What’s the Sunday morning tradition other than jogging, watching television, sleeping late? For most Indoreans, every day starts with ‘Poha’ (flattened rice) and for every Indorean, Sunday is specially Poha day before even a holiday.
Originated in Madhya Pradesh (MP), the nutritious and delicious recipe has reached every part of the country and even the world. Just like an Indori, even Poha has adopted various styles and flavours as it reaches different communities.
The heart of India has people from various communities, who present an array of these various flavours added to the popular ‘Indori Poha’ giving it a new twist.
With Indore Poha in the race for Geographical Identification tag, we bring a peek into these other custom Poha for food lovers of Indore.
Maharashtra flavoured Poha styles
Maharashtra has variety of styles for poha available in foot outlets and savoured in homes. Though Indori style also trends in the area, it has various other styles to cater to taste of people. People who have migrated from Maharashtra or are descendents of migrants in the city, still celebrate their Sundays with some of these styles.
Following are some variants shared by a migrant Shubha Vaidya, an artist by profession.
Tomato Poha with Peas: This is mostly found in Nagpur. Unlike Indori poha, it is red in colour as flavoured and cooked in tomato. It is tangier and does not use lemon.
Maharashtrian Gopalkala (Curd Poha with Fruits): It is a Janmashtami special recipe. It is sweet and salty poha with pomegranate, chana dal, puffed jawar and of course curd.
Maharashtrian Kanda Poha: This is quite commonly eaten in households everywhere in the city. It is prepared by cooking onion with poha.
Spicy and Tangy Mixed Vegetable Poha with Peanuts: This was the trend in Mumbai, where I grew up. Peanuts are must for Marathi and most residents of Maharastra. So it is basically adding more veggies and peanuts to the poha.
Tamil Nadu Style Kothamalli Aval Upma (Coriander Poha)
It is flattened rice flakes that are tossed with fresh and aromatic coriander paste. Toasted peanuts are also added to this poha to give it an extra crunch while eating. The style is still popular in most households of Tamil Nadu origin, as shared by Raghu Iyer, a photographer.
Karnataka twists to Poha
From sweet dishes to savoury breakfasts, Karnataka has various interesting twists to Poha. Born in Mysore, a migrant in Indore S Anju, an HR manager, shared some secrets of the cuisine.
Khara Avalakki (Karnataka Style Poha): This is the common way in which, we eat poha at home. It is mostly like Indori Poha, but we add roasted urad and chana dal.
Gojju Avalakki (Puli Aval): It is flavoured with tamarind, jaggery and spice powder for the sweet, tangy and spicy taste. Spice powder is alternative between rasam and sambhar powder.
Avalakki Bella Usuli (Jaggery & Flattened Rice): It is a sweet form of poha made with coconut and jaggery.
Karwar Style Phodni Phov - Poha with Cashew Nuts: Karwar, the coastal belt of Karnataka and Maharashtra is known for its rustic and spicy cuisine. It has main addition of cashew to make it rich other than normal preparation.
Kerala and Goan flavours
In Goan Style Dhayanche Fov (Curd Poha), curd is a main ingredient following Poha. In Kerala, the cuisine prepares poha similar to upma. As shared by Priyanka Nair, a blogger.
Kashmiri style Poha
Straight from the staple of Kashmir- Rogan Josh, this style is a brilliant combo of cloves (laung), bay leaves (kadi patta), cardamom (ilaichi), saffron (kesar) and chillies. Not just the mouth-watering flavour but also the tickling scent couldn’t be any less to welcome weekend.
Gujarat, Delhi and UP styles
Gujarat and Delhi are mostly potato lovers and hence is the popular Batata-Poha. The basic addition here is addition of potatoes along with onion to Poha.
Matar Poha (Flattened Rice Stir Fry with Green Peas), Uttar Pradesh: The main ingredient here becomes peas with ordinary preparation of poha.
Bong Poha style
Bengali Chirer Pulao - Bengali Style Vegetable Poha: It is a twist to the poha variations that you find in other states of India. In Bengal, Poha is a staple breakfast dish and has a mild sweetness taste to it. The addition of raisins and vegetables to the Bengali Chirer Pulao makes this dish packed with nutrients and a healthy menu choice for the school lunch box as well.
Sindh and Punjab sweet twist, Poha Phirni
Poha Phirni is a healthy combo used to prepare for fasting on karva chauth and teej by Sindhi and Punjabi communities. Here poha is used being a rich source of iron as the rice is beaten in an iron mortar-pestle. Besides adding a colourful touch to this unusual phirni, fruits like apples and bananas also provide vitamins, minerals and fibre. This was shared by Meena Hinduja and Gunjan Singh.
+Box 8
//Nutritious, helpful in weight loss
“Poha is very low in calories. It has about 76.9% of carbohydrates and 23% fat, which makes it one of the most ideal choices for weight loss. Apart from this, it is rich in fibre and therefore leaves you feeling full for a longer time, curbs mid-meal cravings and helps avoid overeating.”
Dietician Dr Preeti Shukla
Originated in Madhya Pradesh (MP), the nutritious and delicious recipe has reached every part of the country and even the world. Just like an Indori, even Poha has adopted various styles and flavours as it reaches different communities.
The heart of India has people from various communities, who present an array of these various flavours added to the popular ‘Indori Poha’ giving it a new twist.
With Indore Poha in the race for Geographical Identification tag, we bring a peek into these other custom Poha for food lovers of Indore.
Maharashtra flavoured Poha styles
Maharashtra has variety of styles for poha available in foot outlets and savoured in homes. Though Indori style also trends in the area, it has various other styles to cater to taste of people. People who have migrated from Maharashtra or are descendents of migrants in the city, still celebrate their Sundays with some of these styles.
Following are some variants shared by a migrant Shubha Vaidya, an artist by profession.
Tomato Poha with Peas: This is mostly found in Nagpur. Unlike Indori poha, it is red in colour as flavoured and cooked in tomato. It is tangier and does not use lemon.
Maharashtrian Gopalkala (Curd Poha with Fruits): It is a Janmashtami special recipe. It is sweet and salty poha with pomegranate, chana dal, puffed jawar and of course curd.
Maharashtrian Kanda Poha: This is quite commonly eaten in households everywhere in the city. It is prepared by cooking onion with poha.
Spicy and Tangy Mixed Vegetable Poha with Peanuts: This was the trend in Mumbai, where I grew up. Peanuts are must for Marathi and most residents of Maharastra. So it is basically adding more veggies and peanuts to the poha.
Tamil Nadu Style Kothamalli Aval Upma (Coriander Poha)
It is flattened rice flakes that are tossed with fresh and aromatic coriander paste. Toasted peanuts are also added to this poha to give it an extra crunch while eating. The style is still popular in most households of Tamil Nadu origin, as shared by Raghu Iyer, a photographer.
Karnataka twists to Poha
From sweet dishes to savoury breakfasts, Karnataka has various interesting twists to Poha. Born in Mysore, a migrant in Indore S Anju, an HR manager, shared some secrets of the cuisine.
Khara Avalakki (Karnataka Style Poha): This is the common way in which, we eat poha at home. It is mostly like Indori Poha, but we add roasted urad and chana dal.
Gojju Avalakki (Puli Aval): It is flavoured with tamarind, jaggery and spice powder for the sweet, tangy and spicy taste. Spice powder is alternative between rasam and sambhar powder.
Avalakki Bella Usuli (Jaggery & Flattened Rice): It is a sweet form of poha made with coconut and jaggery.
Karwar Style Phodni Phov - Poha with Cashew Nuts: Karwar, the coastal belt of Karnataka and Maharashtra is known for its rustic and spicy cuisine. It has main addition of cashew to make it rich other than normal preparation.
Kerala and Goan flavours
In Goan Style Dhayanche Fov (Curd Poha), curd is a main ingredient following Poha. In Kerala, the cuisine prepares poha similar to upma. As shared by Priyanka Nair, a blogger.
Kashmiri style Poha
Straight from the staple of Kashmir- Rogan Josh, this style is a brilliant combo of cloves (laung), bay leaves (kadi patta), cardamom (ilaichi), saffron (kesar) and chillies. Not just the mouth-watering flavour but also the tickling scent couldn’t be any less to welcome weekend.
Gujarat, Delhi and UP styles
Gujarat and Delhi are mostly potato lovers and hence is the popular Batata-Poha. The basic addition here is addition of potatoes along with onion to Poha.
Matar Poha (Flattened Rice Stir Fry with Green Peas), Uttar Pradesh: The main ingredient here becomes peas with ordinary preparation of poha.
Bong Poha style
Bengali Chirer Pulao - Bengali Style Vegetable Poha: It is a twist to the poha variations that you find in other states of India. In Bengal, Poha is a staple breakfast dish and has a mild sweetness taste to it. The addition of raisins and vegetables to the Bengali Chirer Pulao makes this dish packed with nutrients and a healthy menu choice for the school lunch box as well.
Sindh and Punjab sweet twist, Poha Phirni
Poha Phirni is a healthy combo used to prepare for fasting on karva chauth and teej by Sindhi and Punjabi communities. Here poha is used being a rich source of iron as the rice is beaten in an iron mortar-pestle. Besides adding a colourful touch to this unusual phirni, fruits like apples and bananas also provide vitamins, minerals and fibre. This was shared by Meena Hinduja and Gunjan Singh.
+Box 8
//Nutritious, helpful in weight loss
“Poha is very low in calories. It has about 76.9% of carbohydrates and 23% fat, which makes it one of the most ideal choices for weight loss. Apart from this, it is rich in fibre and therefore leaves you feeling full for a longer time, curbs mid-meal cravings and helps avoid overeating.”
Dietician Dr Preeti Shukla