one side at a time until it is done.  You may also deep fry the meat instead of pan-frying.  Once done, arrange the beef steaks evenly in serving plate which is already arranged with veggies (refer step 2), and keep it aside but don’t allow it to cool down. 

Step 4: Prepare corn starch by mixing the corn flour in a cup of warm water.   The corn starch is required for thickening the steak sauce to bring it to a desired consistency.  

  

Step 5: To prepare sauce, take the same pan in which the meat is fried (no need to remove residue as it adds to the taste) and add 4 cup of water and heat it.  While heating add chicken stock, ginger garlic paste, vinegar, soya sauce and keep stirring slowly.  Once it comes to boiling point, add cabbage, bell pepper and carrot (you may add any vegetable of your choice at this point).  Now add corn starch spoon by spoon, keep stirring steadily so that the sauce becomes a bit thick and lumps-free.  Once the desired thickness is achieved switch off the stove.

Step 6: Now pour the hot and spicy sauce on top of beef steaks which is already arranged in the serving plate.  

Step 7: Serve yummy beef steaks with toasted bread slices and butter.  The steak is always accompanied by potato chips and green salads.  Bon Appétit.

Important and useful tips:

You can check the doneness by cutting into the middle of steak. 

This recipe is also published at:

     1.  www.seemaiqbal.blogspot.in