Pohe (Flattened rice)

Pohe is an Indian food prepared in Madhya Pradesh (Central India). Basically, this dish is prepared in most parts of the country, but it is very famous in Madhya Pradesh. Wherever you go, its taste and preparation will be different, which reflects the versatility of our beautiful country. Let's see the ingredients and preparation.



Ingredients:

1) Flattened rice (Rice flakes of medium size) - 3 cups

2) Onion - 1 (small) - julienne them
3) Curry leaves - Curry leaves are very easily available in South India but difficult to find them in North India. This is optional; however, its presence enhances the taste for sure.
4) Green Chilies - 2
5) One lemon

6) Mustard seeds (Raee) - 1.5 teaspoons. Although, there is a difference between Mustard seeds and Raee, the latter is known as Mustard seeds only. For identification, Raee is small and thin as compared to Mustard seeds, but they both look similar. Definitely, their taste differs.


7) Peanuts - half a cup

8) Coriander leaves

9) Turmeric powder - 1/4 of a teaspoon
10) Sugar - 3 table spoons
11) Salt - One teaspoon
12) Mustard Oil - 2 table spoons or if you would like to use Desi Ghee - 1 tea spoon


Procedure:

Take a vessel and put rice flakes into it.

Wash them properly for a minute or two.

Once you have washed them (you can also say that you soaked them into water), add Turmeric powder, Sugar & Salt in it.

Mix all the things properly, and keep the vessel aside. In order to get a great taste, keep it like this for 30 minutes.

Now, take a frying pan and add some oil in it.
Health Tip:  I always prefer Mustard oil to cook vegetables; however, you can use any type of oil to prepare Poha. My recommendation will be to use either Mustard Oil or Desi Ghee as both of them give a great taste.
Once the oil is heated up, add Peanuts and roast them till their color become brown.

Once you notice the brown color, add Mustard seeds. With the help of a spoon, keep the Peanuts aside at the corner of the pan and then add Mustard seeds on the other side as shown in the figure.

Once the Mustard seeds crackle, which you will get to know with the smell, add julienned Onions and Green chilies into it.

After a minute, add Curry leaves and mix everything properly.

Now, take the vessel of rice flakes and add it into the pan. Mix it properly. Make sure you are doing this step on slow flame.

Once you have mixed all the ingredients, add two table spoons of water. We add water in case the Poha is very dry, and if you think that is the case, add two table spoons of water. Keep the burner on slow flame for two minutes and then turn it off. Cover it with a lid so that the dish is cooked in the steam. Do not remove it from the burner. I understand that you have already closed it, but we need it's heat to cook the Poha.

After 10 minutes, add lemon and coriander leaves.

And here you go. Your Poha is absolutely ready.

There are some tricks to make a tasty pohe. First of all, soak the rice flakes in water for at least 30 minutes and then add in to the pan with all the other ingredients. Do not dip it in to the water. Just rinse the entire water and then add turmeric powder, sugar, and salt in it. Second of all, when you mix the rice flakes with the other ingredients in the pan, turn off the gas, add 2 table spoons of water, put a lid and let it be for 5 - 10 minutes. You do not have to cook the rice flakes, and it will automatically get cooked when you will keep it for 5 - 10 minutes with your stove turned off.

Garnish it will aalo bhujia and chopped onions, and enjoy the delicacy.