Poha (Indore Style)

Name: Poha (Indore Style)
Prep time: 30 min
Cook time: 15 min
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: One cup of medium poha; 1 finely chopped tomato; 6-8 curry leaves; 1 tablespoon oil; Salt to taste; 1 teaspoon turmeric powder; 1 teaspoon sugar

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Poha (Indore Style)

Poha is one of the most popular Indian breakfast.

‘Poha’ is parboiled rice flattened into flat, light, dry flakes. It is a street food available all over Maharashtra and Gujarat in India. Each city/town has their own version of poha. There are many versions of Poha and each is tasty, easy to cook and nutritious.

Another place very popular for Poha is Indore in Madhya Pradesh. Poha is served with jalebi (an Indian sweet) and is a very popular dish for Breakfast. My recipe here is inspired from my trip to Indore last year. The first thing we ate for Breakfast was poha jabeli combination. While you might wonder how the sweetness of jalebi and the saltiness of poha will be together, the truth is, it’s a wonderful combination! Although I don’t have a very sweet tooth but I loved the combination of sweet and crunchy in this dish.

Farsan or namkeen sev was also sprinkled on the poha, to add a crunchy texture to the soft grains. My Indore inspired Poha recipe is tempered with spices and then garnished with onions, tomatoes and beetroot providing your taste buds with a truly delightful experience. When I make it at home, I serve this dish on its own too as I can’t manage to make jalebi for breakfast. Home truth! I do serve this poha dish with garma garam masala chai.

Other simple yet delicious breakfast dishes to try are Besan Chilla, Orange and Cardamom Aebleskiver, Moong Dal Chilla, Sindhi Dal Pakwan, Coleslaw Sandwich, Sweetcorn Dhokla, Crispy Paneer Pockets, Vegetable Cutlet, Dahi Toast to name a few.

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Ingredients

One cup of medium poha
1 finely chopped onion
1 finely chopped tomato
1 small size beet root (grated)
½ cup masala boondi (or any farsan)
½ cup finely chopped coriander leaves
1 finely chopped green chilli
Juice of 2 limes
½ teaspoon mustard seeds(rai)
½ teaspoon fennel seeds (saunf seeds)
6-8 curry leaves
1 tablespoon oil
Salt to taste
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon sugar

Directions

Step-1

Take poha in a strainer/colander and rinse it under running water quickly. I rinse mine twice. Drain all the water and leave it aside to soften.

Step-2

Heat oil in a pan and add fennel seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves.

When the seeds begin to splatter add green chillies and sauté for 30 seconds and switch off the heat.

Step-3

Add poha, salt, sugar and turmeric powder to the pan and mix them together.

Empty the poha in a bowl and add lime juice.

Step-4

Garnish the poha with chopped onions, tomatoes, beet root, coriander leaves and masala boondi.

Enjoy the poha with hot tea.

Tips & Variations

Rinse the poha in a strainer until it turns soft. To check if it is done, take a flake and press it between your thumb and index finger. It should break easily.
You can add turmeric powder in the heated oil if you wish.
Choose the right type of poha. It is available in most shops as thin, medium and thick. For making this dish I would suggest using medium to thick poha as it holds better shape.
If you feel the poha is dry, sprinkle some water over the poha. Poha absorbs moisture like a sponge so sprinkle and mix.
Do not soak or over rinse the poha as it might turn mushy.
Adding sugar in this dish helps to balance the flavour. You can omit it if you don’t want to add sugar.
I have used masala boondi in my recipe to give it another texture. You can use any Indian snacks like Bombay Mix, Bhujia, Sev or roasted peanuts.
If you don’t have any Indian snacks at home you can crush some nacho chips, or even crisp (waffers) on top. Anything crunchy will taste nice in this dish.
If you don’t like the taste of raw onions, then you can leave it out.
You can add other steamed vegetables too to make it healthy like boiled chopped potato, carrots, peas, and peppers.
You can serve the poha as ‘make your own’ too and everyone can choose their own toppings.
Serve the poha immediately otherwise the chopped veggies will make the poha soggy and mushy.