Poha, Indori Style

Event: Blogging Marathon #41
Theme: Stove-top cooking with alphabets - N, P & T

Beaten rice flakes / poha is widely used to create quick and easily digestible breakfast / snack items among the Indian subcontinent. No surprises there, considering that rice is one of the chief grains produced and consumed by Indians. There are both spicy and sweet poha versions prepared across the country and of course when we are talking about India, there tend be regional variations. I had assumed that I was familiar with all the spicy poha versions until the BM #39 which focused on Indian state cuisines. I came across a few versions of poha during the event for the first time and this Indori version was one of them. It caught my attention primarily because of the sev garnishing and some of the ingredients used here are not usually a part of the standard poha recipe.  
The first recipe I came across when I googled for Indori Poha recipe was this and it seemed like it came straight from the horse's mouth. The blogger didn't use another online / literal source for the recipe and knew what she was talking about. And so I stuck to her recipe and the soft, fluffy poha and the crispy sev was a match made in heaven. 

Ingredients:
2 cups thick poha
2 tbsp oil
2 - 3 tbsp peanuts
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
2 - 4 green chillies, chopped fine (Use as needed depending upon the spiciness of chillies.)
Few curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
A pinch of asafoetida powder
2 onions, chopped fine
1/2 tsp sugar (I didn't use any.)
Salt to taste
Juice from a lime / lemon
For garnishing:
2 - 3 tbsp minced cilantro
1/4 cup shredded fresh coconut
1/2 cup sev

Method:
* Wash the poha in a colander, drain and leave the poha aside for 10 minutes. (I have noticed that the poha available in south India needs soaking in water. If poha is of a thick variety like that, soak it in water 6 -8 minutes or until poha feels soft to touch but have not turned mushy. Drain and keep it aside.)
* Heat oil in a pan. Add peanuts and mustard seeds. When mustard seeds start to pop and peanuts turn golden brown, add fennel seeds, chillies and curry leaves. Fry for abut 30 seconds and add onion, turmeric and asafoetida. Stir well and fry on medium flame until they turn translucent. 
* Next add poha, salt and sugar if using. Cover and cook for about 5 minutes. 
* Squeeze lemon juice over the prepared poha and mix well.
* Serve the poha onto plates for individual servings and garnish each plate with cilantro, coconut and sev. 

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