Poha
Local name : पोहा
A turmeric-yellow breakfast of flattened rice studded with crunchy peanuts, curry leaves and plenty of lemon.
Photo : Rhundet · CC BY-SA 4.0
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 12 min
- Total
- 22 min
- Serves
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
Method
- Tip the poha into a sieve and rinse under cold water for 30 seconds, stirring gently. Leave to drain for 10 minutes; it should swell without turning pasty.
- Heat the oil in a large pan and fry the peanuts for 3 minutes until golden, then lift them out with a slotted spoon.
- In the same oil, pop the mustard seeds, add the curry leaves and chillies and let them crackle for 20 seconds.
- Add the onion and soften for 4 minutes until translucent.
- Stir in the turmeric, salt and sugar, then add the drained poha and fold very gently with a spatula to colour the grains without crushing them.
- Cover and warm through for 3 minutes on low heat so the rice turns tender.
- Off the heat, add the peanuts, lemon juice and coriander, and serve at once.
Poha lives or dies by the rinse: too brief and the grains stay hard, too long and they collapse. Use thick poha, as the fine sort turns to porridge.
