When it comes to Pakistani cuisine, Lamb Pulao stands as an iconic dish that is made on many celebratory occasions. This lamb Pulao will keep you coming back for seconds once you make it!

Rice Pulao on a plate with a side on onions and tomatoes

What is Pulao?

Lamb Pulao or Pulao is a rice dish that features tender, fall of-the-bone lamb or mutton that is cooked in mellow aromatic spices, basmati rice, and a savory stock. I don't think there is any comparison to Biryani but if you must, Pulao focuses on balanced, warmer flavors that is similar to a more Middle Eastern palate, whereas Biryani is generally on the spicier side and layered with a curry masala.

Why You'll love this Lamb Pulao

This recipe is largely based on my Chicken Pulao recipe (which has won me some verbal accolades from family and friends) with some minor tweaks on preparation. You'll love this Lamb Pulao because I pressure cook the lamb to cut on time so you can practically make this in 60-75 minutes.

The flavor is absolutely delicious particularly if you like more mellow rice dishes. This is not a spicy dish by the way so if you have a special hankering for spicy food, please make this Biryani.

Ingredients You'll Need

Meat: Lamb shanks is what I prefer for most of my lamb dishes but shoulder is also a great cut.
Vegetables: Lots of onions (this is key to achieving the brown hue to the rice). Also, I will fight you on this but Pulao doesn't need tomatoes. Still love you if you do make it with tomatoes 🙂
Spices: I only add whole garam masala spices to the lamb to create a flavorful and rich stock. The only spices that I add to the rice for the final cooking is ground coriander, cumin seeds, whole green chilies and optional but I sometimes add red chili flakes for some heat.
Rice: Basmati rice (soaked for 30 minutes). For this recipe, I soaked 5 cups of rice.
Stock: You will add stock until your rice is mostly submerged. For 4 lbs of lamb, I added 5 cups of rice and 8 cups of stock. This was bang on! But sometimes, you may need a bit more or less water depending on your stove and how hot it runs.

What Cut of Meat is Best for Pulao?

Bone-in lamb pieces, like shank or shoulder, work best as they add more flavor to the stock. I prefer lamb because it is much more tender than mutton. But Mutton is great as well.

Step-by-Step Instructions to Make Lamb Pulao

1. Prepare the Lamb Stock

You will first need to create a flavorful stock by pressure cooking lamb with water, whole spices, salt, onion, garlic and ginger. If you are using small lamb pieces, you may only need to pressure cook for just 5 mins. Mutton will take longer because it is a tougher meat than lamb. Strain and reserve the stock.

2. Sauté the Onion

In a heavy-bottomed pot, heat oil and sauté sliced red onion until deep brown. This takes about 20 mins. This step is crucial for achieving the light brown hue of the finished pulao. After onion is ready, I only add coriander powder, some cumin seeds and whole green chili.

3. Add the Cooked Lamb

Add the lamb and gently give it a stir for a couple minutes. If your lamb is too tender, don't prod it too much because it will fall apart.

4. Add the Rice and Stock

Pour in the stock and rice. The stock should mostly submerge the rice. At this point, add salt. You will need to be generous because the rice has no salt. Typically, I go with a teaspoon of salt to each cup of rice. But you may need to go a teaspoon more. The stock should taste as salty as the sea, (think Pasta water).

5. Cook the Pulao

Bring the stock to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pot tightly with the lid and let the pulao cook for 15-20 minutes undisturbed. The water should more or less have evaporated and the rice will have just a tiny bite left. At this point, you will drop the heat to its lowest, cover the lid with a damp kitchen towel and close the pot.

The damp cloth does two things: 1) it seals the edges of the lid so the heat doesn't escape and 2) the resulting steam remains trapped in the pot and ensures your rice finishes cooking in its own steam and has separate grains. The word that refers to this technique is called "dum" in Urdu. Let the Lamb Pulao cook in this "dum" stage for 10-15 minutes.

What to do with leftover stock

Please don't discard the stock that's leftover. That is liquid gold that you can heat up and drink in the mornings. It improves gut health and boosts collagen, which is so good for your skin. I always freeze extra stock to drink in the mornings (admittedly lamb stock has a very strong aroma) or use in soups or even when I'm craving Pulao but don't have time to extract the stock.

Tips for Perfect Lamb Pulao Every Time

Use good-quality basmati rice: Long-grain Basmati has a unique aroma and is super important for this dish.
Soak the rice: Soaking the rice will remove excess starch to ensure the rice is fluffy and each grain is separate once the Pulao has done cooking. Always rinse the rice until the water runs clear before allowing it to soak.
You don't need hours for a flavorful stock: Literally 5 mins in the pressure cooker will create a beautiful and rich stock. It's honestly a myth that you can't use the Instant Pot for stock.
Onions need time: You absolutely need to brown the onions well because the whole color and appeal of the finished pulao rests on these buggers.

Serving & Storing

I always serve this Lamb Pulao or in fact any Pulao I make a chutney raita (I honestly can't eat without this) and a simple side salad of sliced onion, tomatoes and cucumber sprinkled with salt, pepper and a squeeze of lemon.

Lamb Pulao

Rookie With A Cookie

This Lamb Pulao recipe combines tender lamb shanks and aromatic Basmati rice that is cooked in the Lamb stock. It's is a version of the traditional Yakhni Pulao method.

5 from 3 votes

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Course Main

Cuisine Pakistani, Pakistani/Indian

Servings 10

Ingredients

Stock/Yakhni

4 lbs Lamb shanks cut in small to medium pieces
1 tablespoon coriander seeds
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
3 black cardamom
10 whole cloves
1 tablespoon whole black pepper
3 inch cinnamon stick
½ red onion
4 garlic cloves
1 thumb-sized piece ginger
1 teaspoon salt more to add later

Rice Base

½-3/4 cup oil
4 red onions sliced
5 cups Basmatic rice long grain is best
8 cups prepared stock from above
2 teaspoon cumin seeds
4 black cardamom
8-10 whole cloves
10 whole black peppercorn
1 ½ tablespoon ground coriander
1 tablespoon cumin seeds
4-5 whole green chilies slit lengthwise
1 teaspoon red chili flakes optional for heat
5 teaspoon salt to taste until stock tastes like the sea (1 teaspoon for each cup of rice is recommended but please adjust)

Instructions

Stock

In your Instant Pot on Sauté mode, add lamb shanks with enough water to submerge the pieces. Let it heat for 15 minutes until the impurities come to the top. Drain this out and rinse the lamb.
Into the Instant Pot, add the rinsed lamb shanks with fresh water up to the max line and add all the whole spices and ingredients mentioned under "Stock." Pressure cook on high for 5 minutes or until your lamb is fully tender. This may take longer depending on the size of your pieces (my pieces were small).
While the lamb is cooking, in a large pot, add the sliced onion and sauté until it gets deeply brown. This may take anywhere from 15-20 mins.
Add cumin seeds, coriander powder and green chilies and mix. You can also do this step after adding the lamb.
Once lamb is in, give it a gentle stir for a minute or two until nicely combined. If you added only 1 teaspoon of salt when making the stock, add one more teaspoon and stir gently.
Next add the stock until the rice is just submerged. Now is the time to add salt. The stock should literally taste like the sea. I ended up adding 5-6 teaspoons of salt because my stock wasn't salty.
Once satisfied with the salt, let the stock come to a gentle boil, then cover the pot with the lid and cook for 15-20 minutes on low to medium heat. By this point, the rice should be 90-95% cooked with little to no water left.
Next, drop the heat to the lowest setting and wrap the lid with a damp kitchen towel and close the pot tightly. Allow the Pulao to cook for another 10 minutes. This will give the dish the final steam or "dum" that is super important to make the rice fluffy and separate the grains.
Serve with cilantro and mint raita chutney, and a simple sliced onion salad.

Notes

You can add the whole spices in the stock to a muslin cloth so it's easier to remove. If you add it straight in like me, then just remove as many spices when straining the stock.

Lamb/Mutton Pulao (Fast and easy!)

What is Pulao?

Why You'll love this Lamb Pulao