Finely slice the onions as mentioned under "For the Brown Onions"
In a wok, add oil and allow it to reach the smoking point
Add the sliced onions and saute till they are golden brown
Keep separate
Peel and roughly chop the ginger, garlic and onions as mentioned under "To Prepare the Yakhni"
Wash the rice repeatedly to remove the dirt and starch
Preparing the Yakhni [30 minutes]
In a wok, dry roast all the whole spices mentioned under "To Prepare the Yakhni" for a couple of minutes
Put these whole spices in a muslin cloth and tie to prepare a potli
In the same wok, add oil and allow the oil to smoke
Add the roughly chopped ginger, garlic and onion and saute lightly for a minute
Add half of the brown onions along with well-beaten curd and briskly stir
Drop in the chicken pieces and lightly saute for a couple of minutes
Add water and salt
Once it comes to a boil, taste the water for saltiness. The water should taste slightly saltier. If not, add more salt and taste again. This step is very important
Cover and allow to cook for 25 minutes
After 25 minutes, uncover and using a slotted spoon or tong separate the chicken pieces in a bowl or plate
Remove the spice potli and discard the contents
Filter the water by running it through a colander to separate the liquid from the solid content. This liquid is the yakhni or chicken stock
Cooking the Chicken Yakhni Pulao [25 Minutes]
In the same wok place the chicken pieces
Add in 4 cups of the yakhni
Put the flame on medium
Add the gobindobhog rice
Allow this to come to a boil
Using a spatula stir it every few minutes till the water dries up and you can see holes starting to form on the rice
Immediately lower the flame to the minimum, cover and cook it for another 10 minutes
Uncover and add ghee
Give this a nice stir to allow any moisture to evaporate and make the rice look drier
Your chicken yakhni pulao is ready
Allow the pulao to cool down before serving
While serving, garnish with the left-over brown onions
Notes
Buy chicken on the bone. The bones have gelatin which increases the flavor profile of the yakhni. Chicken pieces can be sized as slightly bigger than the usual curry cut pieces
Wash the gobindobhog rice properly till the rice appears clear when in water. A lot of starch will make the chicken yakhni pulao look mushy and not give separate grains
Never serve a pulao while its steaming hot. Pulao should be always served warm
While I have used oil to brown the onions and saute the chicken, you can use ghee
Do not worry if you see the curd separate when you add it while preparing the yakhni. It will even out once the yakhni is prepared