Vegetable Poha

For today's "Cooking from Valli's blog" theme, I decided to make this super quick and healthy breakfast/ lunch dish, "Vegetable Poha". Valli used the thin poha and was able to finish her dish in 10 minutes, but I had only the thick variety on hand and mine took about 15-18 minutes. 

For my usual poha I use onions and/or potatoes and/or tomatoes, I've never added mixed vegetables and so this was a delicious variation to my regular version. Chopping the veggies really small and keeping the size even makes all the difference in cooking them quickly and evenly. 

One trick I learnt from one of my Gujarati friend is to season the drained poha with salt and chili powder (she also adds sugar), giving the dish a lot more flavor since the poha also gets its share of spiciness.

Ingredients:

Flatten rice flakes (Poha/ Atukulu) - 2cups

Onion - 1 medium, finely chopped

Mixed vegetables - 1 cup (I used finely diced potato, carrot and green peas)
Green chili - 1-2

Cumin seeds - ½tsp

Mustard seeds - ½tsp
Roasted peanuts - 2tbsp
Lemon juice - 1tbsp
Red chili powder - ½tsp
Turmeric - ¼tsp
Salt - to taste

Method:

• Heat 2tsp oil in a large saute pan; add cumin and mustard seeds and once the seeds start to splutter, add onions and green chili, saute until onions turn translucent, about 4-5 minutes.
• Next add mixed vegetables and turmeric, cover and cook until the veggies are tender, about 8-10 minutes.
• While the veggies are cooking, soak poha in a big bowl of water for about 1-2 minutes. Drain water  and squeeze out all the extra water and put it in a medium bowl. Season with salt and red chili powder. Set aside until ready to use.
• Once the veggies are tender, season with salt and add the poha. Mix well; cover and cook for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the lemon juice and mix well. Remove from heat and serve hot immediately.

Lets check out what my fellow marathoners have cooked up today for BM# 19.