If you are a mutton lover like me, Yakhni Shorba at Samarkhand (Infantry Road) in Bangalore, should delight all your taste buds significantly. In plain english it's a yoghurt based mutton stock in very thin consistency.I haven't had the chance to try this shorba at any other restaurant yet, but I doubt if any one should manage to get this one wrong. That might take more work. Just like any dish made from potatoes - where the magic in the ingredients triumphs over any shortcomings of the cook.
Like most mughalai cuisine, this shorba too has its origins in Persia and was imported to India during the reign of Mughal Emperor Akbar. The earliest documented recipe for Yakhni Shorba can be found in Ain-I-Akbar. Akbar himself however did not think much of meat. The 400 cooks he employed had to be kept busy I guess.
Not wanting to be left out, the vegetarians during the British raj innovated appropriately on the recipe to match their palate, in the form of Yakhni sauce - minus the meat of course.
If you ever find yourself at Samarkhand in Bangalore, do give Yakhni Shorba a try. Couple it with Seekh Kebabs and Dum Ghost Biryani and even Akbar would convert into a mutton-arian at this meat-lovers haven.
[Original pic by akbar1947]
