Indori Kanda Poha..a breakfast to relish

Some people might find the title very strange but for people who have visited Indore and tried and tasted this Poha will agree to my title.

Indore is foodies paradise. People there love eating food and they are wonderful hosts. In the streets of Indore, one would get all kinds of food to eat right from Paani puri, sabudana khichadi, various kachori & samosas, fafade, khaman to Daal Baati, Churma, Mava baati, dahi Vada, jal jeera, Mava Jalebi, Malpua and the list goes on..

In the Rajawada area of Indore there is a Khau galli (foodies lane) called Sarafa. This street is bustling with people at night to try out various food items. The life on this street starts only after 9 PM, when lots of small restaurants and thela gadis serve innumerable delicacies. People from all cadres come and eat here. Just mentioning all this, my mouth waters and I am mentally transferred there....

But of all the things I mentioned here, people in Indore love to eat Poha with hot jalebis as breakfast. One can see lots of Thela gadis and restaurants selling these two items in the morning. The speciality of the Poha is, it’s very light and soft, cooked in minimum oil and has a light yellow texture and full of flavors of onion(Kanda)(hence the name kanda poha) and fennel along with the very light sweetness of sugar. It is garnished with the famous Indori Sev, lemon and coriander. Indori’s will not have their Poha without Sev. The best option is garlic flavoured spicy Sev on top but any spicy plain sev will taste good.

This time when I started making Poha, I suddenly remembered I had not made this type in a long time and then and there I decided to make this version and share with all my foodie friends.

S and kids relished the Poha. I had made it a little extra than I normally make, but everything just got finished.

This is an ideal breakfast for growing kids and family as it’s very healthy and extremely quick to make. It can make a tasty and filling lunch box.

Sending this as my entry to WYF : Breakfast hosted by Simple Indian food

Ingredients

Serves 4

5 handsful thick poha (beaten rice)

3 medium onion finely chopped

5-6 green chillies finely chopped

4-5 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp fennel seeds (saunf)

salt to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric pwd

1/2 –1 tsp sugar

Any spicy sev to garnish

chopped coriander

lemon wedges

Method

Wash the Poha several times till it is clean. Sprinkle the salt, turmeric and sugar and mix the Poha properly. Keep it aside for 10-15 mins.

Meanwhile heat the oil and throw in the mustard followed by the fennel seeds.

Add the green chilies and onions and saute till the onions are translucent.

Now add the Poha and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle some more water, mix and then cover it for 5-10 mins and cook with the steam.

Serve hot, garnished with coriander, Sev and a lemon wedge. ( I could not put lots of coriander as it's rarely available here. This small leaf I plucked from my small plant, in my cute little pot)

Note- Do not use red chilli pwd instead of green chilies, as it will take away the original flavors.

Sending it as my entry to WYF: Breakfast hosted by EC at Simple Indian food
also sending it to Rice Feast hosted by Aathidhyam