Yakhni Chicken Pulao (Chicken Rice Pilaf)

This yakhni chicken pulao is always a hit with picky eaters. And I mean the literal kind. The ones who fish out every visible spice they can find on the plate. No judgment, I get it. I used to be one.

But don't let that be the only reason you give my recipe a try. This pulao is deceptively delicious and surprisingly simple to follow.

Perfectly cooked rice. Every grain separate. Not undercooked, nor mushy. And full of flavors from yakhni I make in a way that’s unique compared to how most people do it.

Unique because most yakhni pulao recipes call for boiling the chicken with whole spices. But I have two issues with that.

A) By the time the spices release their flavor, the chicken is usually fully cooked. Sometimes, even overcooked. And if it’s already cooked at this stage, it ends up dry later when it cooks again with the rice.

B) Straining the yakhni with chicken in it becomes a hassle. You need a much larger strainer. And often have to sift through the chicken pieces to remove any whole spices clinging to them. Messy and tedious.

So here’s what I do instead:

I first make a broth using onions and whole spices, then strain it. Separately, I sauté the chicken with a few ground spices, ginger, garlic, and yogurt, then pour in that strained masala broth.

The chicken simmers briefly, the broth becomes infused with chicken flavor, so you get a nice chicken yakhni. It all comes to a boil. And then in goes the rice.

Because I don't cook the chicken for too long at any one stage, it finishes cooking at the same time as the rice. Stays tender and juicy that way.

The pulao looks clean and simple. Almost plain. But the flavor reveals as you dig in. Wasn't lying earlier when I said it's deceptively delicious.

If you love rice dishes like I do, try my chicken matar pulao and simple chicken pulao that doesn't require you to make a broth separately.

Pre-cooking notes

• I get that it’s convenient to use store-bought ginger and garlic pastes instead of fresh, I really do. But this pulao just won’t be the same with them. If you have a jar from store, open it and take a whiff. You’ll know what I mean.
• Like with many of my rice recipes, I use green chilies in two stages. Some go into the ginger-garlic-chili paste, and then whole chilies get added later during the dum/steaming step. So don’t be surprised when you see chilies listed twice under ingredients.
• Feel free to replace lemon juice with lime. You might want to use a bit less, since it tends to be more sour.
• In all my pulao recipes, I always recommend basmati sella, without exception. The cooked rice comes out perfect. Like you’d get in restaurants. It holds up better than regular basmati if it happens to overcook a little. But if you prefer regular basmati, there are just a few tweaks you’ll need to make. I’ve shared those in the recipe card below.
• Usually, I’d be fine suggesting boneless chicken as a substitute, but not for this recipe. You need the bones to make a proper yakhni. It’s chicken yakhni pulao, after all. That’s where the real flavor comes from.
• Red or white, either onion works in this recipe. Use what you’ve got.
• Fresh chilies can be different. Both in heat and in flavor. Use as much or as little as you like. I go with small red or green Thai (bird’s eye) chilies.

A visual guide for making yakhni Chicken pulao

Here are photos of the key steps to guide you through the recipe. For a printable version with quantities and notes, see the recipe card below.

Combine all ingredients mentioned under "whole spices/sabut garam masala". Set aside.

Also, in a blender or food processor, grind all ingredients listed under "garlic, ginger and chili paste". Set aside.

Heat ¼ cup cooking oil in a pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook until it starts to turn golden around the edges. Now add the whole/sabut garam masala mix. Saute for 2 minutes.

Add 3.5 cups of water. Cover, bring to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low, and gently simmer covered for 15 minutes. Use a fine-mesh strainer/sieve to separate the broth from solids. Measure the broth. You need 1.5 cups of liquid per 1 cup of rice. If there isn’t enough, add water to make up the difference.

In a large non-stick pot/saucepan, heat the remaining ¼ cup of oil on medium-high heat. Add the chicken, cumin powder, garam masala powder, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cook until the chicken is no longer pink. Add whisked yogurt and your fresh ginger-garlic-chili paste. Stir for 1 minute.

Add the masala broth and remaining 1.5 teaspoons salt. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, and simmer covered for 10 minutes.

Increase the heat to medium-high again and bring the yakhni to a rolling boil. Add the drained sella rice, lemon juice, julienned ginger, and 4 uncut small chilies. Gently mix.

Partially cover, let liquid reduce over med-high heat (or medium if burner is strong). As liquid cooks down, you'll start to see small bubbles and steam holes across the surface of rice. That’s your cue to give it a brief, gentle stir.

Cover completely, reduce heat to lowest setting. Let it steam 15 minutes. DO NOT remove the lid.

Turn off the heat. DO NOT remove the lid yet. Leave pot on the same burner. Let rice rest for 15 minutes, and then serve.

Serving ideas

Serve this chicken pulao with a raita of your choice. But not a strong-tasting one. Or it'll overpower the pulao flavors. I also love a nice kachumber on the side. Reminds me I need to start sharing my chutney and raita recipes here.

And that's a wrap!

I love this recipe and I hope you will too. If you try, please come back to leave your review and rating. I'd appreciate that!

May joy and inspiration always accompany you - Nelo