Try this mutton Yakhni Pulao fit for kings by Malaika Arora's mother, Joyce

Malaika Arora's mother Joyce Arora is quite the Instagram star, and often takes to her feed to share delicious recipes, tips and tricks with her 34,000 plus followers on the social media platform under a very punny name, 'Joys of Cooking'.

Malaika Arora is one fit mommy, and the actor and reality show judge is always sharing fitness inspiration with her followers be it via healthy recipes or the many yoga poses the Diva Yoga founder shares on her feed. On the other hand, Malaika's own mommy, Joyce Arora shares recipes for the most delicious home made meals, some healthy and some very decadent, on her feed to inspire her 34,000 plus fans to get cooking. Joyce Arora is quite the Insta-savvy mom, and often takes to her feed to share delicious recipes, tips and tricks, and most recently Malaika and Amrita Arora's mother shared some helpful tips and information about a classic, Mutton Yakhni Pulao.

Malaika Arora with her mother Joyce, and delicious Yakhni Pulao made by her.(Instagram)

Joyce posed a question to her followers in the caption of the post, asking them if they preferred 'Biryani or Yakhni Pulao'. She went on in the caption, "Even though I love a good biryani, my leaning is towards a Yakhni Pulao. There is something so simple yet elegant in this. None of the extravagant OTT jazz of the biryani; this is a one-pot meal that keeps the flavours light, yet aromatic, allowing the meat to shine through."

She continued, "The essence of the Yakhni Pulao, is the Yakhni or broth. There are variations to the ingredients used in the masalas that go into the potli. I keep experimenting myself, adding or removing some masalas or increasing / decreasing quantities, which change the overall flavour of the broth. So don't feel shy to experiment. I have used a pressure cooker this time, but cooking the meat on a open flame is the way to go, to extract maximum flavour into the Yakhni."

Joyce went on to explain, "As the rice cooks IN the rich Yakhni, it absorbs all its rich flavours. I cook it without tomatoes also. You can delete the chilli powder and green chillies if you like and let only the black pepper be the spice factor," advising to, "Use long grain old Basmati rice. The grains don't break up, and are are more aromatic." Malaika's mother ended the post saying that one can enjoy the Pulao on its own, but a simple raita would also be a wonderful pairing.

In May 2020, Joyce had shared another post about Yakhni Pulao sharing, "A mutton biryani, is any day a hands down winner. With so many styles of biryani across India, we are really spoilt for choice. But at times like this, when the weather is sweltering hot, a Yakhni with its lighter and milder flavours is a God send. A yakhni pulao, is basically rice that is cooked on dum, in the stock of the meat that you are using. The Key to a good yakhni pulao, is the yakhni or stock and the whole masalas that form a potli or bag, which is cooked in the stock. Try and let your taste buds get a feel of what flavours the potli, contsining fennel, coriander, black pepper bsy leaves, black and green cardamon, star anise, nutmeg and mace, mudt be imparting to the yakhni. As the meat is cooked in water that's boiled with a mix of spices, all the flavours of the meat seep into the stock, making it into a rich yakhni. Keeping this weather in mind, I have made a chicken yakhni pulao as it's easier to digest and lighter on the system."

She went on to write, "In a Yakhni pulao, there is no layering of rice and meat as in a biryani. It's all cooked together. The yakhni cooks the rice and gives it that rich aromatic flavour. And since I am a huge fan of barista (fried onions), I could not resist the temptation of sprinkling some on top."