I am kicking off Autumn, 2018 with some of my favorite soups. This one is from South Asia and it’s called Yakhni (Yuck-ni). Let me also clarify the name or what it earmarks of has nothing to do with how it tastes. It tastes delicious. Since bone broth is so popular these days, I figured this one was worth testing and re-creating a million times. I made it in an Instantpot with lamb shank, whole spices and herbs. This clear soup can be made with bone in chicken or beef. And I bet it would taste just as good as it did with the shank. Although, I am going to admit I have been bothered by why they named it what they did. Just like it has bothered me my entire adulthood why I was named Poo-ja. If I was to give it a name, I would have called it, the bougie bone broth with an Asian twist. Now we know, why I am not on the recipe naming part of the business and just on the creating and sharing end of it. Probably because of my naming skills. I should probably stick to what I am good at. I also hope you enjoy this soup just as much as we do at our home.
- • Shank of a lamb — 1, weighs close to a pound or about 450 grams.
- • Onion — 1 large, diced or sliced
- • Garlic — 1 whole knob or bulb, cut in half or 8 to 10 cloves
- • Ginger — 2-inch root, washed and roughly chopped
- • Bay leaves — 2
- • Cloves — 8, whole
- • Cinnamon — whole, 3-inch stick
- • Cumin seeds — 1 teaspoon
- • Coriander seeds — 1 teaspoon
- • Whole pepper corns — 1 teaspoon
- • Turmeric — ground, 1/2 teaspoon
- • Sea salt — 1/2 teaspoon or to taste
- • Water — 8 cups
- • Avocado or any odorless oil — 1 tablespoon
- • Cilantro — finely chopped to garnish
- • Green onion — finely chopped to garnish
- • Lemon — cut in wedges to garnish
- In the electric pressure cooker add the avocado oil and let it heat.
- Add the shank and sear it until the meat turns brown on all sides, this should take about 2 to 3 minutes.
The searing process can be faster for those cooking on the stove. The idea is to have a brown coating on all sides of the meat. - Add the turmeric, bay leaves, cloves, cinnamon, cumin seeds, coriander seeds and whole pepper and let the spices bloom for about a minute.
- Now add the onion, ginger and garlic and cook until the onions turn slightly translucent. This process should take another minute.
- Lastly, add the salt and water. Put the lid on and cook for somewhere between 30 to 40 minutes.
If cooking in a stock pot it can take about 90 minutes while cooking it on a medium flame. If cooking in a pressure cooker, cook on medium for about 30 minutes and then let it sit until the pressure subsides which should take another 10 minutes. - Remove the shank, debone it, cut the it into tiny pieces and set it aside.
- Now carefully strain the soup into bowl. With a spoon or spatula, push the residue against the strainer so that we get all of that good flavors from the herbs and spices
- Ladle the warm soup into a bowl, spoon in some of the lamb pieces, garnish with some cilantro, green onion and finally a good drizzle of some lemon juice.
Enjoy this warm hug from my kitchen to yours.
- • Not a lamb and not a shank: If using any other bone-in meat, searing may be hard so just sauté the meat on medium flame for 3 to 4 minutes.
