Traditional Recipe for Porbo Pola East Indian Dish and Saffron Rice?

Question

Ok, we went to an Indian restaurant last night. I ordered Porbo Pola with chicken. Their description is as follows:

"Porbo Pola (Lamb or Chicken)

A signature dish of East-Indians. Every year at the close of spice harvest season, 21 different sun dried spices are pounded & stored in long green bottles to use for the rest of the year. In this marsala, we prepare marinated lamb or chicken curry with coconut milk, which is mild & aromatic."

http://www.tandooris.com/menu-ritas.asp

I went home and googled this for a recipe, and I got nothing but p**n sites!!!! Nor could I find anything about 21 spices in green bottles. I would like to make this. Can anyone help?

Also, their saffron rice was excellent. From what I could identify, it had cumin in it, cilantro. But the rice was not uniformly orange/yellow from saffron. Rather, it seemed as if there were little orange pieces here and there in the rice. I actually thought that it was orange peel. Any authentic recipes?

Answer 1

I have never heard of this dish, not sure how "marsala" applies to Indian food but this seems to be a special creation of that specific restaurant, but try this recipe

INGREDIENTS:

•1 lb Boneless Skinless Chicken b*****s (cut into large pieces) or skinless thighs

•3 cups Basmati Rice

•1 large Red Onions (thinly sliced) plus 3 large red onions chopped

*A bunch of Mint (chopped)

•A bunch of Cilantro (chopped)

•2 tsp. Ginger Paste ,2 tsp. Garlic Paste ,4 green chilies paste,mix then all together to make "Hara Masala"

•1&1/2 cups Plain /greek Yogurt

•1/4 can good quality coconut milk

•3 tsp. Coriander Powder

•1 tsp. Turmeric Powder

•2 tsp. Red Chili Powder

•1 tsp. Cumin Powder

•A pinch of Nutmeg powder

•5 Serano Green Chilies

•10 whole Cloves

•6 small Cardamoms

•2 Cinnamon Sticks,2 bay leaves, 2 Black Cardamom pods,1 tbsp Shajeera ,whole black peppercorns,pinch of Fennel seeds

•1 tbsp garam masala powder

•Fresh Lime/lemon Juice

•Salt (to taste) ,use kosher salt if available

•zest of 1 orange

•A few strands of Saffron (optional)

•4 tbsp. Whole Milk (optional)

For garnishing:-

Few whole mint leaves,

Green long slit chilies,

10 Cashew Nuts,

20 Raisins,

2 tbsp slivered almonds,

4 Eggs (hardboiled and halved),

3-4 tbsp of ghee,

orange zest

few drops of Rose water and Kewara water

Cooking Oil preferably Canola or Sunflower

2 tbsp Ghee/clarified butter

Preparation

1.  Marinate chicken with the yogurt, coconut milk, hara masala, turmeric powder, coriander powder, shajeera powder, garam masala powder, cumin powder, chili powders, little bit of tomato puree and kosher salt. Let it marinate for about 3-4 hour in refrigerator.

2.  Meanwhile, slice onions very thinly, and deep fry in oil mixed with ¼ cup of ghee or any other cooking oil until crisp.Fry cashews and raisins in the same oil, drain and set aside.

3.  Clean and wash the rice, drain, and set aside.

4.  Clean and chop the mint and coriander leaves. Slice few wedges of lemon and squeeze the lemon juice from rest of it.

5.  Heat milk (don’t boil, just lukewarm) and let saffron steep in it for few minutes.

6.  Semi cook the rice separately with bay leaves, cinnamon sticks, few pods of cardamoms and lemon juice. Start cooking rice halfway through the recipe otherwise if they get too cooled off before you mix chicken masala they won’t absorb the flavor at all.The ratio of rice to water should be 1:2, drain excess water if you find that its overcooking the rice.

7.  In the same oil in which you fried everything, now add whole garam masala and fry them a little until they infuse the oil with their aroma. Next add finely chopped onions and fry them of a minute or so. Next add hara masala and fry for another couple of minutes or until onion just starts turning golden in color.

8.  Add all the powders and then add marinated chicken.

Cook until it is no longer pink in the center.

ASSEMBLY:-

1.  In a deep baking dish or casserole layer the semi cooked rice.then add a layer of Chicken Mix

2.  For next layer sprinkle chopped mint, coriander, fried onions, saffron liquid, orange zest and lemon juice.

3.Repeat step 1 and 2 twice or thrice.

4.  After final layer sprinkle some ghee, rose water and kewra water.

5.Cover with aluminum foil and keep it in the 250-275 degree preheated oven for 2-3 hours or so.

While serving garnish it with cashews, raisins, almonds and Eggs.