Potol er Dorma - Minced Chicken Stuffed Potol/Parwal in Spicy Onion Gravy

So, that was quite a long name for it!Not to forget the equally long time spent preparing the same.

Potol-er Dorma is one tasty (slightly high on the oil content) Bengali side dish and a true delicacy that goes great with steamed  rice but the process involved is creating it is back breaking to say the least.
To summarize you need to take some Potol/Parwal

• de-seed the interiors of it
• create a chicken/mutton paste for the stuffing
• stuff the potol
• deep fry in oil for sometime
• braise it in an onion-tomato gravy with generous helpings of ghee and garam masala

So, essentially, the key lies in deseeding it by keeping the potol intact from the outside and also in stuffing it with the paste and sealing it.

Preparation:
Deseeding:
To start with go for some big potols - the biggest ones you get in the market/bazaar.But ensure that the they are fresh.I selected 8 .Deseed the potols.The potol should look like the one shown in the picture. It should be entirely hollow. Donot throw away the slit end, it will come for use later.

Keema Masala:

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Buy some minced meat/chicken. 100 gms of either of these will do.Marinade the meat/chicken.Create a thick paste like "keema" masala. Note that the keema masala should be devoid of water and totally dry.
Ingredients for Keema Masala:

• Potol Seeds - Made into a paste.
• Minced Meat/Chicken: 100 gms
• Onion:50 gm.Paste
• Ginger: 1/2 inch slice.crushed
• Garlic: 1 clove.crushed
• Garam Masala Powder - 1 tsp
• Tomato: 25gm.Paste.
• Vegetable Oil - 2 tsp.
• Powdered Spices:
• Coriander Powder -1 tsp, Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp, Turmeric Powder - 1 tsp, Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder - 1/2 tsp.
• Salt to taste

Procedure:

• Heat some oil in a pan.
• Add the crushed ginger and garlic. Once they start sputtering, add the onion paste
• Once the "raw" onion smell gets over, add the Tomato Paste and the Powdered Spices
• Then add the chicken and the paste of potol seeds.
• Turn the heat to high and wait until oil separates from the curry. 
• Let it cook for 15 mins.Then add salt.
• When the chicken is almost done, add the garam masala powder.

Let it cool for sometime so that the water dries up and it becomes a uniform paste.

Stuffing the Potols:
Now that the potol has been deseeded and keema masala prepared comes the second complicated twist. "Feed" the keema masala paste into the deseeded potols and seal them by the slit open loose ends. Keep some room in the potol for the keema so that it does not pressure its way out. There might also be cases when the potol/parwal shrinks due to the frying;mentioned in the next step.

Cooking:
Frying the Potols/Parwal:
In 5-6 table spoon oil deep fry the potols for 3-4 minutes.Put them aside in a tissue paper to soak in the oil.

Preparing the curry:
Ingredients:

• Onion - 1 large(~100 gm). Half sliced, half made into a paste.
• Ginger -1/2 inch slice.crushed
• Garlic - 2 cloves. crushed
• Tomato - 1 medium(~50 gm). Paste.
• Whole Spices:
• Green Cardamon - 2, Cloves - 3, Cinnamon - 1/2 inch piece
• Powdered Spices:
• Tumeric Powder - 1 tsp, Cumin Powder - 1/2 tsp, Coriander Powder - 1 tsp, Kashmiri Red Chilli Powder - 1 
• Vegetable Oil - 4 tsp
• Ghee - 1 tsp.
• Salt - to taste.

Procedure:

• Heat some oil in a pan.
• Once the oil gets hot, add the Whole Spices.
• The spices will start to crackle and release its flavour and aroma at which point, 
• The ginger, garlic is to be added.
• Followed by sliced onion.
• When the onion turns brownish, add the onion paste, tomato paste and the powdered spices.
• Let the spices dissolve in the paste. This will take 3-4 mins.
• Then add the fried stuffed potol and cover the pan with a lid.
• Let it cook for 8-10 mins.
• The Potol er Dorma should be done by now.
• Top it with a light drizzle of ghee and you the done.

Depending upon how efficient is one in the kitchen the entire process might require something between 1-2 hrs.And since the secret to good cooking is a happy mind and loads of relaxation time, so, try this when you are at ease!