POHA - Light and Easy

POHA

A delightful, easy to cook, nutritious breakfast item, brunch, evening snack or a quick fix, light meal when one is not feeling too well, made from flattened rice flakes. Very healthy.

Flattened rice (also called beaten rice) is a dehusked rice which is flattened into flat light dry flakes.

This is primarily a Maharashtrian dish, light and easy to prepare; at the most around 15 mins from start to finish.

What to Use ..

Jada poha - flat, beaten rice flakes - 2 coffee mugs full (wash delicately with very little water and drain well - preferably done in a sieve/colander)

Onion - 1 (large, chopped)

Tomato - 1 (medium)

Potatoes - 1 (small, cut into small strips) - OPTIONAL

Haldi (turmeric) - 1/4  teaspoon

Mustard seeds - half a tsp

Curry leaves - 5 - 6

Green chillies - 1 (small, chopped) - OPTIONAL

Roasted peanuts - 6 - 7 (or more according to taste)

Salt - sprinkle well, according to taste

Lime - to squeeze all over to flavour (OPTIONAL)

Chopped coriander leaves - to garnish

Wooden ladle - flat

How to Prepare ..

1) Heat oil in a non-stick pan or wok. Add the mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chillies. Fry well.

2) Once the mustard seeds stop spluttering, add the chopped onions and fry well.

3) Add the peanuts and potatoes and fry well

3) Then add the tomatoes and soften. Add the haldi and fry well.

4) Drain the water completely from the "Poha". Put in in along with salt and mix well with the flat ladle so as not to break the flakes.

5) Sprinkle water all over and cover for 2 mins . Then taste and check if it is cooked and done.

6) Squeeze lime all over (OPTIONAL) and garnish with coriander leaves.

Coriander Rice

I am sure there are many in the wonderful world of food who love Coriander leaves or dhania patta (in Hindi). I, for one, simply love the heavenly aroma of coriander leaves free out from my market bag. I managed to get my hands on this dish and what a combination - Coriander leaves with Rice.

Ingredients : -

Rice - 150 gms

Coriander leaves - 60 g

Garlic - 3 - 4 pearls

Carrots - 50 g

Beans - 50 g

Green chillies - 2

Cooking oil - enough to fry the vegetables.

Salt - to taste

Method :-

Chop carrots and beans into small pieces.

Pluck and wash coriander leaves.

Clean garlic pearls.

Chop green chillies.

Grind all the above into a paste.

Wash rice and keep aside.

Heat the oil in a pan, fry chopped vegetables for 3 minutes.

Add ground paste and fry.

Add the rice, sufficient water to cook and salt.

Yellow Rice

YELLOW RICE

The perfect accompaniment to the Meat Curry I posted earlier under the category Meat dishes.

This is a typical Sunday Anglo-Indian meal. Yellow rice and chicken/meat curry.

Ingredients : -

Rice - 1 cup

Onion - 1 large (sliced lengthwise)

Cooking oil - 1 tbsp

Cloves, cardomoms, cinnamon sticks, peppercorns - 2 0r 3

Bay leaves - 2

Turmeric (haldi) - 1/2 tsp

Salt - to taste

Hard - boiled eggs - for garnishing

Process :-

Heat the oil. Add the sliced onion, fry till golden brown. Remove a little and set aside for garnishing.

Add raw rice to the fried onions in the pan.

Stir vigorously to prevent sticking. Add salt and whole spices, turmeric and bay leaves. Add water (enough to cook the rice, about 1 cup less than double the quantity of rice e.g. 2 cups rice, 3 cups water).

Cook covered on a low flame for about 10 mins after the water comes to a boil. The cooked rice must not be soft but firm.

Garnish on top with fried onions set aside and sliced hard-boiled eggs (typically arranged along the circumference)