Vataane Pohe (Beaten rice with peas)

Poha or chidwa, depending on which part of India you hail from, is a common breakfast dish.

The usual Maharashtrian way to cook this is with onions (the famous Kaande Pohe) or with potatoes. This preparation uses peas, instead, and is my favourite.

The peas are sautéed until crisp on the outside but still tender and sweet on the inside. They make a wonderful addition to a breakfast or brunch favourite.

This weekend the husband took over the kitchen to make his signature dish.

Give it a go and I’m sure you will agree that waking up to cook a weekend breakfast will be something to look forward to!

Vataane Poha for brunch

Ingredients:

350 grams poha (beaten rice)

2 onions, sliced thinly

1 medium potato, chopped

1 cup peas

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin seeds (jeera)

3/4 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon red chilli powder / paprika

1/4 teaspoon asafoetida

2 tablespoons oil

Salt to taste

1/2 teaspoon sugar (optional)

a squeeze of lemon or lime

Method:

1. Heat half the oil in a shallow pan. Add a pinch of asafoetida, peas and salt. Saute well and keep covered on a medium flame. Cook till the peas turn crisp, about 8-10 minutes. Make sure you keep stirring the peas so that they don’t burn.

2. In a deep pan, add the rest of the oil and asafoetida and the cumin seeds. Once the cumin seeds splutter, add the turmeric and chilli powder. Then add the chopped onions and mix well with the spices. Cook the onion for a few minutes and then add the potatoes. Cook covered for about 10 minutes.

3. While the onions and potatoes and peas are cooking, wash the poha (beaten rice) in a sieve. The trick is to hold the sieve under a running tap and run your fingers through the poha to make sure that all of it is wet. Leave it in the sieve to drain.

4. Once the potatoes are cooked, add in the peas. Mix well.

5. Add the poha, salt, sugar, chopped coriander and a generous squeeze of lime. Mix well and serve hot.

Note:

We would normally add a generous helping of sev or bhujia to this. However, in honour of the saatvik diet, we enjoyed this on its own. But feel free to indulge!

This post is part of the Back to Basics yoga detox diet that we practiced in preparation for the Summer Solstice on 21st June.