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AI-generated photograph: Golden yellow poha piled in a shallow terracotta bowl, dotted with green peas, dark curry leaves and toasted peanuts, chopped coriander on top and a lime wedge at the side

Home · Recipes · Poha with peas, curry leaves and lime

South Asian · Breakfast

Poha with peas, curry leaves and lime

turmeric flattened rice · curry leaf and pea · lime and peanut

AI-generated photograph

Poha is a light, fluffy breakfast from western India made with flattened rice: rice grains pressed into flakes. Here it is tossed with golden onion, sweet peas, turmeric and crackling curry leaves, then finished with lime, coriander and toasted peanuts.

Contains: peanuts, as written. Contains peanuts, in the optional roasted peanuts. Leave them out and none of the 14 allergens is in this recipe as written.

Ingredients

  • 200g thick poha (flattened rice, sold in the world foods aisle)
  • Half a teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon caster sugar
  • 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 50g roasted peanuts, unsalted (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
  • A small handful of curry leaves (about 12, 2g)
  • 1 onion, finely chopped
  • 1 green chilli, finely chopped (optional; leave out for children)
  • 100g frozen peas
  • 1 lime: half squeezed, half cut into wedges
  • A small handful of fresh coriander (15g), chopped

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Let's cook

  1. Put the poha in a sieve and rinse it under the cold tap for about 30 seconds, gently moving it with your fingers, until every flake is damp and starting to soften. Do not leave it soaking or it turns to mush. Leave it to drain for 5 minutes.
  2. Tip the poha into a bowl. Sprinkle over the turmeric, salt and sugar and toss gently with a fork until it is evenly yellow. It should feel soft but still in separate flakes.
  3. Heat the oil in a large frying pan or wok on a medium heat. If using peanuts, fry them for 2 minutes until a shade darker, then lift them out with a slotted spoon and set aside.
  4. Add the cumin seeds to the hot oil. After a few seconds, when they sizzle, add the curry leaves. Stand back: they spit for a moment.
  5. Add the onion and the green chilli, if using. Fry for 5 minutes, stirring, until the onion is soft and just turning golden.
  6. Add the frozen peas and cook for 3 minutes until hot and bright green.
  7. Add the poha and turn everything over gently with a spatula for 2 minutes. Turn the heat to low, cover with a lid and leave for 2 minutes so the poha steams and goes fluffy.
  8. Take the pan off the heat. Squeeze over the juice of half the lime, add most of the coriander and fold through gently. Taste and add a pinch more salt if needed.
  9. Serve in warm bowls, topped with the peanuts, the rest of the coriander and a lime wedge on the side.

Tips

  • Buy thick poha, not thin: thin poha is for snacks and goes soggy when rinsed.
  • Rinse quickly and do not soak. The flakes keep softening as they sit.
  • Poha is best eaten fresh. If you have leftovers, cool them quickly, keep in the fridge for no more than a day and reheat until steaming hot.

Swaps

  • Peanut free: leave out the peanuts and scatter over toasted pumpkin seeds instead.
  • Heartier: fry 1 small potato, cut into small cubes, with the onion for 10 minutes until tender.
  • No curry leaves: they give poha its special smell, but it is still good without them.

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Our own recipe. The photograph is AI-generated.

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