You are going to love this flavorful spiced poha. My recipe calls for a blend of robust spices, crunchy peanuts, chewy sweet golden raisins, and tangy lemon juice. Poha is a simple dish to prepare, and we’re making it even simpler with an instant pot! This aloo poha recipe is very hands-off – there’s no need to stand by the stovetop stir-frying potatoes. Let the IP do all the work. You’ll be spooning freshly made poha onto your plate in minutes.
What is Poha?
Poha is a traditional Indian breakfast or snack made with flattened rice, spices, peanuts, onions, and potatoes. There are many different variations of poha; the poha recipe I’m sharing today is for kanda batata poha, meaning an onion and potato poha. This popular western Indian dish is eaten all over India for good reason. Poha calls for Indian pantry staples and is a quick dish to make. The word “poha” refers to both the dish and the flattened rice used to make it. So, we’re making poha (the dish) with poha (flattened rice). Flattened rice cooks very quickly because it has already been parboiled, flattened, and dried. You might find packages of poha labeled as either “thick poha” or “thin poha” – for this recipe, we want to use thick, or regular, poha. You can find this at your local Indian grocery store or on amazon. Here’s what it looks like: This type of rice is also used to make other recipes like chivda, or you can add flattened rice when making Idli/Dosa Batter, but typically it’s most commonly used to make the dish I’m sharing here with you today.
How to make this poha recipe:
To make this poha, add a few ingredients – including potatoes – to the instant pot, mix, and pressure cook for 1 minute. The potatoes will cook quickly because they’re small (½ to ¾ inch pieces). You don’t want to have big chunks of potato in poha, so make sure to chop them into small pieces. After that, add rinsed poha to the pot and mix well. Turn the pot off, put the lid back on, and let the poha sit in the pot – poha cooks very quickly and will cook in the residual steam.
Can I add vegetables to poha?
Some people add green peas, grated carrots, or grated coconut to this. I’m sure any grated vegetable would be fine to add, though I haven’t tried this myself yet. I personally love it with onions and potatoes but I’m sure additional veggies won’t hurt. Still, as always, I suggest trying my recipe as written before making adjustments! If you’re planning a special weekend brunch, put this poha recipe on your menu. I’m not sure there’s a better tea-time snack than a bowl of poha served with freshly made Masala Chai.
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