Mutton Akhni

Step 1

Clean the meat and cut in small pieces. Wash the meat properly and drain the water.In a medium size pot, add 4 tablespoons of oil- adjust the oil if required. Add one large sliced onion and the meat.Add all the whole spices and salt. As a guide add 1/2- under 3/4 tablespoon of salt. The rice will also have salt added to it.

Step 2

Put the gas up and mix this in.

Step 3

Bring this to boiling point. Once it does, put the gas down to medium heat and let this cook. The meat will cook in the excess water that comes out of the meat.

Step 4

Cover and let this cook, stir at times. The excess water that comes out should be enough for the meat to cook in but if the water dries up too much then you can add a little amount of hot boiled water and mix it in to prevent the meat from burning.

Step 5

Once all the water comes out, the meat will start to look like this.

Step 6

Cook the meat for 40-50 minutes, adjust the heat if required during the cooking time and make sure to give it a stir at times.

Step 7

After you cooked it for the recommended time, add in 2 teaspoons each of ginger and garlic paste. I used homemade mixed ginger and garlic paste.

Step 8

Mix this in.

Step 9

Cook on high heat for 5 minutes.

Step 10

Put the gas down and add all the spices:Tumeric powder 1/3 TspCoriander powder 1 & 1/2 TspCumin powder 1 & 1/2 TspHot/mild curry powder 1 & 1/3 Tsp (I like using the Bolst's brand)

Step 11

Put the gas up and mix this in. Cook on high heat for 3-4 minutes.

Step 12

After 3-4 minutes, put the gas down just under medium heat and cook the spices for 12-15 minutes. Make sure to stir often.

Step 13

By the end of the cooking time, the meat should be dry like this.

Step 14

Turn the gas off and keep aside.

Step 15

This step should be done whilst the meat is cooking to save time.I like using Tilda pure original basmati rice for my pilau dishes, but you can use any brand of your choice.Wash 4 cups of rice in cold water a good few times until the water is clear. Once the water is clear, add some cold water and let the rice soak for 1/2 an hour only then drain the water fully.Tip: If you do not have a measuring cup, use a standard tea mug to measure the rice as this is almost the same measurement to a cup. You can then use the same mug to measure the water at the end.

Step 16

In a big non stick pot, add 3 1/2-4 Tbs of ghee-clarified butter, adjust if required.If you cannot use ghee due to allergies, you can use good quality butter and add a little amount of oil to prevent the butter from burning. This tip was given to me by one of my Instagram followers.

Step 17

Put the gas up and let the ghee melt.

Step 18

Add in the whole spices, 1 & 1/2 Tsp of cumin seeds and ginger. I grated my ginger, you can also finely chop them.

Step 19

Keep the gas on high heat and mix it in. Fry on high heat for 3-4 minutes by stirring often.

Step 20

Add in the sliced onions.Make sure you have thinly sliced onions for this stage.

Step 21

Mix this in on high heat. Fry this mainly on high heat by stirring very often. Adjust heat at times if required.Cook until the onions looks nice and golden.

Step 22

Once the onions are golden, add in the salt to your taste.I added 1 & 1/4 tbs of salt.

Step 23

Mix this in and cook on medium heat for 2-3 minutes.

Step 24

All ready for the rice.

Step 25

Add in the rice.

Step 26

Put the gas up and mix this in.

Step 27

Fry this on high heat for 2 minutes then put the gas down a bit and fry for a further 4-5 minutes by gently stirring often. Adjust heat if required. It's important to fry the rice in the ghee before adding the meat so it tastes nice at the end.

Step 28

The rice is ready.

Step 29

Add the cooked meat.

Step 30

Put the gas up and mix this in.

Step 31

Put the gas down to medium heat and cook this for 4-5 minutes.During this stage, boil a kettle of water.

Step 32

Gently stir at times.

Step 33

Add 7 cups of hot boiled water- if you used a mug to measure the rice then use the same mug to measure the water to get the perfect rice.If you like the rice to be quite moist then add 8 cups of water. Sometimes depending on the rice you're using, the end result of the rice might be different.

Step 34

Put the gas up.

Step 35

Add in the chillies tooAt this stage you can also add 2 cups of frozen peas/mixed vegetables- if you do then give this a good rinse before adding it in.

Step 36

Mix this in

Step 37

The water starts to bubble up. Cook this on high heat for 3-4 minutes or until the water starts to dry up.

Step 38

The rice will start to look like this. Once it does, follow the next step.

Step 39

Cover the pot at the top with foil. If you do not have foil, don't worry.

Step 40

Place the lid on top, let this simmer and cook for 15-20 minutes or until the rice is fully cooked. You can move the pot to slowest burner on your cooker if you want, simmer and cook this until the rice is fully tender.

Step 41

Here is the end result. When you add 8 cups of water the rice will look moist like the picture. I've recommended 7 cups of water and so the rice will look a bit drier and nicer. Let the rice rest for 10-15 minutes before serving.

Step 42

Serve hot with salad and enjoy!