Soaking poha overnight: how long to soak, water ratio and fixes

For the cooked breakfast poha, the honest answer to how long to soak poha before cooking is: do not soak it at all. Kanda poha and Indori poha are made from thick flakes, and the water step for both is the same: hold the flakes in a sieve under a running tap for roughly ten seconds, then drain and let them soften for about five minutes. Water sitting in a bowl turns those flakes to paste.

Soaking earns its place in three other jobs. Thin poha goes soft in two to three minutes in cold water, which is how the no-cook dadpe pohe works. Thick poha needs ten to fifteen minutes to soften right through when a dish wants it fully soft, and the poha dosa recipe soaks its thick flakes with the rice and dal for 30 minutes before grinding. A plate is 50 g of dry flakes, and the poha ingredients page fixes the rest of the shopping list.

1. Measure first. One plate is 50 g of dry thick poha, half a cup; a full cup weighs 100 g. Soak only what the dish needs, and use soaked flakes soon.
2. Wash lightly. Rinse the flakes under the tap in a sieve to lift any dust, then drain. This first rinse is not the soak.
3. Cover with water. Pour cold water to about a finger's depth above the flakes, enough to keep the top flakes covered.
4. Time it by thickness. Thin poha softens in two to three minutes. Thick poha needs ten to fifteen minutes at room temperature to soften right through.
5. Drain completely. Tip the flakes into a sieve and shake off the water, pressing lightly. Carry no standing water into the dish, or cooked poha goes gluey.
6. For overnight, use the fridge. Cover the bowl, put it in the fridge and drain the flakes in the morning before they meet the pan or the grinder.

Yes, with two conditions: the flakes are thick, and the dish wants them soft through. An overnight soak works for dosa and idli batters that grind soaked poha in with rice and dal — the poha dosa recipe gets there in a 30-minute soak — and it softens flakes evenly for a sweet poha made first thing next morning. Keep the soak in the fridge, not on the counter, until morning. Drain before use, since by then the flakes have taken all the water they can.

For kanda poha or Indori poha the overnight soak is the wrong tool. Those dishes need flakes that stay separate, and flakes soaked for hours come out heavy and pasty. Thin poha is worse: it falls apart within minutes, so an overnight soak leaves rice paste, not flakes.

The rule that follows: soak for the dish that asks for soft flakes, rinse for the dish that asks for whole ones. Everything else about poha, from storage to buying, is on the hub page, and the water amounts for each job are in the table below.

The water ratio, then, is by sight: for a soak, enough water to cover the flakes by a finger's depth, then drain; for the rinse, no standing water at all. In the pan, a tablespoon of water sprinkled over two cups of poha before the lid goes on is enough to steam it soft. Which flake suits which dish is spelled out on the thick poha vs thin poha guide.

• Dry, hard flakes. Likely causes: the rinse was skipped or hurried, the five-minute rest after it was cut short, or the pack is old. Fix: steam the pan gently — pour a tablespoon of water across two cups of poha, put the lid on and hold the flame at its lowest for two to three minutes.
• Sticky, pasty poha. Too much water: the flakes sat in a bowl instead of being rinsed, or a soaked batch was not drained. Fix: drain, spread the flakes on a plate and let them dry for a few minutes before the pan. Next time, rinse, or drain harder.
• Bitter poha. An old pack can be a cause: flakes that smell stale or oily will taste it in the dish. In the pan, lemon juice boiled with the poha turns bitter, so squeeze it once the pan is off the heat. Burnt turmeric does the same, which is why it fries for only a few seconds on a low flame.

What to do with soaked poha?

Drain it and use it at once. Soaked thick poha goes into a dosa or idli batter, into curd or milk for a soft bowl, or into the pan for a steamed plate. Do not soak more than the dish needs, since damp flakes spoil quickly, and keep an overnight soak in the fridge until morning. Cooked poha stays good in the refrigerator for up to two days.

Why poha becomes dry?

Poha goes dry when it does not get the water it needs to soften: the rinse under the tap was skipped or hurried, the rest afterwards was too short, or the pack is old. Thick poha needs about ten seconds of rinsing and five minutes to itself. A plate that still comes out dry gets a tablespoon of water sprinkled over it and two to three minutes of steaming with the lid on, at the lowest flame.

Why poha tastes bitter?

An old pack can be a cause: flakes kept too long may smell stale or oily, and that comes through in the finished dish, so store poha dry and airtight. In the pan, lemon juice boiled with the dish turns bitter, and burnt turmeric does too; add the lemon off the heat and fry turmeric only briefly on a low flame.

Which poha is good thick or thin?

Thick flakes for everything cooked, steamed or soaked, and for a chivda roasted gently; thin flakes for laddu, cutlets and dadpe pohe, where the dry flakes are dampened only a moment, if at all. Thick poha suits the common breakfast plates; the thick vs thin poha guide has the full table.

How to make poha?

For the classic kanda poha, rinse thick poha for ten seconds and rest it five minutes. Heat oil and roast the peanuts in it, then pop the mustard seeds with curry leaves and a green chilli, fry the chopped onion, add the turmeric, fold in the flakes with the peanuts, steam everything under a lid, and finish with lemon and coriander off the heat. The full poha recipe takes 25 minutes.