Basmati rice cooked in a fragrant mutton bone stock (yakhni) with whole spices — a one-pot Bihari Muslim preparation for Eid and weddings. The rice absorbs all the meat flavour from the stock rather than from a separate masala.
Ingredients
For the yakhni (mutton stock):
500 g mutton — bone-in pieces
4 cups water
1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste
2 bay leaf, 4 green cardamom, 4 cloves, 1 inch cinnamon
1 tsp fennel seeds, salt
For the pulao:
2 cups basmati rice — washed and soaked 30 minutes
3 tbsp ghee
2 large onions — finely sliced
1 tsp ginger paste, 1 tsp garlic paste
4 green cardamom — crushed, 4 cloves, 1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp saffron soaked in 3 tbsp warm milk
salt to taste
fried onion and coriander leaves for garnish
Method
Make the yakhni stock: Place mutton pieces in a pressure cooker with 4 cups water, ginger paste, garlic paste, bay leaves, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon, fennel seeds and salt. Pressure cook on high for first whistle then medium for 8 whistles. The mutton should be nearly falling off the bone. Strain the stock through a fine strainer — you need 3.5 cups of clear, fragrant mutton stock. Keep the cooked mutton pieces aside.
Fry onions for the pulao: Heat 3 tbsp ghee in a heavy pot. Add sliced onions. Fry on medium-high heat for 15 to 18 minutes until very deep golden-brown. Remove half and keep for garnish.
Add aromatics: To the remaining onion in the pot add ginger paste, garlic paste, crushed cardamom, cloves and bay leaf. Stir 2 minutes.
Add the drained rice: Add drained soaked rice. Stir gently for 2 minutes to coat the grains with the spiced ghee.
Add the yakhni stock: Pour exactly 3.5 cups of the prepared mutton stock over the rice. Add saffron milk and salt. Stir once.
Add the cooked mutton: Place the cooked mutton pieces on top of the rice in a single layer.
Bring to a boil then reduce: Bring the pot to a full boil on high heat. Reduce immediately to the lowest possible heat. Cover tightly.
Cook on dum: Cook on the lowest heat for 20 minutes. Place a flat griddle under the pot if available to prevent scorching. Do not open the lid.
Rest: Turn off heat. Keep covered for 10 more minutes.
Open and serve: Open the lid. Fluff the rice gently with a fork. The rice will have absorbed all the fragrant mutton stock. Place the garnish of crispy fried onion and coriander leaves on top. Serve with raita.
Note: Yakhni Pulao is the signature celebration rice of the Bihari Muslim community — made for Eid ul-Fitr, Eid ul-Adha and weddings. The technique of cooking rice in meat stock rather than in plain water is a Mughal-origin technique. The yakhni (stock) carries all the meat flavour into every grain of rice — achieving depth without a separate masala layer. Bihar's Muslim community has preserved this preparation from the Mughal culinary tradition.