Friday, March 25, 2011

a red hot yakhni ... with mutton or lotus stem...


I have been on  non vegetarian spree on Banaras ka khana, and here is a recipe to appease both the meat lovers and the veggie lovers. Replace just one ingredient and adjust the cooking time according to the meat or vegetable you are cooking. This is a foolproof recipe of a yummy curry in a hurry... pun intended !!!

nadur yakhni recipe

This is nadur yakhni as the kashmiris call it but they will shrink their noses for the liberties I have taken with this beautiful curry. Aromatic too.

The curry is as aromatic as the authentic one, my version is hot while the authentic one is quite mild. You can always adjust the heat in a curry and you have an advantage here to use either green chillies or red chilly powder as I do. Preference is all yours, color it as you wish. Minus the red chilly powder this curry will be a nice white aromatic thin gravy hitting your nostrils before you palate, a foodies delight. Truly.

So what do I call this curry?

Yakhni bhen, yakhni with lotus stems, quick yakhni or yakhni my way. Call it by any other name, it remains a convenient take on a nice authentic recipe. Whenever you like it.

ingredients...
lotus stems cleaned and sliced 250 gm (or mutton, curry cut 250-300 gm)
beaten fresh curds 250 gm
fine fennel powder 1 tbsp or a bit more
ginger powder 2 tsp
red chilly powder 2 tsp or as much as you like (or 2-3 green chillies broken)
powdered green cardamom 5 nos.
whole peppercorns 2 tsp
bay leaves 2 nos.
cinnamon powder 1 tsp
mustard oil 1.5 tbsp
salt to taste

procedure ...
This must be the quickest curry you might have tried, that it is cooked in pressure cooker helps a lot in being convenient.

Mix all the ingredients except the lotus stem (or meat if using), whole black peppers and bay leaves, into the pressure cooker pan itself. Whisk with the balloon whisker or a stand mixer as I did. This paste is going to be the base of the gravy.

Add the bay leaves, black pepper corns and the sliced lotus stem or meat. Place the lid and cook under pressure. The timing will be 5-6 minutes for lotus stem and 25-30 minutes for meat (mutton).

Keep the flame low after the first whistle and adjust timing according to your ingredient.

Cool after the required time to cook and serve hot with chapatis or rice.

We like it with chapatis...

nadur yakhni recipe

The oil will float on the surface after the pressure cooking and the curry will be very aromatic.

Lotus stem is no less than meat for it's texture and even it's nutrient content. It is high in calories too compared to other vegetables but overall a healthy recipe ....

Tell me how did you like it. I have promised more meat recipes and I will post them too, this one is no less. Lotus stem is considered as meat for vegetarians.

16 comments:

  1. Superlike. But we do not get hold of lotus stem so easily here... :(

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  2. Delicious click...Absolutely mouthwatering..

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  3. Yummy recipe...First time at your space....lovely one...following it...Do visit mine if time permits...

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  4. Undoubtedly simple yet yummy would try, but last time i tried a kashmiri dish it was a disaster, the curd curdled while making and it became like two separte things water and curdled curd... sob...:(

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  5. Hi Rekha...that is a common problem when cooking with curds. The mixing of the spices with curds before cooking prevents that , as i did and pressure cooked . Ready made dry ginger powder always has some starch into it so it prevents the curds from curdling , otherwise you can always add a tbsp of cornflour when mixing the spices with curds. Here too the curds is a slightly curdled but the gravy remains homogenous....

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  6. Ya we sh be careful while using curd. I always add them after I switch off the stove so it doesn't curdle.

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  7. Yes VS .. but for a yakhni kashimiri dish like this one , the curd is boiled for long time even before we start cooking the other ingredients ...cooking the curds with everything here makes the difference in flavor and aroma both...

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  8. Bookmarked again but we venture rarely into the meat dishes [ esp. mutton] here.. so am waiting for our trip to India!:-)

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  9. ho wonderful and yummy curry :) looks very flavorful and delicious :) thanks for visiting my space :) happy to follow u :) Do visit mine if time permits :)

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    http://cookingfoodie.blogspot.com/p/awards-and-winnings.html
    Just scroll to the bottom of the page...

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  11. wow.. beautiful curry.. thnks for the lovely comment on mine.. and so glad to follow you.
    ammaandbaby.blogspot.com/

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  12. Such a simple recipe and looks so yummy.

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  13. hi,
    i just made this with lotus roots and the dahi didnt hold. it split. i followed the recipe exactly.

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    Replies
    1. Hi Suparna, so sorry it happened but the reasons could be many. Too sour yogurt or too quick heating may cause curdling but it doesn't affect the taste much. You can blend 2 tsp chickpea flour next time to prevent it for sure. Hope it helps.

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