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Pet Puja- Poha

Pohe, Poha or KandePohe( traditional Maharashtrian snack)- you just can’t have enough of this lip-smacking, delicious dish. Kande Pohe is something with which every Maharashtrian household can relate and holds a very special place in the matrimonial affair. It is a must have dish, an essential, when a boy goes to see a girl at the girl’s place (Dakhavinyacha Karyakram). Nowadays, of course things have changed, but Kande Pohe still rule all over Maharashtra and other parts of the country as a hot favourite snack. There is a lovely song “Ayushya He Chuli Varlya Kadhaitale Kande Pohe” by Sunidhi Chauhan from the marathi film “Sanai Choughade”.

Poha( flattened puffed rice) holds special place in Indian Mythology as well and is signified as a gift of true and eternal bond of friendship between Krishna and Sudama.

Poha is of many varieties, it varies as per the variety of rice and also thickness. You can use any variety available, only the time required for soaking will differ as per thickness. If it is ultra thin, you will require to just wash and use immediately. If Poha is thick, then soaking time will be more.
Poha is prepared in many ways in different states across the country with slight variations in tempering and toppings.

The best Poha I had in my life was in Kolhapur and it will always remind me of my grandmother. Here comes my recipe of Poha for you all. Hope you will enjoy it.

Ingredients:

Poha (Puffed Rice) - 2 cups

Onion- 1 large (chopped)

Potato (optional) - 1 small (chopped)

Cumin- ½ teaspoon

Mustard seeds- ½ teaspoon

Groundnuts (optional) - 2 tablespoons

Curry Leaves- 1-2 sprigs

Green Chillies- 4

Grated coconut – For garnishing

Coriander- For garnishing

Oil- 3 tablespoons

Salt- As per taste

Sugar- As per taste

Turmeric powder- ½ teaspoon

Lemon juice- 1 teaspoon

Asafoetida( Hing)- a pinch

Method:

Wash the poha and soak for about 20-25 minutes with just enough water. Once the poha is well soaked, add salt sugar, turmeric powder, lemon juice to it and mix well. Now heat oil in a pan and fry the groundnuts and remove the groundnuts on the soaked poha. To the remaining oil, add tempering of asafoetida, curry leaves, cumin, mustard, chopped chillies and stir well, then add pototo and onion and stir till they turn a light brown. Now add soaked Poha, stir well and cover for 3-4 minutes and let it cook on medium flame. Finally, add the garnishing of grated coconut and chopped coriander leaves.

Serve poha with a slice of lemon or bowl of curd. You may top the Poha with shev (bhujia) also.

 Note -  Preparation time is approximately 30 minutes. You may add seasonal fresh vegetables like green peas or fresh chanas (whole Bengal Gram) for variation.Finely chopped carrots can also be added. For garnish, you may add pomegranate seeds.
There is one more style of making Poha, that is Dadpe Pohe, wherein the Poha is soaked in coconut water or curds and the tempering is just added to the soaked Poaha.
Similarly, sweet Poha is also made by soaking Poha in coconut water and adding jaggery n fresh grated coconut.

Serving: Serves aprrox 4 people