Mutton Pulav

This is for someone who wants something special at the same time with less spices.  Less spices, which I meant is the hotness or the chilly in the food, yes you have a lots of whole spices included in this recipe, which gives a mild flavour without any heat.  This is a recipe which I learnt from one of my Pakistani  friend.  She used to make this almost for every Eid.

  I can still remember the yummy food which I used to have in her place, pulav with kebabs , curry and finally for dessert her own home made rasmalai, truly bliss. Whenever I taste the pulav  in her place, I can feel that something is different and has a quite unique flavours, when I asked her the recipe, I found that two ingredients which gave that distinct flavours.

First Black cardamom, next aloo bukhara (dried plums).  I know most of us might use black cardamom, but dried plums may be a alien ingredient to some of us.  I tried to find some link about aloo bukhara, since I couldn't get any, posting my own image for that, taken under very low light, hope the picture is clear for you.

So, next time if you are planning for parties or any special occasion, remember this.  Hope you won't get disappointed.

Preparation Time:  15 minutes
Cooking Time: 30-40 minutes
Serves 4

Ingredients:
Basmathi Rice- 2  cups
Mutton- 1 cup
Mutton or Chicken stock- 1 cup 
Ginger garlic paste- 1/2 tbsp
Bay leaves- 1
Star anise-1
Black Cardamom- 2
Cinnamon stick- 1/2 inch stick
Cloves- 2
Cumin seeds- 2 tsp
Black pepper corns- 1 tsp
Aloo Bukhara ( Dried Plums )- 4 to 5
Cumin powder- 1 tsp
Chilly powder- 1/2 tsp
Onion- 1 medium sized ( finely chopped )
Yogurt- 1 tbsp
Turmeric powder- 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves- 1 tbsp ( finely chopped )
Oil- 2 tbsp
Salt to taste

Method:
 Wash the mutton well with a bit of turmeric powder and set it aside.  Heat oil in a pan or cooker in which you are going to prepare your rice.  Add all the whole spices one by one, then  add ginger garlic, stir well without burning it.  Add the finely sliced onions and  saute it in medium to low heat until the onion gets nice and soft.  Add the mutton pieces, aloo bukhara, chilly , cumin powder and mix it well.  When the mutton is cooked halfway, ass the yogurt and coriander leaves, stir it well. Do not add any water while cooking the mutton.  If it looks too dry, without any water left, add about 1/2 a cup of water. Cover the pan and cook it in medium heat until the mutton gets cooked completely.  If using a pressure cooker, cook upto 3 to 4 whistles.  Once the mutton gets cooked well, add the washed rice with 1 cup of stalk, 1 cup of water and salt to taste.  Cook for 2 whistles or using a normal pan, cook until the rice is well cooked and looks nice and fluffy.

Note:
The flavour of this pulav mainly depends upon the quality of stock.  So, use good quality home made stock or stock which doesn't contain cornstarch.

Sending this recipe to Royal Feast- Biryani.