What Makes Tarri Poha The Spiciest Poha You Will Ever Have?

In just a weekend that I spent in Indore, I understood that this is a city that takes its poha seriously. Why else, would they spend so much time sprucing up something as simple are rice flakes. I came across different types of toppings on Poha. One day, I was having it with chopped onions, sev, coriander and masala, the other day, it was just sev. While I knew that not all of these Poha variants belong to Indore, but that didn’t stop me from asking the catering person, which kind of poha would he be serving us “next”? He told us that on the day we check out, he will serve us the one with gravy!

For the people who have grown up in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh, the innumerable poha varieties are as common as bread. But it would never not be fascinating who has come from the Northern part of the country. From the Kanda poha, to the Dadpe Poha, there are options galore. And one of the most delightful pohas has to be the Tari Poha. Poha is a mild dish that is made with flattened rice flakes (also called chidwa, chirwa or poha in India), it requires a bare amount of cooking or oil, and it is often mixed with a gamut of ingredients as discussed before. In some parts of the country, a little bit of sugar is also added to the poha, which is essentially a light, savoury dish. But if you do not like your breakfast to be light, mild or sweet then Tarri Poha is an ideal choice for you.  

Hailing from Nagpur, Tarri poha is your Kanda Poha with a hot gravy called ‘Tarri’. The deep-red gravy has a thin, watery consistency. It is made with boiled black chickpeas that are cooked with ginger, garlic, bay leaf, curry leaves, chillies, pepper, chopped onions and tomatoes. The gravy is cooked on medium-hot flame, until it all the ingredients are well combined. It is supposed to be served hot with hot Kanda poha, so it is better that you get your Poha together while the Tarri is still in the making. The gravy is not very rich, but it is very flavourful. It is not just spicy; it is also sharp and flavourful. And since most of the flavours are courtesy of the spices used, so make sure you pick the good quality ones.  

The ideal way to serve Tarri Poha would be to serve the Poha first with all its trimmings and take a ladle full of the Tarri and pour it all around the Poha. It would be advisable to take a dish that is deeper so that the gravy does not spillover. Since Kala chana is so full of protein, Tarri Poha could be a good breakfast choice for even dieters.