Poha

With temperatures dropping, all I want to do is just snooze and snooze the alarm every 5 mins. I understand that it is not actually letting me rest as I would want to, because it will keep on interrupting me by ringing every other 5 mins. But still I keep doing it every single day. It is just so hard to pull your eyelids apart when you are resting under the cozy blanket. Anyways, winter mornings get better with a warm breakfast. I still recollect Poha to be a delicacy during winters. Because my mom would pluck some fresh coriander leaves to garnish the hot poha. But with the coriander leaves available year round now, I have the luxury to make it whenever I want to. Poha and some steaming chai- isn’t that just the best thing to start your day with . 

I grew up eating poha as a tea time snack on cold and wintery evenings. I was not a great fan then. When I landed in pune for my job, every other day I would choose to get poha for breakfast from the canteen. They were not as good as my mom used to make and hence brought in the realization of the value of home made food.

I was a picky eater till the date I used to stay with my parents. As higher education and work demanded a stay away from home, I started to appreciate variety of foods. That is one good thing that grew in me as I stayed in hostels. This poha is one such dish that I so love now. And the recipe for it is as listed.

Ingredients

1. 1 cup of poha/ flattened rice
2. 1 medium size potato, cut into small cubes
3. 1/4 cup of finely chopped onion
4. 2 green chillies, finely chopped
5. 1 sprig of curry leaves
6. 1 tsp of cumin seeds
7. 3 tbsp of peanuts
8. 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder
9. 1 tsp of sugar
10. 2 tbsp of chopped coriander/cilantro leaves
11. Juice of half a lemon
12. 2 tbsp of oil
13. Salt to taste

Method

• Take the poha in a colander/strainer. Rinse it well under running water.
• Add sugar, turmeric powder and salt to the rinsed poha and just mix it with your hands.
• Heat the oil in a pan. Add the peanuts and roast it . Remove it and keep it aside. 
• Into the same oil, add the potatoes and roast it on medium low heat untill cooked. Remove it and keep it aside
• Now to the same pan, add more oil if required. Drop in the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add the chopped onion and sauté it untill translucent. To it add the curry leaves and green chillies and sauté it untill the raw smell disappears. 
• Mix in the roasted peanuts and rinsed posh until everything gets evenly distributed. Add the potatoes and give it a mix again. 
• Cover and cook it on medium low for couple of minutes.
• Squeeze the lemon juice on the poha and toss it one last time .
• Switch of the heat and garnish it with coriander leaves.

Tips

1. Do not rinse the poha too much. Rinsing should be done just to soften the poha. Over rinsing it would make the poha break and go mushy.
2. You could avoid adding in the lemon juice. Instead you could serve the poha with lemon wedges for individuals to squeeze it just before having the poha.

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