Kashmiri morel pulao with morel yakhni & walnut chutney

by Prateek Sadhu
Masque, India
 

WALNUT CHUTNEY
200g walnuts
5 Kashmiri red chillies
1 red onion
1 green chilli
2 lemons
75g yogurt

BROTH FOR RICE AND YAKHNI
100g onion
50g carrot
50g celery
2 sprigs thyme
8-10 whole black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 pod black cardamom
2 pods green cardamom Mushroom trim or mushroom water
(water left after soaking the dry morels)
100g Kombu (optional)

RICE
400g ambemohar rice
800ml stock/broth

YAKHNI
50g ghee
20g mustard oil
2 bay leaves
4-6 pods green cardamom
2-3 pods black cardamom
4-5 black peppercorns
5g fennel seeds
1 red onion
250g yogurt
15g ginger powder
40g fennel powder
120g dried morel mushrooms
600ml mushroom stock / broth used for rice (see above)
 

1 — WALNUT CHUTNEY
Soak the walnuts and red chillies separately in water for approximately 1 hour. Roughly chop the onion and deseed and chop the green chilli. Using a mortar and pestle, combine the onion, green chilli, walnuts, red chillies plus the juice of 1 lemon and the zest of 2 lemons. Grind until you get an even, chunky consistency. Add a little water if necessary. Fold in the yogurt and season with salt and more lemon if required.

2 — BROTH
Combine all ingredients in a pressure cooker, cover with water or mushroom water and simmer up to 4 to 5 whistles. Strain the liquid and save for the rice and yakhni.

3 — AMBEMOHAR RICE
Wash and soak the Ambemohar rice for at least an hour. Strain all the water and save. In a pot add ghee and sauté the 1 finely chopped onion, add the rice, and parch the rice for about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Add flavourful stock, cover the pot and cook (1 part rice to 2 parts stock). Rice will cook on simmer in about 15 minutes (may vary). Once cooked, add 2tbsp ghee, fold it in and rest the rice for 3 to 5 minutes before serving.

4 — YAKHNI
In a pressure cooker, add the ghee and mustard oil, lightly toast all the dry whole spices, add 1 chopped onion and sauté. Add mushroom (or other options), sear until golden brown and add stock. Let simmer for 15 minutes. In a bowl, combine yogurt, fennel powder and ginger powder. Whisk until evenly mixed. Slowly add the yogurt mix to the mushroooms while whisking to mix evenly. Pressure cook for 2 to 3 whistles. Once done, strain the mixture for the sauce as one part and mushrooms as the second part. Using a blender or hand blender emulsify the sauce and combine with mushrooms, then season with salt and lemon juice.

SERVING INSTRUCTIONS
As in Indian culture, this recipe is meant to be eaten family style.