In my Indian dwelling state of Maharashtra, a favourite conventional savory breakfast is pohé: parched, flattened rice (which can be referred to as pohé or poha) paired with onions, a medley of spices, and greens resembling potatoes, inexperienced peas, cauliflower, or tomatoes. Whereas a breakfast mainstay, pohé can be usually served at teatime, loved with a scorching cup of chaha (chai). It was my most well-liked Sunday breakfast as a baby and now as an grownup, a simple and satisfying meal I routinely cook dinner at dwelling on busy weekday mornings, and even for a easy mild dinner.

I first realized how one can cook dinner pohé from my mother. Her model was shiny yellow from a beneficiant quantity of turmeric and closely spiced with cumin and mustard seeds,a mixture of spices she utilized in most of the savory Indian dishes she made. However truthfully, her model was by no means my favourite. The model I like finest I realized from my father’s household, who come from the town of Pune.

It wasn’t till I used to be dwelling in California that I realized how one can cook dinner their model throughout a go to from my father’s cousin Shirish Marathe and his spouse Sushama Kaku; my recipe beneath is predicated on theirs. It’s faint yellow from a reserved quantity of turmeric (lower than my mother’s), with a refined sweet-and-savory kick. For my part, it’s the very best method to put together pohé.

How one can Make Pohé

Pohé (the ingredient) is de-husked rice that’s been soaked in scorching water, dried, after which pounded into flat flakes; at this level they’re a preserved meals with an extended shelf life. Because it’s mainly rice that’s been par-cooked and handled, it cooks a lot sooner than uncooked rice does; it actually solely must be briefly rehydrated and heated by way of earlier than consuming.

One of the best ways to do that is by soaking the grains in a small quantity of chilly water for simply quarter-hour. Chilly water works finest, as soaking it in scorching water runs the danger of overcooking the par-cooked grains. It’s additionally vital to stir often throughout this time to make sure the grains hydrate evenly.

To construct the seasoning-base for this recipe, I take advantage of the identical mustard seed, turmeric, and asafetida seasoning that my cousin’s spouse Sushama utilized in her model. Within the Indian state of Maharashtra, the place my household is from, asafoetida-mustard-turmeric is usually thought-about the “holy trinity” of seasonings.

Asafoetida is a gum resin that drips off the roots of an herb referred to as ferula asafoetida, a Central Asian plant within the celery household. It’s gathered after which floor right into a powder. Nuggets of it was left in sacks of grain as a result of bugs stayed away from its sturdy aroma. Cooks in India realized that its sulfurous, onion-garlic scent and taste was a welcome addition in lots of dishes. My father did not like asafoetida’s pungent aroma, so my mom by no means cooked with it after I was rising up. However as an grownup I’ve grown to like its taste and at all times use it after I make a mustard-seed seasoning, like I do right here on this pohé recipe.

The spices are bloomed in scorching oil—and I imply ripping scorching, these mustard seeds ought to pop like popcorn on contact with the pan—earlier than recent inexperienced chiles, curry leaves, and onions are added. It’s vital that the onions are cooked solely briefly in order that they nonetheless retain a little bit of their crunch, which creates a pleasant distinction to the tender rice within the dish. At this level, the greens—your selection of potatoes, inexperienced peas, cauliflower, or tomatoes—are added and steamed within the coated pot till simply tender.

The soaked rice is then stirred in and all the pieces is briefly cooked till simply warmed by way of. Because the rice is already softened from soaking, you’re actually simply warming it by way of and coating it evenly within the spice combination. Simply earlier than serving, I like so as to add a small quantity of sugar and lime juice to stability the pungent and savory spice mix.The ultimate dish needs to be salty, tart, faintly candy, and pungent unexpectedly, and also you would possibly want to regulate with extra salt, lime juice, or sugar to search out the proper stability.

Past my listed serving solutions of a sprinkle of cilantro, grated coconut, and a facet of plain yogurt, I additionally advocate serving pohé with quite a lot of condiments resembling cilantro chutney, tomato–curry leaf chutney, or fast mango pickle.

Each time I put together pohé this fashion, I really feel deeply linked to my aunt and my household, and am grateful to them for studying how one can put together this extremely flavorful dish.

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