Chicken Yakhni

📍 Where this dish comes from: Srinagar, Kashmir · Dal Lake
Discover the history of this region →

Yakhni is the defining broth of Kashmiri cuisine — pale, fragrant, and subtle, a world away from the bold reds and fiery heat of North Indian cooking. Its delicacy reflects Kashmir’s Persian culinary influence and the valley’s tradition of refined, aromatic cooking. This ethereal Kashmiri chicken soup is all about subtlety and soul: a soft, clean sweetness that soothes, restores, and quietly astonishes.

What You’ll Need

Chicken Yakhni

A broth so delicate it almost trembles in the bowl — pale, milk-white, and scented with fennel and dried ginger.

Print Recipe

Prep Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Total Time: 1 hour hour 15 minutes minutes

Course: Soup

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: 4 servings

Calories: 245kcal

Ingredients

• 1 whole chicken jointed
• 2 tbsp ghee
• 1 large onion halved
• 1 head garlic halved
• 3 cm ginger
• 1 tsp fennel seeds
• 4 green cardamom
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 tsp whole black pepper
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• Salt
• Fresh mint and fried onions to serve

Get Recipe Ingredients

Instructions

• Place chicken in a large pot with 1.5L water.
• Add onion, garlic, ginger, and all spices.
• Bring to a boil, skim foam thoroughly.
• Reduce and simmer 1 hour until chicken falls from the bone.
• Remove chicken; strain broth.
• Shred chicken and return to broth.
• In a pan, brown ghee and add back to broth.
• Serve with fresh mint and crispy fried onions.

Nutrition

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 245kcal | Protein: 28g | Fat: 14g

Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!

Health Benefits

• Fennel seeds provide anethole, traditionally used to help relieve gas and bloating during keto adaptation.
• Whole chicken provides complete protein plus collagen from the skin and bones.
• Green cardamom contains cineole, a compound studied for its potential respiratory benefits.