Morog Polao
Aromatic rice cooked with richly spiced chicken, yogurt, ghee and whole spices, a festive one-pot dish.
- prep
- 20 min
- cook
- 45 min
- total
- 1 h 5 min
- serves
- 5
- level
- medium
Morog polao turns a simple pot of chicken and rice into Bangladesh's festive, special-occasion dish, built on whole spices, ghee, and a generous hand with fried onions.
It's lighter and less heavily spiced than biryani, closer to a fragrant pilaf, but still carries real richness from the ghee and yogurt-marinated chicken.
Part of our 20 best Bangladeshi recipes list.
method
Marinate the chicken with yogurt, ginger-garlic paste, half the fried onions, and salt. Set aside for 30 minutes.
Heat the ghee in a heavy pot, and fry the whole spices until fragrant.
Add the marinated chicken and cook over medium-high heat until it releases and reabsorbs its juices, about 10 minutes.
Stir in the drained rice, and cook for a couple of minutes, coating every grain in the ghee and spices.
Pour in the warm milk and enough hot water to just cover the rice and chicken, then season with salt and a touch of sugar.
Bring to a boil, then cover tightly and cook over very low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, until the rice is tender and the liquid is fully absorbed.
Let it rest, covered, for 10 minutes, then fluff gently with a fork. Garnish with the remaining fried onions, raisins and cashews before serving.
chef's tips
- A pinch of sugar in the cooking liquid is a common, deliberate touch in morog polao; it rounds out the whole-spice flavor without making the dish taste sweet.
- Letting the pot rest, covered and off the heat, for 10 minutes before fluffing gives the rice time to finish steaming evenly.