Meat akhni

Meat akhni is a favourite in most Bengali households, cooked during special occasions, or an anniversary. It's one of my husband's favourites (you should see his eyes light up when i mention i've made it), and one of mine. 

Lots of people cook it differently, for example my in laws use only oil when cooking it, whereas i believe it is blasphemy if akhni is cooked without ghee.

Before you start, soak 4 rice cooker cups of basmati rice in warm water for an hour, while making the curry.

For the meat curry, i used:

2 tbsp oil

1 large bay leaf, cut in two

1 small cinnamon stick

2 cardamoms

2 peppercorns

2 cloves

5 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch piece ginger, minced

2 small onions, cut in large chunks

600g mixed mutton, cut in small pieces

Salt to taste

Coriander (optional)

1 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1 tsp curry powder

1 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp cumin powder

1 tsp garam masala

In a saucepan, heat your oil and infuse with the dry spices (bay leaf, cinnamon stick, cardamoms, peppercorns, cloves).

Then add your garlic and ginger and brown. Once browned, add your onions, mutton, salt and coriander and mix very well. Add a little water, cover and cook for about 30 minutes, checking regularly to see it doesn't burn. Add a little water if the meat is sticking to the pan.

After about 30 minutes, add your powdered spices and mix very well. Cover and cook for a further 10 minutes, adding water if needed. This curry needs to be semi dry as we will be adding to rice later.

For the rice, i used:

3 tbsp ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 pinch asafoetida (optional)

1 large bay leaf, cut in 3

1 large cinnamon stick

3 cardamoms

3 cloves

4 peppercorns

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch ginger, minced

1 large onion, finely sliced

Salt to taste

4 rice cooker cups of basmati rice, soaked

Coriander to garnish

5 green chillies to garnish

In a big saucepan, heat your ghee and infuse with your dry spices (cumin seeds, asafoetida, bay leaf, cardamoms, cloves and peppercorns).

Once infused, fry your garlic and ginger, and when browned, add your onions and salt. Fry the onions until soft, then add your drained rice. 

Fry on a semi high heat where the rice is just sticking to the pan. Continuously stir the rice until coated in the ghee.

Your curry should be cooked by now. Take the pan and pour all the meat and sauces onto the rice. Mix rice and meat very well. Add some water to the pan where the meat was cooked and get all the curry remnants off the pan. Add this water to the rice and meat. Cover with more water until the water is about half a centimetre above the rice. Mix very well again and make sure meat is evenly distributed.

Cover the pan with foil, then put on the lid. This is called 'dum' cooking. It will ensure the steam doesn't escape and the rice is cooked well. Traditionally this was done using a dough mixture, but foil works just as well.

Put the pan on a very low heat and after about 5 minutes, carefully open the lid and foil, stir the rice again and add your chillies and coriander. Cover with the foil and lid again a cook on a low heat for a further 5 - 7 minutes.

Turn the heat off and allow the rice to cook in it's steam for as long as possible (I leave it for half an hour), then serve. It remains very hot if the foil is left on for 2 - 3 hours.

Eat with a salad, chicken roast and mint yoghurt for a delicious meal!

Hope you enjoy!

Yaz ♥