Kande Pohe

(Flattened rice breakfast snack)

"Seriously you are writing a blog post on 'kande pohe'??" my mom asked me :P But trust me its the simple common things that need to be perfect, because you have to eat those a lot!!

This is probably the most common breakfast dish in western India. Its the dish that a girl makes for her prospective groom, when he come to 'see' her for the first time in traditional indian arranged marriages! Whenever I made good Kande Pohe my Panji (great grand mom) cried, thinking how lucky my husband would be :P Such is the power of perfectly made Kande pohe..  Obviously it has gotten a lot of attention in pop culture too! theres even a song about it!

So, if you want to impress prospective spouses (;P) or great grand moms or anyone for that matter! heres the perfect recipe..

You will need:



1 cup thick flattened rice (pohe), wash for a few seconds under running water, then strain on a sieve for at least 10 minutes. This is the most crucial part. the rice should be soft and completely hydrated but not mushy and watery.
1 small onion, chopped square, medium cut
1 small potato (optional) thick small slices
4-5 curry leaves
2 green chillies, small pieces
a small piece of ginger
mustard
1 tbsp oil
turmeric
asafetida (hing) (a lil more than usual)
salt
sugar
fresh chopped cilantro
lime

1. Add salt, sugar, lime juice and turmeric over the drained flattened rice (pohe)
2. Heat oil in a pan, add mustardand hing to hot oil, after the mustard crackles, add chillies and curry leaves
3. Add the chooped onion and potato, and let it cook, covered for a few minutes.
4. Once the potatoes and onions are cooked, add the seasoned flattened rice.
5. Mix, the turmeric will mix with the oil and goive a nice color.
6. add a dash of finely grated fresh ginger (optional)
7. Cover and let cook for just about a minute.
8. Remove lid and add finely chopped fresh cilantro