Breakfast day 1: Poha

I start this series with Poha of course, being married to an Indori its hard to think of any other most popular morning meal :)

An ideal poha -

• -should be soft, but not mushy.
• -should have flavor, but not spicy.
• -should have crunch but should not be over crowded.

There are number of ways people make poha, I am presenting the simplest and quickest method.

 

Poha in its most pristine form!!!
 

Ingredients:

2 cups thick poha

1/2 cup red onion -chopped(save some for garnishing)
2-3 green chillies-chopped
half of a medium sized potato-chopped (optional)
1 tblsp oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
sugar- 2 tsp
salt to test
Fresh Coriander/Cilantro leaves-chopped (for garnishing)
Lemon juice-to taste

Method:

1. Wash poha in running water in a wide flat bottomed dish. After straining the water add a little(2-3 tablespoons of water) and keep it aside. (The key to making soft poha is to let it soak in a little water, this will not make poha mushy but will help it to absorb water and get softer)
2. Heat oil in a wide bottomed pan, add mustard seeds and let it sputter. (Do not substitute mustard seeds for jira, also make sure oil is hot enough before you add the seeds)
3. Add green chillies, sautee for few seconds, then add onion and some salt. Sautee for few minutes till onions lose the crunch.
4. If using potatoes add at this point, cover and cook till they are soft.
5. Lower the heat, add poha, salt and sugar, mix well.
6. Cover the pan, turn off the burner and let poha sit for few minutes. The steam inside will make all the flavors combine and the trapped steam will keep the poha soft.
7. Squeeze some fresh lemon on poha and garnish with cilantro, chopped red onion and spicy sev.

Notes:

• Red onion is the most ideal to cook and garnish on poha. I find white and yellow onion totally tasteless, colorless and without any texture.
• Do not overcrowd your poha with potatoes, peanuts, corn, anardaana. Using only one of the crunch items should be enough.

The ultimate secret of making a good Breakfast: LESS IS MORE

On popular demand, starting the breakfast series on the blog. Its no secret that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. But with busy lifestyle, these days more and more people are bending towards cereal or butter toasts in the morning.

Fortunately (or unfortunately ;)) hubby is very sentimental for a good hot breakfast. My mom also used to make great items daily morning.

Its a myth that hot breakfast takes lot of time. You can fix a good one in less than 15 min because the good thing about this meal is "LESS IS MORE."

Do not overcrowd the breakfast items with too many spices or other ingredients. Keep it simple.

There is no compulsion to use all the spices in your kitchen every time you cook. Save your coriander powder, garam masala, chilli powder for more complex meals of the day.

In the morning, stomach does not need all the spicy stuff, all it needs is some inviting, hot mini meal which will keep you full till lunch.

Presenting 7 great items for all of your week, now it shouldn't be that difficult to fix that yummy nummy morning treat :)