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, cover it and leave for a few minutes. 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
© 365 Days of Pure Vegetarian 
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….
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
Poha is awesome ….Perfectly cooked …my mom makes them often …Thks for sharing
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
Looks so yummy! Nice pic.
That was interesting to learn about the poha. I recently found your blog and am enjoying looking around.
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.
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
sounds delicious and a quick recipe too..u have a great blog..
Greate.. I like this Poha Aloo becoz i was using poha for Tea like Salted fry poha.. thanks
Hey interesting recipe. I’m not too much into poha. But recently I got a flat rice (brown poha) packet. I will try make it your way. I like crispy chiwda more than poha. Let’s face it ….poha is a healthy snack. I like the tip gave for mixing the spice powders to the poha. But I have a question, ” will the haldi get cooked sufficiently??or will it give a raw smell??”.
Manila,
Thanks for checking out my recipes. Haldi will not have a raw smell. You are cooking it a bit, covered. I am sure you will enjoy this breakfast recipe.
Thanks.
It turned out great! thanks.
Srikanth,
Thanks for checking out the recipe and trying it out too! I am so glad it turned out well.
Thanks.
Aloo poha is an exllent dish for breakfast.we make it with onions green peas and hand full of ground nuts to make it more delicious.
chhaya topre
Chhaya,
Thanks so much for checking out the recipe. Yes this poha is indeed delicious and i love it too.
the indori poha
ummmmm
i remember that when i used to live in indore the breakfast for sunday was pohe(that’s waht it is called in indore)
the most delicious poha can be available in indore only…..
🙂
Sri,
Thanks so much for checking out the recipe. Yes this poha is indeed from indore which my mom-in-law got it for me. It’s truly delicious and light. I remember having aloo pohe with a road side vendor – moist, delicious, satisfying.