Aloo Poha
Posted by 365DaysVeg on February 21, 2008
Comfort food in a spoonful ~ Aloo Poha
Poha
Poha is flattened or beaten rice, is an easy-to-cook breakfast recipe. This type of flattened rice absorbs water and gets swollen which is then used to make the breakfast dish. There two varieties of flattened rice - thin and thick because of their thickness. Poha is also used in other snack items such as mixture or chiwda or many more.
Beaten rice also a convenience food to make a rice porridge or paste by adding hot water to it, depending on the amount of water added. The best poha could be found in Indore; at least that’s where I had the most mouth watering poha from street vendors. Hot steaming poha is prepared and kept warm over boiling water so that the hot moisture from the water can keep the poha warm and moist. Toppings such as onions, tomatoes, green chilies and more are kept on the side for people to add them as per needs.
Recipe:
2 cup poha
1 medium size aloo (potato) diced
1 onion chopped
1 green chili finely chopped or as per taste
1/4 cup dry peanuts
Cilantro for garnish
1/2 lime or lemon juice
Salt per taste
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp haldi (tumeric) powder
1 tsp red chili powder - optional
1/2 cup mutter(peas) - optional
Oil
Run cold water over poha, drain them and keep them aside. Meanwhile, heat oil in a pan, preferably non-stick, add mustard seeds and let it splutter. Add onions, green chilies and saute. Add the potatoes & peanuts, mix well and let it cook. Lift the poha with your hands and fluff it. Add haldi powder, salt to the poha and mix. The reason to add the spices to poha directly is because if you add the spices to the pan and then add the poha , you need to mix well to blend the spices with the poha but you do not want to over work it and break the poha. By adding the spices directly to the poha, and gently tossing it, the poha gets well coated. Now throw it into the pan and mix gently. Add lime juice, chopped cilantro. Serve as is or with an extra zing of spicy Bhujia .This is what I call as “Comfort food in a spoonful.”
Poha - the comfort food for breakfast
February 21, 2008 at 9:38 pm
this looks so good…the last time i tried it i ended up with upma!! i think i need to get the knack of soaking it for the right amount of time….
February 22, 2008 at 10:13 am
Arundati,
You do not have to soak it for long or measure the time. Just rinse it under running water and drain it in a colander or strainer. meanwhile, continue with
February 23, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Poha is awesome ….Perfectly cooked …my mom makes them often …Thks for sharing
February 23, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Hi,
I’ve blogged your Aloo poha as a model recipe in the 1001 Quickie Breakfast cookbook at
http://ramkicooks.blogspot.com/2008/02/1001-quickie-breakfasts.html
/Thanks for the detailed recipe
Ramki
February 24, 2008 at 9:49 am
Looks so yummy! Nice pic.
February 24, 2008 at 12:28 pm
That was interesting to learn about the poha. I recently found your blog and am enjoying looking around.
February 24, 2008 at 2:25 pm
Priya, Thank you so much for posting this recipe- it brought back some great memories. My dad used to make us this poha, usually for a Saturday breakfast, and I used to love it so!
Please take a look at my blog- I have an award for you there.
March 7, 2008 at 12:23 am
Hello Priya,
Thanks a lot for sharing a really nice recipe.i have a query to make… earlier i used to use thick pohas and it used to come out fine.But i got thin poha accidently from the store this time and find that after rinsing pohas they cuddle up into small balls instead of staying separate from each other…how long shud i soak pohas in water for? It wud be really nice if u cud explain in detail a bit.
Thanx a lot
Anamika
March 22, 2008 at 5:57 pm
sounds delicious and a quick recipe too..u have a great blog..
November 7, 2008 at 4:07 pm
Greate.. I like this Poha Aloo becoz i was using poha for Tea like Salted fry poha.. thanks