Poha

Poha is also known as beaten rice, flattened rice, pressed rice, flaked rice in English and the regional   variants are  powa,avil , aval , chivda etc.A very light and nutritious snack can be made from poha..
Poha is available in our markets in different varieties- the thick and thin variety  and also the brown  and white variety.For making poha , i prefer the thin variety.I have made only with white as normally supermarkets in Delhi stocked only white. Now  here in Dubai i will try the brown one.The brown rice is more nutritious so i assume the brown poha to be more nutritious too!!

In Kerala poha or aval  is used for making  upma, aval nanachatthu etc. or even simply mixed with sugar and milk and eaten.But i most often make the  Maharastrian version modified according to my taste.


Going on to the recipe of poha ,my style !!!!Am not claiming that it is an  out of the box recipe.Many will be following a similar recipe. But i add and subtract ingredients according to my mood. Sometimes its cumin only, sometimes its mustard only,sometimes its both.At times i add urad dal.Sometimes i skip the potatoes .. so that's y my style... :)

Ingredients:

Refined oil-2-3 tbspns
Mustard seeds-1 tspn
Cumin seeds- 1 tspn
Peanuts- 2-3 tablespoons( i love having lot of peanuts in it so i  add extra)
Green chilli-2( adjust according to your taste)
Onion, coarsely  chopped- 1 medium sized
Turmeric powder-1/2 a tspn
Potato cubed and boiled- 1 medium sized
Salt to taste
Beaten rice/Poha( aval)- 1 1/2 cups
Juice of 1 lemon 
Coriander leaves to garnish

Method

• Wash the poha and drain it well.( in case you have bought the thick poha , you may have to keep it soaked  in a little water  for some time).In case of thin poha, washing it just before you add to the pan will be enough.

• Heat oil in the pan.Add mustard seeds. When they splutter,add the cumin seeds followed by green chillies, chopped onions and the peanuts.Let the onions turn into a light golden colour.(You may add some salt here to  fasten the browning of onions.)Add the turmeric powder and mix well.
• Add in the boiled potatoes and let them also be slightly fried.
• Now add the poha and mix well so that the yellow colour is distributed evenly.Add salt , lemon juice and garnish with coriander leaves.

Tantadaaaaannnngggg!!!   You have your fast, easy,light and nutritious  recipe ready!!

So how much time did you take 1o min ,15 minutes 0r 20 minutes??? I am sure you  did not go beyond that ( oh yes the potatoes can make it slow)But keep that preboiled and u have your poha ready in max 15 minutes.