Flavour to relish: Kashmiri murgh yakhni

Pushpesh Pant

There is an old saying in Hindustani: ‘Ras to khana banane wale ke haath mein hota hai’ (It is the hand of the cook that imparts the real flavour to the food). Others tell us that it is the heart — the love for the family members and the guests — that provides the magic touch in cooking (‘Asli baat to bhaav ki hoti hai’). We feel that the symphony of taste is played when the head, the heart and the hands work together. Even everyday food then touches sublime heights.

Cooked in a yoghurt-based gravy, Kashmiri murgh yakhni is light on the palate and tastes delicious

We experienced this after a very long time at Koshur Sal, a Kashmiri Pandit food festival at the Holiday Inn, Mayur Vihar, in New Delhi recently. Home chef Rajini Jinsi was doing the pop-up and, knowing our fondness for Kashmiri delicacies, good friend Suprabhat Roy Choudhary invited us to sample the fare. Interestingly, it was at this very venue that we had first encountered the handy work of Mrs Jinsi before Covid-19 turned our lives topsy-turvy. We were curious to find out how many time-tested delicacies would the lady repeat from her repertoire.

Would she tease and tempt the palate with something new? We are very pleased to report that there was enough novelty to satisfy the most demanding gourmet.

Besides the all-time favourite rista, roganjosh, kabargah, mach, nadru (lotus stems) and chaman, what won us over was murgh yakhni.

It is well known that those who reside in the Valley prefer lamb to any other meat. Chicken normally makes up the numbers in the multi-course wazwan and plays the second fiddle. But Mrs Jinsi’s murgh yakhni was a class apart, showcasing the murgh like a star.

Before we proceed, let’s talk about the Kashmiri interpretation of the word ‘yakhni’. In Awadh, Rampur, Delhi, Bhopal and Hyderabad, yakhni is commonly understood as aromatic meat stock that enlivens the delicate pulao or lends a distinct personality to shorba (fragrant broth) or lighter gravies. In Kashmir, mutton kalia is a standalone artist, very different from qorma and roganjosh. It is a thin but very flavourful gravy, redolent with fennel and cardamom, and usually prepared with choice cuts of lamb or lotus stems.

The delicate tint of yellow gravy contrasts beautifully with scarlet gravies of roganjosh, rista, etc. We feel that nowadays, when everyone is worried about the health hazards of eating red meat, Kashmiri murgh yakhni is poised to make a dramatic comeback. We greatly relished this beauty and have great pleasure in sharing the recipe by this remarkable home chef with our readers.

Ingredients

• Chicken (leg and breast pieces) 1 kg

For gravy

• Bay leaf 1
• Hing ¾ tsp
• Black cardamom 4
• Green cardamom 8
• Cloves 8
• Cinnamon (1 inch each) 4 sticks
• Aniseed powder 2 tsp
• Ginger powder (dried) 2 tsp
• Yoghurt 2 cups
• Mint leaves (dried) 1/4 tsp
• Black cumin 1/4 tsp

Method

• Whisk the yoghurt till smooth. Add 1/2 cup of water and whisk again. Pour this into a pan and place on a high flame. Stir continuously till it comes to boil. Reduce flame to low until yoghurt’s colour changes to off-white. Remove from stove and keep aside.
• Trim, wash and pat dry the chicken pieces. Heat ghee in a pan, reduce the flame and put in the bay leaf and the whole spices. When spices begin to crackle, add the chicken pieces and fry for about 3 minutes.
• Pour 4 cups of water and add the powdered spices. Bring to a boil and cook till the chicken is tender. At this stage, add the cooked yoghurt and stir well. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.
• Add salt, mix well to blend and cook for about 7 minutes.
• Crush the dried mint leaves between your fingers and sprinkle along with black cumin seeds on top just before serving. Taste this ambrosia with steaming fluffy rice!