Poha is a popular breakfast dish in India. It is light, nutritious, and completely satisfying. Poha is also adaptable, allowing you to produce a wide variety of recipes. In fact, popular poha-based breakfast dishes may be found in almost every Indian area. Indori poha being popular in Indore, chirer polao popular in Bengal, and chiwda from Gujarat (fried poha). While there are so many varieties, Maharashtra is known for its poha-based dishes. It is the main breakfast food in every Maharashtrian home. Kanda poha, Dadpe poha, Karwar poha, and many other varieties are available in Maharshtrian kitchens. Each of these dishes has its own distinct flavour profile and is utterly fantastic. Kolache poha/pohe is one such interesting poha dish we recently discovered.
Kolache pohe is no rocket science, it is simply poha bathed in coconut milk with some flavorful ingredients. It's a popular breakfast in Maharashtra's Konkan region. It has a sweet-sour flavour and is easy to digest. The favorite aspect is that this recipe only takes a few minutes to prepare. Let's make this simple and quick recipe.
Ingredients
4 tsp tamarind
4 tsp Jaggery, gud
1 cup thick Poha
Coconut milk, homemade or packed
Water
Finely chopped green chilies
Salt to taste
Finely chopped coriander leaves
2 tsp Cooking Oil
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
A pinch of hing
Dry red chilies
Curry leaves
Fried Poha papad
Method
Soak tamarind and gud separately for 30 minutes in adequate water. Meanwhile, combine all of the ingredients in a large mixing bowl and set aside. Thoroughly wash the poha and strain. Fill a bowl halfway with water and coconut milk, homemade or packed, whichever, you are using. Strain the tamarind pulp and discard the dirt. Mix in around 5-6 tsp tamarind pulp and water. Add the same to the coconut milk. Add in the green chili, salt, and coriander leaves and mix. Coconut milk is prepared for kolache poha, keep aside.
Now heat oil in a pan for tempering (tadka). Toss in the mustard seeds and wait for them to splutter. Add cumin seeds, hing and curry leaves. Once it crackles, turn off the heat and stir in dry red chilies, and curry leaves. Mix the tempering into the coconut milk thoroughly. Place the soaked poha in a bowl and then add the tempered coconut milk to it. Enjoy the delicious kolache pohe with poha papad and start your day on a lighter note.
If you're using normal poha, keep in mind that soaking it for too long will turn it mushy. In addition, aval, or red rice poha, can be used in the dish.
Recipe inspired from Madhurasrecipe