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Monday, September 28, 2015

Dahi Chura / Dahi Choora ~ A Bihari Breakfast

A few decades ago, a teenager was visiting his brother in Bangalore and was having a gala of summer vacation. The above mentioned brother's colleague happened to visit their home once and saw the kid. The colleague thought that the kid was probably bored sitting at home and invited him over to his house for a weekend breakfast. That colleague incidentally happened to be a Bihari and the kid got all excited for the invite. He was up and ready when Sunday dawned and tagged along his cousin too to the host's house which was near by, expecting a wonderful meal from another cuisine.

To their dismay, they were the ones to wake up the host and hostess. The kids were now in a fix and they did not know whether to stay or run back home with an excuse. However the sleepy eyed host opened the door and dragged them inside. After what appeared to be some agonizing moments, the 13 & 9 year old got a call from the hostess for the breakfast. Their embarrassment had turned into bewilderment seeing their breakfast platter. Bowls of uncooked poha served along with some yogurt and sugar on side. They somehow finished their breakfast with a smile plastered on their faces and ran back home.

Those two kids survived the ordeal, to share the story with mirth decades later and one of those kids also happened to live in Bihar for a while. My husband shared this experience with me when I asked for Bihari recipes while doing the Indian odyssey themed blogging marathon and BTW the older kid in the story was my husband. I did dalpuri at the time and this dahi choora remained back in my mind. And I meant no offense in any way while sharing the above anecdote.
And though I did not know it at the time, I happened to meet the said Bihari friend at Bangalore airport while I was flying to USA for the first time, with an infant in tow 17 years ago. When my husband was mentioning his name while narrating the incident, it clicked that he was the same person who helped me at the airport on my Brother-in-law's request. Phew, small world. :)

I am used to sweetened milk poha (I have to yet post the recipe) and dahi poha in a savory version and so the recipe did not come as a shocker to me but generally speaking, a breakfast based on uncooked poha is unheard of in most of the parts in southern India. Where as this dahi choora based on yogurt and flattened rice flakes happens to be a very common breakfast / snack served in Bihar. Dahi is yogurt in Hindi while the uncooked flattened rice flakes are called chura in Bihar and hence the name of  the recipe. Actually I found the recipe very cool and to me it sounded like an Indian version of cereal flakes. This is a quick, no cook recipe yielding a complete meal with no fuss and no mess, besides being very convenient in the morning rush hours. The addition of fruits is optional but makes the dish wholesome.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup thin variety flattened rice / poha / chura
1 cup yogurt
Jaggery / Honey / Sugar to taste
1/2 cup chopped fruits of choice (Optional)

Method:
* Wash rice flakes thoroughly with water in a colander. Drain and leave aside until they soften. Fluff the flakes well with a fork.
(The poha variety I get softens in under five minutes. It must be possible to mash a flake with the gentle pressure between the thumb and the fore finger.)
* Whisk the yogurt well with the sweetener of your choice. Add chura and fruits if using to the yogurt and combine well.
* Serve immediately.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 56.

Comments

11 comments:

Srivalli said...

Very interesting story to read Suma..I guess we do get surprised on hearing about certain dishes for the first time. However the same will look more pleasing later on..Just like our Attukula Payasam, where uncooked poha is used, I am guess this will taste much like it, of course one needs to adapt to taste..very interesting to prep it with fruits. I am sure this makes a filling breakfast..Cant wait to try it..do thank your husband..:)

Priya Srinivasan - I Camp in My Kitchen said...

I made it for Indian food odyssey. First thought we might not like the taste, but to our own surprise we loved it and when served with loads of fresh seasonal fruits, it surely defeats any international dessert parafait! !!

Unknown said...

Hi Suma...in fact we Oriyas also make dahi Choora..and my mom being a working mom would serve it to us most of the time...In fact we used to add mashed bananas to it and this used to be our staple food during a stomach upset too..u have revived such beautiful memories..thanks and a nice write up too.

Mayuri Patel said...

interesting but healthy breakfast. I've got to learn more about Bihari cuisine as my daughter is going to marry a Bihari.

Srividhya said...

Reminds of parafait. Never tried poha with yogurt but sure will give it a try

Usha said...

Haha, small world indeed. I never tasted poha with yogurt but use to eat it with milk. I still do once in a while. Serving with fruits makes it even more interesting.

Sandhiya said...

Interesting read and poha with curd sounds unique, never had it this way before.

Harini R said...

A very interesting story indeed. Definitely agree that it is a small world. I used to eat poha and chutney podi/avakaya with yogurt. But never tried the sweet version with fruit. Sounds like a super idea to me :)

Pavani said...

Loved the story Suma. I have some very vivid food memories too.
Dahi chura sounds like a great quick & easy breakfast.

Sneha's Recipe said...

Well presented dahi chura, look amazing.

Priya Suresh said...

Am sure this dahi chura will definitely satisfy my tastebuds, beautiful presentation Suma, makes me drool.