Aakhnir Jol Diye Rui Mach'er Pulao/Yakhni Fish Pulao

A small girl was curiously watching her father working in kitchen. Her mother is smiling and was helping her little brother and sister to do their homework. The cool, soothing wind was coming from the cooler fan. And some cut water-melons were neatly placed over the dining table. Summer days meant watermelons and turning the cooler for her.And her father would definitely help her mother in cooking. Her little brother who seemed to be impatient, was trying to grab one of those delicious water-melons kept in a bamboo fruit basket .Whenever he would try to do that, her mother would gently tap a pencil over his hand and swing it in the air and nod her head in a firm NO and then point it over the note-copy to finish doing his home-work. Her brother with no choices left would make faces to her and would start again doing his homework. Her cute, chubby, little sister would burst into innocent, childish laughter seeing all these.
Little girl-“Baba, ki banacho tumi?”- What are you making father?
Baba-“oh! Manu ,I am making yakhni pulao”
Little girl blinking her wide eyes-“ki yaakh-yaakhhni pu-pull lao, seyita ki hoye” it seemed a tongue twister and an alien word to her.
Baba-“Tumi aro ekto boro hole janbe” you will come to know when you grow a little bit more.
Little girl still amused , decided to hang out in kitchen some more time and saw her baba so enthusiastically assemble the pulao.She was assigned the job to peel onion. While peeling an onion, tears started flowing down from her eyes easily. Her father quickly came to rescue and wiped the tears coming out. He took away the onions and washed them well in running tap water. He then gave them to the little girl and assured her it won’t bother her now. It didn’t make her cry anymore after that, she was again amused. That day she saw another hidden, soft part of her baba/father which she was totally unaware of.
In a foreign land, that little girl now a married lady with a curious daughter like her is trying her hand in making that old yakhni pulao.
Her 5 year old daughter, mischievoiusly playing with her dupatta-“Eyi ta ki banacho mamma?” What are you making mother?
She could feel that life does come a full circle. Another generation is getting ready to carry the legacy forward. Her little girl had decided to hang out some more time in the kitchen and had picked some onions to peel. She, this time smiling, quickly washed them in running water and gave it to her daughter.

Yesterday made rui mach’er pulao, so thought of posting it. I was trying to capture each step of this pulao while making it. Hope you will find this post useful. I have heard so much about aakhnir jol /aromatic water for preparing pulaos that I decided to make it this way. I have told you about an Old Bengali book that I have, I consulted that book. Although I picked the basic of making aakhnir jol, but added many more other ingredients to make this pulao even more flavourful.

This recipe is adapted from that book. Also I have seen baba (my father)  making pulao with another way. He used to make a potli/small bag of sort, out of plain cotton cloth/muslin cloth and would generally stack up all the aromatic garam masala in it , tie it well and then would keep that potli simmering in water ,that aromatic water he would then use up in making pulao.Then he would usually keep the pulao cooking over dum(covering with the lid and placing a heavy thing ,usually a noraof Bengali -"sheel nora"- a kind of mortar-pestle type of thing ) at low flame or sometimes when he would have time, he would seal the lid with kneaded wheat flour dough. That pulao would turn out so flavorful that I don’t have words to explain here. This pulao reminded me of that delicious pulao.Oh! And I happen to confirm this , he told me thats call "dum style of cooking" ...

I managed to make it this time in oven which actually is quite similar to dum style of cooking ...and I have planned to make it the other way over stop-top next time also. Now to the recipe -


Aakhnir jol diye Rui mach’er pulao /Yakhni Fish Pulao
Serves-4-5
Recipe requirements

For the Aakhnir Jol/Aromatic Water
3-4 cups of water
10-12 cloves/lobongo
2 big cardamoms/boro elaich
2 stick cinnamon/dalchini
Some twigs of jaitri/mace
10-12 black pepper /gota morich
2 tsp of cumin powder
2 tsp of coriander powder
2 tsp of garam masala
2 tsp of black pepper powder
2 cloves of garlic chopped
1 medium size onion chopped finely ( Usually many times onions and garlic is avoided in proper traditional cooking )

Prepare aakhnir jol/Aromatic water


Bring a pot with 3-4 cups of water to a boil and then add all the above listed ingredients for the aromatic water/aakhnir jol
For the fish gravy
1 tsp of turmeric powder+1 tsp of turmeric powder (for the fish gravy)
1 -2 tsp of salt
2 tsp of red pepper powder
2tbs of cooking oil
Marinate fish pieces in ground turmeric and salt. Keep aside for 30 mints.
Now heat up a frying pan/deep bottom pan and add cooking oil.
Fry each fish pieces each side for 3-4 mints.
Now in that oil itself, add 1 cup of water, add turmeric, red pepper powder and salt. Add in fried fish pieces and cover with lid .Let it simmers for sometimes-5-8 mints at med-low.
Meanwhile the fish gravy is being cooked. Let’s assemble the rice for the pulao

Recipe requirements for fish pulao
2 cups of basmati rice/gobindo bhog rice
2 medium size onions chopped
3-4 cloves garlic
1 inch ginger chopped
2-3 bay leaves
2-3 tsp of mixed garam masala ingredients whole like mace/dalchini/cloves/black pepper
2 -3 tbs of ricotta cheese
1 tbs of good quality milk powder
¼ cup of shelled pistachios
½ cup of cashews
¼ cup of raisins
½ cup of desiccated coconut/fresh scraped coconut
1 tbs of yogurt
1 tsp of sugar
Salt as per taste
1 tbs of cooking oil+1 tbs of cooking oil+1 tbs of cooking oil

 
Procedure
Wash rice thoroughly in water for 2-3 times. Soak it in water for 30 mints; meanwhile work on the aakhnir jol /aromatic water and frying fish pieces etc.

Coarsely chop cashews and pistachios .Heat up a cooking pan or big enough to hold the entire contents listed above. Add oil and fry cashews pistachio pieces till they turn golden. Take out in a separate bowl.

Mix in ricotta cheese and milk powder in a glass.TIP-This makes our instant khoya.If you have fresh khoya then that would be added advantage.
Add 1 tbs of cooking oil in that pan itself, fry the ricotta cheese+ milk powder mixture at low till they turn nice brown in colour.

Add in desiccated coconut( Wish I had some fresh coconut ,I would suggest if you have the option then use fresh coconut ).Fry some more time and take it out after shallow frying.
Now add in 2 tabs of cooking oil, add bay leaf, add chopped garlic, ginger and fry them well for 5 mints till they turn out nice golden.

 
Add in chopped onions ,, fry till they turn out nice brown.

  Add fried ricotta cheese mixture and cashews and pistachio. Fry them well for another 5 mints. Add 1 tbs of plain yogurt.

Add in soaked rice and keep frying for another 5-7 mints.

and keep frying rice with the masala till they get evenly mix , say about 5-8 mints.Keep the flame at med-low.

Now assemble the pulao
Preheat the oven at 190 deg Celsius (fan assisted).
Now take out the fish pieces. Scoop out some rice mixture and transfer it in oven proof dish or casserole.
Now keep the fish pieces and then again layer rice mixture alternately.

Layer this way till all rice mixture is used up.
Now add in 2 cups of aakhnir jol/aromatic water to it by the sides of the dish. Cover it with foil ,place the dish in the second shelf and bake it for 25 mints. Cut a lemon in half and sprinkle half lemon juice over the baked pulao, mix in gently.Keep it covered.Let it sit there for 1 hr and then serve.Enjoy your delicious rui mach’er pulao.

Note-
1. Use khoya in place of ricotta+milk powder mixture. I didn’t have khoya so came up with this instant khoya.
2. I baked mine for 30 mints, thought it was bit more so, I would suggest keeping looking after 25 mints. It would be better to take out when its 22-26 mints from the oven and keeping it covered with foil. That way the rice if there is some uncooked portion will be cooked by the moisture that gets trapped and it will prevent over cooking or soggy rice pulao.Sprinkling some lemon juice will also help.

3. I have made the fish cooked a little bit in some gravy before I added them to fried rice mixture. I do think this way fish absorbs more flavor .If you feel, you may add the fried fish pieces directly to it.

4. Aakhnir jol is one staple way of making pulao more flavourful.Use this aromatic water in any type of meat-based pulao.I do think lamb or mutton pulao will turn out even more flavorful with this.And many times onion+garlic is avoided in preparaing Yakhni water, I have personally liked the use of onions+garlic, in case you like to skip then it's entirely up to you .

One more close look

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