← Nouns Cooking · Indian

Ingredients

• 200 g thick poha (flattened rice)
• 2 tbsp Vegetable oil
• 40 g raw peanuts
• 1 tsp Mustard seeds
• ½ tsp Cumin seeds
• 10 Curry leaves
• 2 Green chilli, slit
• 1 Onion, finely chopped
• 1 small potato, peeled and diced small (optional)
• ½ tsp Ground turmeric
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste
• 1 tsp Sugar
• 1 lemon, halved
• 3 tbsp Coriander (cilantro), chopped
• 3 tbsp fresh grated or desiccated coconut (optional)

Method

1. Put the poha in a sieve and rinse under cold running water for about 20 seconds, gently turning it with your fingers, just until it softens. Drain well, sprinkle with the turmeric, salt and sugar, toss gently with a fork and leave for 5 min.
2. Heat the oil in a wide frying pan over medium heat and fry the peanuts for 2–3 min, until golden and crunchy. Lift them out.
3. Add the mustard seeds to the oil and when they pop, add the cumin seeds, curry leaves and chillies for 30 seconds.
4. Add the onion (and the potato, if using) and cook for 4–5 min, stirring, until the onion is soft and translucent and the potato is tender; cover the pan if the potato needs a little longer.
5. Add the poha and peanuts and fold gently over low heat until evenly yellow. Cover and cook for 2 min so it steams and turns fluffy.
6. Squeeze over the lemon juice, fold in most of the coriander and serve at once, topped with coconut and the rest of the coriander.

Tips

• Use thick poha (not thin) and don’t soak it in a bowl: a quick rinse is enough, or it turns to mush.
• Contains peanuts. In Mumbai it is often topped with crunchy sev; check it is gluten-free if that matters.

Sources

Written in our own words after cross-checking these recipes:

Swasthi's Recipes Ministry of Curry