Poha/Pohe is an Indian breakfast and snack prepared in the cuisines of Indian states of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
,
Odisha
Odisha (English: , ), formerly Orissa ( the official name until 2011), is an Indian state located in Eastern India. It is the 8th largest state by area, and the 11th largest by population. The state has the third largest population of ...
,
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...
,
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the second ...
,
Telangana
Telangana (; , ) is a state in India situated on the south-central stretch of the Indian peninsula on the high Deccan Plateau. It is the eleventh-largest state and the twelfth-most populated state in India with a geographical area of and 35 ...
,
Karnataka
Karnataka (; ISO 15919, ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reor ...
,
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South Ca ...
,
TamilNadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil language— ...
,
Gujarat
Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...
Rajasthan
Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern ...
.
Preparation
Each Indian state has its own version of this tasty snack. In the state of
Maharashtra
Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the second-most populous state in India and the second-most populous country subdi ...
this dish is typically called as 'Kande pohe' meaning Pohe with onions. To prepare this dish pohe ( flattened and processed rice) is first soaked and rinsed in water, then drained and cooked with onions, potatoes and roasted peanuts with a
tadka
Tempering is a cooking technique used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in which whole spices (and sometimes also other ingredients such as dried chillies, minced ginger root or sugar) are roasted briefly in oil or ghee to lib ...
of
mustard seeds
Mustard seeds are the small round seeds of various mustard plants. The seeds are usually about in diameter and may be colored from yellowish white to black. They are an important spice in many regional foods and may come from one of three d ...
green chilies
Chili peppers (also chile, chile pepper, chilli pepper, or chilli), from Nahuatl '' chīlli'' (), are varieties of the berry-fruit of plants from the genus ''Capsicum'', which are members of the nightshade family Solanaceae, cultivated for t ...
, and kadipatta (or curry leaves). It is a popular snack that is also sold in local restaurants and food stalls. In home recipes people also add other vegetables such as peas and corn to it.
Other simple variations in the Southern states include cooking it in sour
buttermilk
Buttermilk is a fermented dairy drink. Traditionally, it was the liquid left behind after churning butter out of cultured cream. As most modern butter in western countries is not made with cultured cream but uncultured sweet cream, most m ...
with only a
tadka
Tempering is a cooking technique used in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, in which whole spices (and sometimes also other ingredients such as dried chillies, minced ginger root or sugar) are roasted briefly in oil or ghee to lib ...
of green chillies, mustard seeds, urad dal, and kadipatta.
In popular culture
In Maharashtra, pohe are also associated with the meetings for arranged marriages. The term 'Chaha pohe' is often used to describe such a meeting that is accompanied by Chai and Kande pohe.
Based on the same meaning, this dish also featured in the lyrics of a marathi song 'Kande pohe' from Movie Sanai Choughade.
See also
*
Indori Poha
Indori Poha (Poha of Indore) is a type of flattened (beaten) rice that is likely to have originated in Indian metropolis of Indore. It contains steamed ''Poha'' (flattened rice) and is usually served with a unique combination of Jalebi (cal ...