Chicken Patra Poda

 Since the last few days, I have been binge watching YouTube videos of some Odiya Vloggers in the US. There are some really entertaining folks who sing & dance & go about their lives while sharing ups & downs with us (their subscribers). Sometimes they get too personal but it's the age of Social Media so I guess that is perfectly fine if the creator is OK with that. These folks that I watch are mostly girls ..Actually they are all girls.. hmm.. time for me to expand the scope a bit?? may be !!. 

Anyways, one of the girls, lives in the eastern part of US & has a HUGE Odiya friends circle who meet almost every week for a party or picnic or potluck and she makes these yummy (almost) contemporary style Odiya food recipes that it makes me want to go back to the east coast & make her my sister. Yes, I used to live there & the first chance I got I left because of the harsh winters. I just could not bear the mere thought of getting up at 7am in the morning & spending hours cleaning snow (and the stubborn ice underneath) off my car & then driving on skidding road trying not to hit anyone or anything and then changing shoes & sometimes pants when I reach work.. No siree.. don't want that.

Anyways.. why am I getting distracted today. Ms. Das.. Please concentrate !!!!

Today I decided to make chicken part poda, inspired by the same girl from the east coast. Her channel is called Odia Jhia Swapna. She & her husband made this on one of their Vlog (actually it was twice that they made it, I think) and it immediately reminded me of the last time I was in Odisha for my cousin's wedding. There was Mushroom Patra Poda as an appetizer there. But making mushroom on a Saturday lunch would have been really sad so I decided to stick to chicken & made this yummy, healthy, steaming hot Patra Poda.

Now, you'd be thinking what the heck is "Patra" and what on earth is "Poda" !! Well, if you are an Odiya, you already know that -- so Let me tell all the Non-Odiya readers here that Patra means Leaf & Poda means Burnt. Yeah.. so basically the recipe calls for cooking the chicken in a parcel made out of leaf & we try & burn the leaf as much as possible to gather the burnt flavor while not burning the chicken.. make sense??? No?? Well.. here goes the ingredients list followed by the recipe.. It is easy so don't fret. 

What I used..

• 6oz Chicken Thighs - Chopped into very small pieces (Not minced, chopped so that you get the bite)
• 1/2 white onion - Chopped into small pieces (Again, not minced)
• 2 medium ripe tomatoes - Chopped into small pieces (Again, not minced)
• 1 cup green coriander leaves - Chopped

• 4 tbsps Mustard Paste (Mustard Seeds + Cumin Seeds + Garlic + Green Chillies --> Ground smooth with water as base)
• Salt + Turmeric + Red Chilli Powder

• Mustard oil (For Marinade + For the Pan)
• 3 Green chillies (Slit)
• 6 BIG Size Pumpkin Leaves (See picture below). They have to be big else your parcels will be really small which means smaller amount of stuffing which means smaller amount of chicken..and so on..
• Thread to tie the parcels
• A Non-Stick Pan (Cast Iron might work much better - Not to self : Next time try the same in a Cast Iron Pan)

Process

• Marinate the chicken --> In a large bowl, add chicken + onions + mustard paste + tomatoes + 4 tbsp mustard oil + salt to taste + 2 tsp turmeric + 2 tsp Red chili powder + Corianders leaves + Slit green chillies --> Mix thoroughly --> Set aside for at least 30mins. 

• Meanwhile, clean the pumpkin leave properly. Since they are big, they might have dust or sap on them so ensure that they are properly cleaned
• Now lay one Pumpkin leaf flat on a flat surface --> Put two spoons full of the chicken stuffing & make a small parcel (Meaning fold the leaf from all sides)

• Next, get another Pumpkin leaf & lay the previously made parcel face down and then fold the second leaf to make the final parcel.
• Idea is to not let the stuffing ooze out so ensure that you don't have any big holes in the parcel (Ref. picture below) 

• Secure the parcels with thread. Make as many rounds as you possibly can to ensure that the parcels do not open mid-cooking. 

• Next, 2 tbsp mustard oil in a Nonstick pan & when it is medium hot --> Add the parcels --> Cover & cook one side for 8 minutes (For ref. I had 3 parcels of 3-4 inches length/breadth)

• After 8minutes, flip --> Add some more oil --> Cover & cook for 8 more minutes
• Next flip & cook covered for 5 minutes & then flip again & cook un-covered for 5 mins. 
• Thats it. That is 26 minutes of cooking in total (Yes, I kept good track of time using my reasonable timer on the MW). 

• Be super careful while opening the parcel because steam will be gushing out of it but please eat it hot. I have no idea how will it taste while cold but boy was it yummy when hot !!

Enjoy this patra poda with Pakhala bhata or just plain Daal-Rice or just like a snack - Every way you eat it, you will definitely like it.

This is the second time I am trying Mustard Paste with Chicken. It is not very fashionable in Odisha to use Besara (Mustard paste) with chicken. We use Besara with Fish or Shrimp mostly. But, with changing times & food habits, I think "Change is Inevitable" !! My time trial with Chicken & Mustard Paste was Chicken Besara which I made for a Potluck way back when.