Thursday 5 March 2015

Poha Masala Powder

Poha or beaten rice is very popular all over Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Its easy to make , light and still counts as a good hearty breakfast/tea time snack.

 This is not another poha recipe ....I recently went to Bhopal and Indore and was amazed to see how differently poha is garnished and served there....

So this post is about how you can re-invent your poha recipe with just a few small changes .....

But before I tell you about Poha here are some pictures of everything that constitutes a Typical MPwalla Naashta ( breakfast)

There is garam garam doodh ( Scalding hot milk) that has been lovingly heated for a few hours in a kadhai resulting in lots of malai (cream) and thick fudge-y taste.....

There is jalebi crisp and hot to be eaten with poha or alongside your glass of hot milk....



Samosa and Kachori both very well made also constitute a good Bhopali / Indori Naashta



And now moving on to the Poha ....While in the train we were served poha with a garnish of Namkeen , lemon wedges and raw finley chopped onion....it tasted selicious even though it wasnt hot and was at room temperature . I was quite surprised because I dont fancy eating raw onions at breakfast but this tasted delicious.


At another breakfast pit-stop in Bhopal we saw a vendor with a huge mountain of Poha garnished with grated carrot and lots of chopped coriander ! Not only does the carrot add  color it also tastes great . There was also sev , fried green chillies and Poha masala ....


Poha Masala Recipe 

Chaat Masala..............70%

Red Chilli Powder..........30%

Salt ..................to taste

Simply combine chaat masala and red chilli powder (70:30 ratio) , add a little salt , give it all a good stir and store in a dry jar .



All to be eaten simply over a square piece of news paper.......


And here in Maharashtra we love our Poha garnished with grated fresh coconut and sometimes even coconut chutney!!!

So are you ready to spruce up your old Poha recipe?

Let me know if you enjoyed these suggestions....