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Indian

Mutton yakhni shorba

Non-vegetarian

A clear, deeply savoury mutton broth simmered for hours with fennel, whole spices, ginger and garlic, strained and served with tender pieces of meat — the 'yakhni' that is the base of pulao, sipped as a soup.

Mutton yakhni shorba is an Indian soup, ready in about 2 hours 30 minutes and made with goat meat and fennel seeds. It serves 6 and is rated easy to cook.

Start cooking

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Prep
15 min
Cook
2 h 15 min
Total
2 h 30 min
Serves
6
Level
Easy
Calories
106

Ingredients

6 servings

To finish

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Tie the fennel, coriander, peppercorns, cinnamon (opens in a new tab), both cardamoms (opens in a new tab), cloves (opens in a new tab) and bay leaves (opens in a new tab) in a square of muslin (or add loose and strain later).

    • 3 min
    Liquid being strained through a sieve
    How it looks · Photo: Katerina Holmes on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Put the mutton (opens in a new tab), water, onion (opens in a new tab), ginger, garlic (opens in a new tab) and spice bundle in a large pot. Bring slowly to the boil and skim off the grey foam until the surface stays clear.

    Food safety: Wash hands and surfaces after handling raw meat.

  3. Step 3

    Add the salt, cover partly and simmer very gently until the meat is falling off the bone and the broth is reduced by about a third.

    • 120 min
    • low heat

  4. Step 4

    Lift out the meat. Strain the broth through a fine sieve, then return the meat (off the bone if you like) to the broth.

  5. Step 5

    Heat the ghee (opens in a new tab), crackle the cumin (opens in a new tab) and pour it over the hot broth. Serve with lemon and coriander.

    • 1 min
    • medium heat

About this dish

Origin
North India (Mughlai / Awadhi), India · Commonly attributedYakhni stock is used across North India, Kashmir and Pakistan; drinking it as a soup is common in winter.Also popular in PakistanMore food from India
Dish
Lunch · Dinner · Soups
Cooking method
Simmered, Slow-cooked
Taste
savoury, umami, aromatic / warmly spiced, mild
Diet
No gluten ingredients · No nut ingredients · Low-carb
All labelsNon-vegetarian · Whole-food focused · No gluten ingredients · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · No added sugar · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free · Low-carb · Low-fat
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
One-pot · Make-ahead · Freezer-friendly · Batch cooking
Cook more with
Goat meat · Fennel seeds · Onion · Fresh ginger · Garlic · Ground coriander
Techniques
Simmering · Reduction

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom ghee

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

106 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 421 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 42%
  • Carbohydrate 25%
  • Fat 32%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy106 kcal25 kcal
Protein11.4 g2.7 g
Carbohydrate6.9 g1.6 g
Net carbohydrate5 g1.2 g
Sugars——
Added sugars0 g0 g
Fibre1.9 g0.4 g
Fat3.9 g0.9 g
Saturated fat1.8 g0.4 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol34 mg8 mg
Sodium732 mg174 mg
Salt equivalent1.8 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
311 mg
Calcium
87 mg
Iron
2.2 mg
Magnesium
—
Vitamin A (RAE)
19 µg
Vitamin C
4 mg
Vitamin D
—
Vitamin B12
0.6 µg
Folate (DFE)
7 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Optional ingredients are not included: lemon juice, coriander leaves.
  • Black cardamom: Green cardamom (FDC 170919) used as a stand-in; black cardamom is smoky and used whole in small amounts.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • Chill the strained broth overnight and lift off the fat for a lighter soup.

Common mistakes

  • Boiling hard makes the broth cloudy and greasy.

Serve with

  • Serve in mugs on winter evenings, or use the broth to cook a yakhni pulao.

Storage

  • Keeps 4 days refrigerated or 3 months frozen.

Reheating

  • Bring back to a full simmer until piping hot.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

What the dish is built around

Main ingredient

  • Goat meat, bone-in pieces with some marrow bones700 g
Used in step 2

Reviews & corrections

Reviews come from signed-in cooks and appear after a moderator checks them. We never show made-up ratings.

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