Last year, I shared yellow paneer curry (not the Thai style curry) for the alphabet Y. This year also I was thinking of recipes similar to yellow curry rice. But while buying the biryani masala, I found Shan brands Punjabi yakhni pilau masala. No, I did not buy that masala, but that gave me the idea of exploring yakhni and yakhni based recipes.
What is Yakhni?
Yakhni means broth or stock. It can be chicken broth or meat broth or veg broth. You can find the usage of meat broth in mutton biryani recipes. So I decided to keep the spices simple and use vegetable stock to make a mild yet simple pulao recipe. That’s how I came up with this yakhni pulao recipe. Along with veggies, this time I included paneer as well and cooked it along with the rice. But you can fry them separately and add it to the pulav later as well.
Vegetable Broth:
Instead of water, we use vegetable broth or stock to cook the pulav and that’s what yakhni pulao is all about. I used store-bought vegetable broth for this recipe, but you can use homemade one as well. If you are using store-bought one, check the sodium content and adjust the salt accordingly. I used low-sodium vegetable broth for this recipe.
How to Make Yakhni Veg Pulav?
Ingredients:
2 tsp oil 1 tsp cumin seeds 2-inch cinnamon Three green chilies 1 cup onion, chopped ½ cup mint leaves ¼ cup carrot and peas 1 tsp garam masala ⅓ cup chopped paneer 1 tsp salt 1 cup rice (Washed and soaked for 15 mts and drained) 1.25 cups broth
Steps:
Heat a pressure pan and cooker and add the oil. When the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick and green chilies. Saute for 30 seconds and add the chopped onions and cook until it turns translucent.
Then add the mint leaves and cook until the mint leaves wilt.
Next add the vegetables, paneer, salt, and garam masala. Mix thoroughly.
Add the vegetable stock and rice.
Scrape the bottom and mix it gently.
Close the pressure cooker lid and put the weight on — Cook for one whistle over medium heat. Allow the pressure to release naturally. After opening the pressure cooker lid, allow the rice to cool for 5 minutes.
Serve hot with any curry or korma or raita.
Recipe Notes-
Adjust the salt and spices according to your preference. I used store-bought vegetable broth, but you can use homemade one as well. You can find my homemade vegetable broth here. Adjust the salt according to the sodium content in the broth. Adjust veggies according to your preference, but do not add more than ¾ cup of vegetables.
📖 Recipe
