How to eat flattened rice (poha): soaked, cooked, roasted and more

For cooked and soaked dishes, poha how to eat begins the same way: a quick rinse, a drain and a short rest; poha needs no boiling. Chivda skips the rinse and starts from dry flakes. Four routes in all. Cook it: rinsed poha folded into a pan of tempered onion, as kanda poha. Soak it: rinsed flakes left in curd or milk, a no-cook breakfast or snack. Roast it: dry flakes slow-roasted into poha chivda. Grind it: roasted flakes powdered for laddu, or crushed into tikki. Which route suits which poha is settled by thickness: thick poha for cooking and chivda, thin poha for laddu, cutlets and no-cook mixes.

The cooked plate is what most people mean by eating poha. Wash thick poha for about ten seconds in a sieve, drain and let it rest some five minutes while mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilli and sliced onion temper in a little oil. Add turmeric and the rested poha, fold gently so the flakes stay whole, sprinkle a spoon of water, cover for two minutes, then finish with lemon juice and chopped coriander. The poha recipe walks through the full method with peanuts, and its Gujarati cousin is the poha batata version with potatoes. The same rinse-rest-temper pattern makes poha upma and a soft poha khichdi with moong dal.

Poha needs no flame at all in its soaked forms. For dahi poha, rinse thick poha and leave it to soften while you whisk curd, then fold the flakes in with salt, a little tempering and coriander; the poha with curd recipe keeps it cool and quick. For the sweet version, softened poha goes into warm milk with jaggery, the flattened rice with milk bowl. Eat soaked poha soon after mixing, and soak only what the meal needs. Thick flakes hold their shape in curd; thin flakes turn to mush.

Dry-roasting turns poha crisp for chivda, the tea-time mix of flakes, groundnuts, curry leaves and spice; the poha chivda recipe roasts thick poha slowly on a low flame. Ground roasted poha is the base of poha laddu, and crushed poha binds the poha cutlet recipe; both laddu and tikki use thin poha, which roasts faster and grinds finer. Chivda is a dry food, so keep it in an airtight jar in a cool, dry cupboard.

Not dry from the pack. Raw poha flakes are hard and brittle, and a mouthful of them is unpleasant; a rinse and a short rest make them soft enough to eat, with no boiling needed. The poha guide covers the flake types and how to store poha. The "raw" poha dishes are therefore the soaked no-cook ones: rinsed flakes mixed into curd, or softened in milk with jaggery. If you want poha in a raw-style snack, keep to that route: rinse first, always. For babies and toddlers, see poha for babies and ask your paediatrician before serving.

• Over-soaking: flakes left sitting in water turn to paste; rinse and rest instead of soaking in a bowl.
• Under-resting: skipping the five-minute rest leaves hard centres in the flakes.
• Cooking thin poha in a pan: it dissolves; thin poha is for laddu, tikki and no-cook dishes.
• Adding water to the chivda roast: crisp flakes go soft; roast dry and slow.
• Saving a soaked bowl for later: soaked poha is best fresh, soon after mixing; soak only what the meal needs.

Cooked poha kept for later is chilled and eaten within two days, under the UK Food Standards Agency's rule; dry poha stays in an airtight jar.

How to eat flattened rice?

Rinse thick poha for about ten seconds, rest it five minutes, then cook it as kanda poha or fold it into curd or milk. Or skip the rinse and dry-roast the flakes into chivda, or grind them for laddu. Not dry from the pack.

Can flattened rice be eaten raw?

Rinsed and rested, yes: soaked poha in curd or milk is eaten without cooking. Dry flakes straight from the pack are hard and not meant to be eaten as they are.

How to cook flattened rice?

Wash thick poha in a sieve and leave it to drain; temper mustard seeds, curry leaves, green chilli and onion in a little oil, add turmeric and the drained poha, fold it gently, cover the pan for two minutes, and finish with lemon juice and coriander. The poha recipe has the full method.

Poha how to use?

Cook thick poha for breakfast plates such as kanda poha and upma; roast it for chivda; soak it in curd or warm milk with jaggery for no-cook versions; and grind thin poha for laddu or crush it into tikki. Match the thickness to the dish.

How many calories in one plate poha?

One plate made from 50 g of dry flakes carries 177 kcal by IFCT 2017; the kanda poha recipe version, with its oil, peanuts and sugar, lands at 294 kcal a plate. Curd, milk or jaggery add on top of that.

What is poha made of?

Rice, pressed flat into flakes. Poha needs no boiling — only a rinse, a rest and, for cooked dishes, a few minutes in the pan. Thick poha suits cooked plates and chivda; thin poha is for laddu and cutlets.