Al Tawakkal Beef Pulao Recipe (Karachi Beef Yakhni Pulao, 1 kg)

Al Tawakkal beef pulao is one of Karachi’s best-known street pulaos: soft beef, long rice cooked in the beef’s own yakhni, and a sharp finish of lemon, green chilli and crushed whole spices. It is close to Hyderabadi beef pulao, and you can make it with mutton too. We filmed this recipe with the Al Tawakkal team in Karachi. Below is the 1 kg recipe from the video, plus 2 kg and 4 kg quantities.

Watch the Al Tawakkal Beef Pulao Video

The full video plays in the recipe card below. To jump to one step, open it on YouTube:

• 0:19 Finished pulao
• 1:24 Tomato and lemon slices
• 1:50 Green chilli paste
• 1:57 Crushed spices
• 2:29 Beef yakhni steps on screen
• 4:39 Soaked rice goes in
• 6:22 Fried onion
• 6:48 Mixing after dum
• 7:53 Served

What Makes Al Tawakkal Beef Pulao Different

The rice cooks in the beef yakhni. The beef simmers for about 2 hours with a few whole spices and red chilli flakes. That broth is the cooking liquid for the rice, so every grain tastes of beef.

The spices are crushed, not powdered. Coriander, cumin and fennel are lightly crushed and go in with star anise, cardamom, cloves, cinnamon and curry leaves.

It is tangy. Lemon slices, a small piece of tamarind and green chilli paste give the sharp Karachi taste, balanced by a little yogurt.

Ingredient Notes and Substitutions

• Beef: bone-in pieces give a richer yakhni. Mutton works with the same method and cooks a little faster.
• Rice: basmati or sella both work. Soak for only 10-15 minutes.
• Tamarind: one small piece is enough. No tamarind? Add the juice of half a lemon at the end.
• Red chilli flakes: 1 tbsp in the yakhni gives medium heat. Reduce it for children.

Al Tawakkal Beef Pulao Ingredients for 1 kg, 2 kg and 4 kg

Every ingredient from the recipe, grouped by step. Pick the column for the amount you are cooking.

The 1 kg column is the exact recipe from the video description. The 2 kg and 4 kg columns are scaled by us. Larger pots lose less water, so the water does not double exactly. Taste the yakhni for salt before the rice goes in.

Step-by-Step: How Al Tawakkal Beef Pulao Is Made

1. Make the beef yakhni

Heat 1 cup oil, add 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste and 1 kg beef, and sauté on high flame for 3-4 minutes. Add a small sliced tomato and onion, 4-5 black peppercorns, 2 green and 1 black cardamom, 2-3 cloves, 1 tbsp red chilli flakes and 10-12 cups of water. Cook on high flame for 3-4 minutes, then on low flame for about 2 hours until the beef is tender. Lift out the beef and keep the yakhni.

2. Cook the masala base

In the pulao pot, heat 1/2 cup oil with 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste, a medium tomato, 2 sliced lemons and 2-3 tbsp green chilli paste.

3. Add the pulao spices and the beef

Add the crushed coriander, cumin and fennel seeds, the whole spices, bay and curry leaves, 1 tbsp salt and the tamarind. Then add the boiled beef, 1/4 cup yogurt, 1 tbsp green chilli paste and the reserved yakhni with enough water to cook the rice.

4. Cook the rice

Add 1 kg soaked rice. Cook on high flame for 5 minutes, then cover and cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes, until the rice is done and the liquid is absorbed.

5. Finish and serve

Scatter fried onion, coriander and mint over the pulao and mix gently from the sides. In the video, a little orange food colour is drizzled over the rice before the final dum. It only adds colour, so skip it if you like.

Al Tawakkal Beef Pulao (Karachi Beef Yakhni Pulao, 1 kg)

Karachi’s famous Al Tawakkal style beef pulao: beef slow-cooked into a light yakhni, then rice cooked in that yakhni with crushed whole spices, lemon, green chilli and a little tamarind. Quantities are for 1 kg beef and 1 kg rice, exactly as in the video description.

Print Recipe Pin Recipe

Prep Time 20 minutes mins

Cook Time 2 hours hrs 30 minutes mins

Total Time 2 hours hrs 50 minutes mins

Servings: 6 people

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Karachi Style / Pakistani, Restaurant Style

Calories: 550

Ingredients Method Video Notes

Ingredients

  

Beef yakhni

• 1 cup cooking oil
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 kg beef or mutton
• 1 small tomato sliced
• 1 small onion sliced
• 4-5 black peppercorns
• 2 green cardamom
• 1 black cardamom
• 2-3 cloves
• 1 tbsp red chilli flakes
• 10-12 cups water

Masala base

• 1/2 cup cooking oil
• 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
• 1 medium tomato
• 2 medium lemons sliced
• 2-3 tbsp green chilli paste

Pulao spices

• 1 tbsp coriander seeds crushed
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds crushed
• 1 tbsp fennel seeds crushed
• 4-5 green cardamom
• 2-3 black cardamom
• 5-6 cloves
• 2 star anise
• 8-10 black peppercorns
• 2 bay leaves
• 2-3 curry leaves
• 2 pieces cinnamon stick 2 inch
• 1 tbsp salt or to taste
• 1 small piece tamarind

Rice

• 1/4 cup yogurt
• 1 tbsp green chilli paste
• 1 kg basmati or sella rice soaked 10-15 minutes
• reserved beef yakhni topped up with water as needed
• fried onion, coriander and mint leaves to finish

Method

 

Beef yakhni

1. Heat 1 cup oil, add the ginger garlic paste and beef, and sauté on high flame for 3-4 minutes.
2. Add the sliced tomato and onion, black pepper, both cardamoms, cloves, red chilli flakes and 10-12 cups of water.
3. Cook on high flame for 3-4 minutes, then on low flame for about 2 hours, until the beef is tender. Lift out the beef and keep the yakhni.

Pulao masala

1. In a separate pot, heat 1/2 cup oil with the ginger garlic paste, tomato, lemon slices and green chilli paste.
2. Add all the crushed pulao spices, whole spices, curry leaves, salt and tamarind and cook briefly.
3. Add the boiled beef, yogurt, green chilli paste and the reserved yakhni with enough water to cook the rice.

Rice

1. Add the soaked rice. Cook on high flame for 5 minutes, then cover and cook on low flame for 15-20 minutes.
2. Finish with fried onion, coriander and mint leaves and serve.

Video

Notes

You can use mutton instead of beef with the same method.

The description does not give an exact liquid amount for the rice stage. As a guide, the yakhni plus water should cover the rice by about 2 cm before it goes on dum.

Beef Pulao Problems and How to Fix Them

• The beef is still hard: the yakhni was too short. Test a piece before adding the rice.
• The rice is sticky: too much liquid, or the rice soaked too long. Keep the soak to 15 minutes.
• The rice is undercooked: the lid was not tight. Seal it with foil and give it 5 more minutes on low flame.
• It tastes bland: taste the yakhni for salt before the rice goes in.

Variations

• Mutton pulao: a different style of mutton pulao from Khyber Shinwari.
• Chicken yakhni pulao: chicken needs only 25-30 minutes in the yakhni.
• Milder pulao: halve the red chilli flakes and green chilli paste.

Serving and Storing Beef Pulao

Serve hot with raita and a salad of onion, tomato and cucumber. Leftovers keep for 3 days in the fridge. Reheat covered on low flame with a splash of water.

Al Tawakkal Beef Pulao FAQs

Is Al Tawakkal pulao the same as Hyderabadi beef pulao?

It is very close. Both cook the rice in a beef yakhni with whole spices, lemon and green chilli.

Can I make this pulao with mutton?

Yes. Use the same quantities. Mutton usually becomes tender a little sooner than beef.

How long should beef cook for pulao yakhni?

About 2 hours on low flame for 1 kg, or until a piece breaks easily when pressed.

Why is tamarind added to beef pulao?

A small piece of tamarind adds a mild sourness that balances the rich beef and oil.

Basmati or sella rice for beef pulao?

Both work. Sella holds its shape in big batches; basmati is softer and more fragrant.

More Pulao Recipes

• Masaledar raseeli chicken pulao (2 kg): a chicken pulao from Asad Pakwan.
• Karachi chicken pulao: a commercial 1.5 kg chicken pulao.