Tope – Chicken & Poha (Beaten Rice) Recipe

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4.67 out of 5 Stars by 3 readers!

East Indian Tope, a marriage of our Portuguese cultural inheritance with our Maharashtrian Indian roots. It’s the perfect all-in-one meal at any time. Find out how to cook this yummy dish.


It was my turn to help mom in the kitchen yesterday, and we were making Chicken Tope again after a long time. yeah, we like Mutton Tope too, but this time it was chicken. 😉 Just so you know, tope is pronounced as “toh-pay”. It’s a traditional Eastya dish that tastes even better than biryani, another rice dish that we love.

From the hall sis kept taking breaks from her work to scream, ‘Take pictures, take pictures of the chicken!’. We had already started chopping the onions and the chilies, so no pictures of that. Anyway, I managed to take a few pics in the middle of mess.

By the way, did you know that my friend Karen makes some great-tasting vegan BBQ chicken! It was the first I heard of vegan meat, but yeah, that’s a thing!

What Ingredients Do You Need for Chicken Tope?

Chicken, Poha (beaten rice), Onions, Green Chillies, Ginger, Ghee, Cinnamon powder and a few Cardamoms, Bottle Masala, Coriander leaves, Mint leaves and Sourlimes.

You will find Poha in the Asian section of your supermarket. (If you need more information about poha, you’ll find it at the bottom of the post here.)

How to make the East Indian Chicken Tope

We had already cut a whole chicken into pieces. So we sliced about half a kilogram of onions, along with 8 green chillies (we’re spicy like that, ha!) and ginger.

Onions, Ginger, garlic, and ghee for the-East-Indian-tope-recipe by -Sarah -AbbysPlate
Frying the masala, aka onions, garlic, ginger, and chillies

Mom then set me to heating 3 large spoons of ghee (the traditional Indian version of clarified butter) in the toap (vessel). We then added in the chopped onions and chillies, and fried it for about 5 minutes.

See the steam rising out of the sauteing onions, garlic and ginger.
See the steam and smell the garlic

We chop the ginger fine and then crush it. The garlic cloves we just crush to release the flavor.

Next, we add in the crushed garlic and ginger to the onion mixture and fry for another 7 minutes.

Add in the cinnamom powder and crushed cardamom to the onion, ginger and chilli mix
Add in the cinnamom powder and crushed cardamom

Next comes 1 teaspoon of cinnamon powder and the crushed cardamoms.

Add in the chicken pieces and bottle masala and mix well
Here’s how the chicken looks after adding the bottle masala

We then added in the chicken pieces and about two and a half spoons of the East Indian bottle masala, 700 ml water, and left it to cook on a medium flame for about 10 minutes. The pic above is just before we add the water in.

Chicken tope mix before we add the beaten rice in
One more pic of the chicken tope before we add the poha in

Here’s one more closeup pic of the chicken! It would taste great as a stir fry on its own, but why leave it that way? So onwards to make the famous East Indian chicken tope.

East indian chicken cooking in the gravy on a low flame
Chicken tope cooking on a low flame

While we’re doing that sis takes another break from her work to scream, ‘Pictures! Pictures!’ We scream back, ‘You come and take pics if you want!’ But she’s got deadlines and isn’t leaving the computer. So we feel sorry for her and take some pics. She’s lucky she has us, isn’t she?

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Chop the fresh coriander roughly
Chop the coriander roughly
Coriander added to the chicken gravy.
Adding in the more ingredients, especially the mint and coriander

After a bit, we add in the chopped coriander and mint leaves. Mom then sets me to squeezing the juice of 2 whole sourlimes in it and turn off the fire in a few minutes.

Once we’ve taken the chicken off the flame, we add in the poha and leave it be for some time.

After turning the flame off, add in the poha to the chicken tope and leave to rest
Add in the poha to the chicken tope and leave to rest
Add in the beaten rice aka poha to the chicken and leave to rest
After taking it off the flame, add in the poha and leave to rest

After some time we see that the poha, which is a form of beaten rice has absorbed all of the gravy from the toap aka pot and grown to double its size.

East Indian Chicken Tope ready to eat.
Chicken Tope ready to eat

We just stirred it once more and then garnished with some roughly chopped coriander before digging in. That’s it, quite simple and easy. Our delicious Special Chicken Tope was ready to relish!

Chicken tope meal in a white dish with freshly cut tomato wedges in a dish near it
I just love chicken tope!
The traditional East Indian chicken tope is the perfect one pot dish for picnics
The traditional East Indian chicken tope is the perfect dish for picnics
The traditional East Indian chicken tope is the perfect one pot dish for picnics

Chicken & Poha (Beaten Rice) Dish called Tope

Sarah
Special East Indian Chicken Tope dish is a marriage of our Portuguese cultural inheritance with our Konkan Maharashtrian Indian roots, a perfect all in one gluten free meal.
4.67 out of 5 Stars by 3 readers!

Click the stars to add your rating! Left you don’t like it, right you love it!

Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 22 minutes
Resting Time 10 minutes
Total Time 52 minutes
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine East Indian, Indian
Servings 12 Servings
Calories 271 kcal
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Ingredients
  

  • 1 Chicken Cut into pieces
  • 500 g Onions Sliced
  • 2 Tablespoon East Indian Bottle Masala See notes for substitutions.
  • 8 Green Chillies – Fresh
  • 2 in Ginger
  • 12 flakes Garlic Crushed for flavor
  • 3 Tablespoon Ghee (Indian clarified butter)
  • 8 pods Green Cardamon Pods (Choti Elaichi) Crushed
  • 1 teaspoon Cinnamon Powder (Dalchini)
  • 2 Tablespoon Fresh Coriander Leaves Roughly chopped
  • 2 Sourlimes Juiced
  • 400 g Poha (Indian Beaten Rice or Flattened Rice)
  • 1.5 Tablespoon Salt
  • 700 ml Water

Instructions
 

  • Chop the onions long and the chillies fine and fry for 5 minutes with 3 tbsp ghee.
  • Add in the crushed ginger and garlic, and salt and continue to stir for 7 minutes.
  • Add in the crushed cardamoms and cinnamom powder.
  • Add in the East Indian bottle masala and chicken pieces with 700 ml water and stir occasionally on medium fire for 10 minutes.
  • Once the chicken is cooked, add in some of the mint leaves and coriander, the juice of two limes and stir.
  • Turn the flame off. Add in the poha and leave to rest for 10 minutes.
  • Stir again and garnish with the rest of the chopped mint leaves and coriander before serving.

Please click to rate the recipe! Left you don’t like it, right you love it!

Notes

  • We never use fixed amounts of ingredients. So feel free to add or remove as per your taste.
  • To purchase East Indian Bottle Masala, you can Whatsapp Jevayla Ye at +919175191561 (No email, no website) for international deliveries, and order using discount code Fugyeah10 for orders above 1 kg.
  • Gluten free as long as your ingredients are properly sourced. 
  • Poha or beaten rice is available in the Asian section of supermarkets. You can also buy it on Ebay or Amazon.
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Nutrition (Per Serving)

Calories: 271kcal | Carbohydrates: 21g | Protein: 15g | Fat: 14g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 5g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 57mg | Sodium: 1061mg | Potassium: 204mg | Fiber: 4g | Sugar: 10g | Vitamin A: 97IU | Vitamin C: 10mg | Calcium: 26mg | Iron: 1mg

Disclaimer: Nutrition Information per serving is estimated by a third party software based on the ingredients used, and is for informational purposes only. It will vary from product to product, based on methods of preparation, origin and freshness of ingredients. Please consult the package labels of the ingredients you use, or chat with your dietician for specific details.

This printable recipe card is for home use only. For more recipes head over to AbbysPlate.com

What’s Perfect About This Chicken Tope Recipe?

  • We love our chicken tope because it’s the perfect all-in-one dish.
  • It’s similar to the Indian biryani but truly in a league of its own.
  • It’s also perfect to carry for picnics and serve with a side of fresh tomatoes!
  • Poha or beaten rice is healthier than regular rice.

Cooking Tips and Tricks

  • To buy East Indian Bottle Masala, you can Whatsapp Jevayla Ye at +919175191561 (No email, no website) for international deliveries, and order using discount code Fugyeah10 for orders above 1 kg..
  • You can replace the Sourlimes with Apple Cider vinegar. Use vinegar that’s only half the quantity of lemon juice.
  • You can make this dish with Mutton too. All the steps are the same!
  • Other chicken recipes you might try are kasuri methi, chicken tope, mustard chicken, chicken soup, giblet stuffing, and chicken gizzard.

Other recipes you might like

Well that’s it for my gluten free chicken tope recipe. Comment and tell me how much you liked it!

Here are the answers to a few questions we get asked about cooking a chicken tope

Just updated to add some info about tope and beaten rice or poha for some of my readers who haven’t tasted it before.

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Is Chicken Tope the Same as Chicken Bhujing?

It’s similar in taste, but the method of preparation is different. While the tope starts off with a curry base, the bhujing that was invented in the Virar area in the 1940s starts off with a roast chicken. The chicken is skewered and roasted, the word here is bhujne, which lends the dish its name. It’s then put together with roast potatoes, poha and more. Both dishes taste amazing!

What Is Poha or Beaten Rice?

Beaten rice or flattened rice or poha is a rice that has been parboiled, then flattened by rolling and finally dried to produce flakes. The flakes can vary in texture and thickness, with different types being used in both sweet and savory Indian snacks and dishes. Originating in Maharastra, India, the most popular Indian snack is the namesake, the Maharastrian poha.

Beaten rice is an easy on-the-go snack. Just add the poha with any spices and leave it to soak in a pot of boiling water, and it’s done in 10 minutes. But of course, spend 10 or 20 more minutes with it and you can create a whole array of dishes, from chiwda to vadas, from pudding to pakodas.

If you want our traditional East Indian recipes on hand, the Abby's Plate Cookbook Series books are available online or in-store in most countries.

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How Are Poha Flakes Made? How Is Poha Made?

Poha flakes are made by parboiling rice, then rolling and flattening them out before leaving them to dry. Different levels of rolling and flattening will result in rice of differing thicknesses. We often use the finer poha in snacks and the thicker poha in breakfast or lunch/dinner recipes.

Beaten rice is a fat-free gluten-free food that’s easy on the heart and the stomach. You can find it in raw or pre-cooked form in the Asian/Gourmet section of Walmart and Amazon or any other supermarket worldwide.

I’ll come back with a recipe for another poha sometime soon. 😉

Pinterest image of chicken tope for a post about How to make the East Indian Chicken Tope
Pinterest image of two bowls of the chicken tope dish and one bowl of freshly cut tomatoes
Pinterest image of chicken tope (an East Indian meal) in a white dish
Pinterest image of East Indian chicken tope dish.

12 thoughts on “Tope – Chicken & Poha (Beaten Rice) Recipe”

  1. Here we cooked chicken in Tender coconut and which is best food as healthy receipe.
    Ingrdients :
    Tender Coconut – 2
    chicken – 1kg
    ginger,garlic paste – 2 tsp
    garam masala – 2tsp
    red chilli powder – 2 tsp
    pepper powder – 2tsp
    chicken masala – 2tsp
    turmeric powder – 2tsp
    lemon – 2
    coriander – required

    Method:
    cut chicken into small pieces. mix all mixer powders together in chicken, mix nicely.
    Then fill mixed chicken in tender coconut after drinking the juice of it. fire the tender coconut for 3 hrs.
    After 3hrs, Open the tender coconut to taste the cooked chicken which mixed with tender coconut. Chicken Ready.
    If get a chance Dont forget to Try it.
    Tender coconut chicken try it yourself https://youtu.be/GUUJB60g1wY4 stars

    Reply

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