I have a very fond memory of this dish. Me and my friend Amit Chandak worked together for some time a decade ago. I was in Chennai at that time and my office was in Sholinganallur. The cab would pick me up at six in the morning. So that meant I had to get up at 5 everyday. I am not a morning person at all. I can never be one. Everyday when it was time for breakfast, Amit would offer his breakfast dabba / box to taste for everyone. Whatever he brought, he shared. Even if it was bread. His heavily broken Tamil is something I really enjoyed listening to. This poha was a genius from his lunch box. I fell in love with this dish. Years have passed but the memories of those days still stays so fresh. Here is Amit’s Aloo Poha recipe. This makes for an excellent breakfast. My family likes it so much, I even make it as a snack in the evening.
We will be using thick poha for this recipe. Poha is called as Aval in Tamil. Do not use the thin variety. The thin variety becomes into mush and does not work well in this recipe. Gently wash the poha in water and soak it for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water and set aside. Do not try and squeeze the excess moisture from the poha. Just drain and set aside.
Heat oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds and the mustard seeds. Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter. Add in the peanuts and fry for a minute. Add in the green chillies, chopped onions and fry till the onions are soft. Once the onions are soft, add in the diced potatoes. We would need peeled and diced potatoes for this recipe. Add in half of the salt and cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 6-7 minutes on medium flame.
Once the potatoes are fork tender, add in the red chilli powder and the turmeric powder. Saute to combine.
Add in the poha and the remaining salt. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Mix well. Squeeze the lime juice.
Mix everything well to combine. Set the flame to low and cover the pan with a lid and let the poha cook for 5 minutes. Once the poha is heated up and cooked, add in the coriander leaves (cilantro) and switch off the flame.
Serve the poha hot with a cup of coffee.
- 1 Cup thick Poha / Aval (250 ml)
- 3 tablespoon Vegetable oil
- ½ tsp mustard seeds
- ½ tsp jeera
- 2 green chillies, chopped
- 3 tablespoon peanuts
- 1 Onion, chopped
- 2 medium sized potatoes, diced
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Red Chilli powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- juice from half a lime
- 2 sprigs coriander leaves (cilantro)
- Gently wash the poha in water and soak it for 3-4 minutes. Drain the water and set aside.
- Heat oil in a pan and add in the cumin seeds and the mustard seeds. Wait for the mustard seeds to splutter. Add in the peanuts and fry for a minute. Add in the green chillies, chopped onions and fry till the onions are soft. Once the onions are soft, add in the diced potatoes. We would need peeled and diced potatoes for this recipe. Add in half of the salt and cover the pan with a lid and let it cook for 6-7 minutes on medium flame.
- Once the potatoes are fork tender, add in the red chilli powder and the turmeric powder. Saute to combine.
- Add in the poha and the remaining salt. Add a teaspoon of sugar. Mix well. Squeeze the lime juice.
- Mix everything well to combine. Set the flame to low and cover the pan with a lid and let the poha cook for 5 minutes. Once the poha is heated up and cooked, add in the coriander leaves (cilantro) and switch off the flame.
- Serve the poha hot with a cup of coffee.
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