Kanda poha

This is my all time favorite for a weekend breakfast. A very delicious dish but easy to make at the same time.The best part is it does not need a lot of oil .There are different ways of making poha.. The way my mom makes is a bit different from mine.She uses buttermilk to  bring in some tanginess to the dish. I use lemon juice instead.I really like the way maharashtrians make poha.Just too good. So here is my version of "KAANDA POHA".

INGREDIENTS:

1. Thick poha - 1 and 1/2 cup
2. Chopped onion - 3/4 cup
3. Ginger (grated) - 1tsp
4. Green chillies (Slit in to 2 pieces) - 2 (or as per taste)
5. Cumin seeds or jeera - 1/4 tsp
6. Mustard seeds or rai- 1/4 tsp
7. Urad dal - 1/4 tsp
8. Dry red chillies - 2
9. Curry leaves - 3-4
10. Sugar - 1tsp
11. Salt - as per taste
12. Roasted peanut powder - 1 tbsp
13. Cilantro and freshly grated coconut for garnishing
14. Lemon juice - 1 tsp
15. A ping of hing or asafoetida
16. Turmeric powder or haldi - 1tsp
17. Oil - 1tbsp

METHOD:

1. Rinse poha in water and drain the water and set aside.The other way to do this is to take the poha in a colander and run the water through it for a while and keep it aside.
2. While the poha is resting, heat oil in a kadhai ( i use a nonstick one, uses much less oil).
3. When the oil is hot, add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, urad dal, red chillies,hing, green chillies and the curry leaves.
4. Then add the onion and the ginger and mix well . Cook till the onion changes color.
5. Now add the poha and mix well.
6. Add the turmeric powder, lemon juice,sugar and salt and mix
7. Lastly add the peanut powder, cilantro and the grated coconut.
8. Serve hot.

Note:

• As a variation , you can add in boiled potatoes or peas.
• Instead of cutting the chillies in to half you can finely chop them. I keep them big because i like to remove them before serving.
• As I mentioned earlier, in my mom's version, she adds the buttermilk(about a couple tbsp) to the onions after they have been fried. To this she adds the haldi, sugar etc. Then she adds the poha. The rest is the same.