Recipe

Poha is a traditional dish that is eaten in India and Nepal as breakfast food. It is made of flattened rice, which is fried with spices. This article will teach you how to make the best, easy Poha Recipe that will become your new favorite breakfast dish!

Ingredients needed

• 1.5 cups poha (thick)
• 1 medium sized onion
• 1 to 2 green chilies
• 8-10 Curry leaves
• Coriander leaves for garnishing
• 1 medium size potatoes
• salt to taste
• sugar (optional) to taste
• 2.5 tablespoon oil
• 0.25 cup peanuts
• 0.75 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 0.75 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 0.5 tea spoon turmeric.
• 1 tea spoon lemon juice
• crunchy sev for garnishing (optional)

How to Make Poha

1. Clean 1½ cups poha and add them to a large colander, strainer or bowl or pot. Please note that to make non sticky poha, you will need to use thick or medium flakes. If you use thin flakes poha will turn mushy after rinsing them.
2. You have to be quick at this step as doing it slowly will make them too mushy and soggy. Rinse them well with clean filtered water. Drain the water completely. Repeat the rinse & drain the water completely. I usually rinse them twice but if you feel they turn too mushy after the first rinse then stop rinsing further. Keep the bowl aside.
3. Meanwhile chop 1 medium sized onion and 1 to 2 green chilies. Also rinse the curry leaves and coriander leaves. Fine chop the coriander leaves. If you want to use potatoes then chop them to half inch cubes and keep them immersed in water until needed.
4. Check if poha has softened by pressing down a few flakes in between your thumb and fore finger. Run your finger across the flattened rice to break lumps if any. Poha would have absorbed water and softened in about 5 to 7 mins.
   If they are not soft yet, then sprinkle some water and set aside until the tempering is ready. Make sure they do not turn mushy. Add salt and sugar (optional). Mix and set aside.
5. Heat a pan with ½ tablespoon oil and fry the peanuts until golden and crunchy. Set them aside for garnishing. This way the peanuts remain crunchy. You can also dry roast the peanuts if you prefer.
6. Heat the same pan with 1 to 1 ½ tablespoon oil. When the oil becomes hot, add ¾ teaspoon mustard seeds and ¾ teaspoon cumin seeds. Let them splutter.
7. Add chopped onions, green chilies and curry leaves.
8. Saute until the onions turn pink. If using potatoes, drain the water completely and add the cubes to the pan. Saute for 2 to 3 minutes.
9. Cover the pan and cook on a low heat until the potatoes are soft cooked. If needed you may add more oil.
10. Once the potatoes are cooked thoroughly, you can saute them on a high flame for 1 to 2 mins. Add turmeric.
11. Add softened poha and mix well.
12. Cover and steam on a low heat until poha becomes hot. Stir in between to prevent burning. If you feel your poha is too dry, then you may sprinkle some water in between. When done it should be soft and not mushy. Sprinkle coriander leaves and roasted peanuts.
13. Take it off the heat. Taste and add more salt if needed. Add lemon juice and keep it covered until served.
14. Garnish poha with fine chopped coriander leaves and roasted peanuts. You can also sprinkle some grated coconut or crunchy sev.

What are some other ways to eat poha?

One other popular way to eat poha is to wrap it in a tamarind leaf and deep fry it. Poha can also be mixed with grated coconut and sugar, and then fried. It can be mixed with bhajia (fritters) or used as an accompaniment for chutney.

Conclusion

The blog is a compilation of tasty recipes that use poha as the main ingredient. There are many different variations of poha, such as Poha Upma, Anda Roll, and Poha Idli.