Morog Pulao, A Bengali Chicken Rice Recipe in the Chasseur French Oven

Explore a whole new world of spices with this flavoursome Bengali Chicken Rice recipe made in the Chasseur French Oven

This Bengali Chicken Rice called Morog Pulao is not only an incredible one-pot wonder but also a crowd pleaser! A great inclusion on the holiday feasting table or for your weekend special lunch or dinner. The fragrance is everything in this dish, and I promise you the ingredients are all easily accessible in your local supermarket.

What is Morog Pulao?

This Bangladeshi chicken pilaf is loaded with flavour through slow cooking. The flavour is similar to Biryani, but it isn’t like chicken Biryani in that its flavour is far gentler. It is an aromatic, flavoursome dish. It’s called Morog Pulao because traditionally cockerel meat is used to make the dish, with it being tastier than regular poultry meat. But I often make the dish with chicken and it tastes just as delicious!

What do we need to make Morog Pulao?

I cook dinner daily for my family, so easy cooking with everyday ingredients is a must.

• Rice - Ideally non-starchy short grain rice is used for this pilaf. If you can’t get that one, use an excellent quality Basmati rice.
• Chicken - Bone-in and skinless large chicken pieces (you can use drumstick pieces as an alternative)
• Fat - I prefer to use a combination of unflavoured white oil and Ghee. You can use unsalted butter too!
• Spices - The combination of whole and ground spices such as green cardamoms, cloves, cinnamon, mace, nutmeg, bay leaf, black pepper, and red chilli, make it a flavoursome dish.
• Flavour - Other than spices, onion, ginger, garlic and Kewra essence are key flavour components. If you can’t get Kewra water from your local grocer, use rose water or skip it.
• Nuts and dried fruits - Use any nuts and dried fruits you have in your pantry. I used almonds and raisins. You can make a nut-free version by replacing nuts with melon seeds.
• Green chillies - Don’t think that adding green chilli will make the dish spicy. The mild acidic heat of green chilli cuts the sweetness of the onion to balance it.

Equipment I used:

• 2-3 mixing bowls
• Either a small grinder to make ginger and garlic paste or Microplane grater will do the job efficiently.
• Wooden spatula
• French oven - I prefer to cook all my recipes in a French oven, especially with recipes which call for slow cooking. Chasseur is one of my favourite cast iron French Oven that I have been using for a long time.

Why and What I love about Chasseur French Oven?

Years back, when I was setting up my Indian kitchen in my Aussie home, I searched for a heavy-duty cooking pot on a budget for my daily cooking. When I bought my Chasseur cast iron French oven, I felt it ticked all the criteria for my daily cooking. From browning onions to making goat curry, Dhal, chicken curry to Biryani or this Morog Pulao, every dish turned out delicious. Dum cooking or slow cooking is prevalent in Indian cuisine. Almost every Indian stew, curry, Dhal recipes call for slow cooking. A heavy-duty pot with a lid is preferred for Dum cooking.

• The two layers of enamel finish is perfect for cooking curry, soup, or roasting without stuck bits.
• It is valued for its versatility on all cooking surfaces, its even heating properties, energy-saving and exceptional browning capability. These make it a joy to cook with.
• Affordable price point for a heavy-duty cast-iron cookware piece that offers excellent cooking performance and results.

What to serve with Morog Pulao?

Serve simple Bengali garden salad, which is basically sliced red onion, tomato, cucumber and lemon juice drizzled on top, served on a plate or serving platter for a large crowd. To finish it off, sprinkle black salt and black pepper. And Voila! Enjoy your delicious one-pot wonder! Hope you enjoy this recipe.

Morog Pulao in the Chasseur French Oven

Serves: 6 Prep Time: 10 Minutes Marinating time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Ingredients

Chicken Marinade

• 1.2 kg Chicken legs and thighs, scored with a knife (bone-in, skin off)
• ⅓ cup of Greek yoghurt
• 2 tbsp Ginger paste
• 1 tbsp Garlic paste
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp of mild red chilli powder (mainly for the colour, not for heat, I used Kashmiri red
• chilli powder)
• Spice blend:
  • 5-6 green cardamoms
  • 4-5 cloves
  • 2-3 barks of cinnamon or cassia bark
  • 8-10 black peppers
  • ½ of a small nutmeg or ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
  • 3-4 mace flakes or ⅛ tsp mace powder

To cook the Chicken (Morog)

• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Ghee or unsalted butter
• 6-8 almonds
• One large yellow or red onion, thinly sliced
• 3-4 bark of the cinnamon (2 inches long)
• 4 green cardamoms
• 4 cloves
• 1 dried bay leaf
• 1 tsp sugar
• Salt to taste
• 1 cup of warm or boiling water
• 1 tsp Kewra or Rose water

For the Rice (Pulao)

• 2 cups Basmati rice washed and soaked into the water at least for 30 minutes.
• 1 large Yellow or red onions
• 2-3 green Cardamoms
• 2-3 Cloves
• ¼ inch Cinnamon stick
• 1 Bay leaf
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp Ghee or unsalted butter
• 4 tbsp whole milk
• 15 -20 raisins
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tsp Kewra water or Rose water (optional)
• 4-6 green chillies

Method

Marinate The Chicken

1. Put all the spices under the spice blend section in a spice grinder or coffee grinder and grind them alternating between pulsing or whizzing. You will get approximately 1 ½ tsp of the spice blend.
2. Using a sharp knife, score the chicken pieces with 1-inch slits.
3. In a mixing bowl add in yoghurt, red chilli powder, spice blend, ginger and garlic paste, chicken pieces, salt to taste and combine them. Cover with a lid and marinate for 30 minutes on the kitchen counter or overnight in the refrigerator.

Note: If you do meal prep, you can freeze the marinated chicken. And the day before you cook the Morog Pulao, transfer the chicken into the refrigerator to thaw. Cook the Chicken (Morog)

1. Put in almonds in a small bowl, pour water and soak the almonds for 30 minutes.
2. Heat oil and Ghee in your French oven over medium heat.
3. Reduce the heat to low, add all the whole spices and give a quick stir for a few seconds to release the aroma from the whole spices.
4. Add the sliced onion, sprinkle salt and over medium heat fry the onion turns to a lovely golden brown colour. Once done, remove about 2-3 tbsp of fried onion from the French oven for garnishing and spread it on a kitchen towel lined plate.
5. Next, add marinated chicken in the French oven and mix with the onion. Increase the heat to high, cook each side for 2 minutes, then flip the other side of the chicken pieces and cook for another 2 minutes on high heat. This way, chicken pieces will develop a golden brown colour and a crispy texture, but also chicken will release some moisture.
6. At this point, add 1 cup of boiling water, give a stir to mix everything well, then over high heat cook for a minute.
7. Once the liquid comes to a rolling boil reduce the heat to medium-low, cover with a lid and cook for 10 minutes, then remove the lid and give a stir so that the inner bottom doesn’t stick. Put the lid back and continue cooking or until the chicken is almost cooked through.
8. Meanwhile, remove the soaked almond skin, put them in a grinder, add a little bit of water to make a paste.
9. Once the chicken is almost cooked, add the almond paste and 1 tsp Kewra water. Mix everything well and over high heat cook for another 3-4 minutes, transfer the cooked chicken in a mixing bowl.

Don’t wash the French oven, start cooking rice in it. Cook Rice (Pulao)

1. First, drain the soaked rice and place them on a fine sieve.
2. Next, add oil and Ghee in the French oven, wait for a few seconds then add all the whole spices. Stir the spices over medium heat till the aroma is released from them.
3. Then add sliced onion, sprinkle salt and fry over medium-high heat till the onion developed lightly brown colour.
4. Add rice, sprinkle a dash of salt and keep stirring the rice for 3-4 minutes over medium-high heat. Don’t walk away at this point; else you may end up with burnt rice.
5. Now, add 3 ½ cups of boiling water, increase the heat to high and bring to a boil. Cover the cooking pot with a lid, turn off the heat and set the timer for 5 minutes.

Layer the Morog Pulao

1. Uncover the pot, gently remove half of the parboiled or half-cooked rice from the French oven to a mixing bowl.
2. Add the cooked chicken and all the gravy in the French oven and spread it well.
3. Next, drizzle milk, Kewra water, raisins, sugar.
4. Add the remaining rice, garnish the top with fried onion. Put the lid on and set the French oven at the stovetop’s lowest possible setting for 20 minutes.
5. After 20 minutes turn off the heat and wait for another 10 to 15 minutes before serving, serve hot with Bengali garden salad.

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