Houston’s Newest Fried Chicken Joint Will Make You Want to Balle Balle

From the team behind Amrina in The Woodlands, Pok Pok Po infuses Indian flavors into crispy, gluten-free fried fowl made for everyone

Houston’s fried chicken scene is already impressive, with countless versions of fried fowl infusing flavors from the city’s diverse range of cultures and cuisines. Now, the team behind a fancy Indian restaurant in The Woodlands is making its way into the fast-casual industry with fried chicken as its focus.

Kahani Social Group, consisting of partners chef Jassi Bindra and brothers Preet and Supreet Singh, officially opened Pok Pok Po on Monday, December 2, in the former French restaurant Artisans. The 2,000-square-foot Midtown restaurant, which owners deem a “fried chicken parlor,” offers counter-style service and gluten-free fried chicken (“made for everyone,” Bindra says) served in myriad ways, including sandwich form. The restaurant evolved from a brunchtime experiment at Houston’s eclectic modern Indian restaurant Amrina, where Bindra infused Indian spices into fried chicken and plated it with waffles and a special hot sauce. Bindra and the Singhs were inspired to create a spinoff spot that would embrace a more casual dining experience focused on the dish.

Pok Pok Po

Pok Pok Po

Seasoned with Indian Kashmiri red chili powder, herbs, and additional spices and battered in gluten-free flour and starch to create a crunchy outer coating before cooked in a pressure-cooker fryer, the chicken for Pok Pok Po’s fried chicken sandwich gets slathered in a tomato- and cashew-based sauce and served on a butter potato bun with desi kimchi and lettuce. The fried chicken bites and strips, prepared with breast and thigh meat, respectively, are served as entrees or piled atop the Loaded Chic Fries, Sidewinder spiralized fries with its Desi Kimchi and Delicious sauce, or the Loaded Rice and Shine, a basmati rice bowl layered with sauced chicken and kimchi. Bindra has also gotten inventive with the sauces, creating a Yanch sauce, a play on ranch that incorporates yogurt and mint, and the spicy green Naughty sauce made with mint and avocado.

The crispy Balle Balle fries are a flavorful ode to the popular Bollywood dance move and jovial Punjabi. Fried in potato starch and tossed with a bold blend of five to six spices, including chili, fenugreek, and sugar, the fries evoke a sweet, slightly salty, tangy flavor that pairs well with the chicken.

Alex Montoya

Pok Pok Po’s drinks menu also strives to be simple but exciting. In addition to the fountain drinks, the restaurant also serves a cool and creamy mango lassi made with mango pulp, yogurt, and saffron; a variety of beers, including the Indian-style brew Arka, that’s made in Texas; and THC drinks that Bindra says are proven complements to the spicy fried chicken dishes.

Binda is particularly enthused about Pok Pok Po’s ingredients and sustainability model. The chicken thighs in the chicken sandwiches and tenders are halal and cooked in a separate pressure cooker fryer from the chicken breast used in the chicken bites. All the chicken used is also “happy,” Bindra says — free from antibiotics and humanely raised on free-range, co-independent farms. “Even the chicken is proud to be a part of this concept,” Bindra says, referring to Pok Pok Po’s mascot, which is sharply dressed in a coat suit and bowtie.

Pok Pok Po is just one of the anticipated restaurants planned by the Kahani team. Bindra says Kahani’s new restaurant Bol, an adjoining dining establishment next door to Pok Pok Po, will open in about a month. Positioned to be an Indian equivalent of burrito hub Chipotle, Bol will offer fresh ingredients and grilled proteins cooked on the tandoori in the form of buildable basmati rice bowls, wraps, and sandwiches. Building off of the successful chef’s table at Amrina, Bindra says the Kahani team also plans to open a tasting menu restaurant in Houston that explores Indian foodways in April.

Pok Pok Po

Pok Pok Po is open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and from 11 a.m. to midnight on Fridays and Saturdays.