Mango poha ; mangoes and rice flakes in a summer salad...




I am a stickler for quick fix meals. Not the maggy types. It has to be wholesome whole grains for me, and thinking of a whole grain based quick meal can be a tough job.

This one is a cooling type, just apt for the heat wave we are suffering right now. No one is in the mood for cooking but we all want tasty filling meals.  Isn't it?

So no cooking and whole grain means some Poha (flattened rice flakes) for me most of the times. I love this desi cereal for it's fluffy texture when prepared and a tendency to absorb varied flavors really well.

Brown poha is always preferable. To make it clear, all poha is made from unpolished parboiled brown rice but some of the varieties which look absolutely white are actually bleached after the flattening process. The brown looking ones are not processed further after the beating procedure. All organic brands sell unprocessed brown poha, you can always rely on organic brands when you are not sure of the source of your poha or it looks abnormally white to you.

Coming to the recipe, I said this is a meal that does not need cooking. Just chop a few things , mix like a salad and a yummy summer lunch is ready. 

Okay, it could be your breakfast but it can be any chosen meal for it's convenience. For the two of us it was a very late Sunday lunch last to last weekend. Most of our weekends end up being a two meals days because a leisurely brunch with newspapers and Darjeeling tea till late in the morning cannot be compromised. And then a late lunch almost in the evening does not leave any scope for a dinner. So some fruit servings or cold smoothies might suffice late in the night.

This poha was decided as a bag of mangoes we bought was a bit unripe and one of them needed to be used for a salsa like recipe as I had cut it thinking it was fully ripe.

It has been repeated three times since then.

And yes, it is a meal that can be tossed up within 10 minutes even if you do your chopping really slow.
ingredients...
(2 meal servings)

2 cups of poha (about 120 gm)
3/4 cup of chopped red onions
one large ripe mango (about 400 gm, not too ripe and should be a little sour)
chopped coriander greens (1/2 cup)
Roasted split peanuts 1/2 cup
red chilly powder a pinch
salt n pepper to taste
dash of lemon juice if the red onions are too hot and the mangoes are sweet 
a tsp of sugar if the mangoes are too sour, all we need is a balance of sweet and sour , savory and a little heat from red chillies.


procedure...

Wash the poha using filtered water keeping it in a colander and pouring water from the top.

Let it rest till you chop the onions etc. Fluff up the soaking poha with a fork once in between.

hop the onions first and transfer them in a mixing bowl. Then Chop the coriander greens and the mango. To make nice cubes of mango you can peel off the skin first and then mark a grid like pattern with knife on either sides of the stone and then slice them off with one stroke. This can be done directly over the mixing bowl.

Now add the other ingredients, including the soaked poha (4-5 minute soaking time is enough). Mix everything up and taste a little spoonful. Adjust the flavors by adding either lemon juice or sugar or both of them.

Served at room temperature it is the best Sunday meal we have been enjoying. It has to be a quick and tasty meal for us on weekends as those are the only days we are together at home so being busy in the kitchen is avoided as far as possible.

The mangoes are mostly stored in the fridge so they will be chilled so the Mango poha will be a bit on the colder side. It tastes great this way. It can even be chilled if you wish, but for us it is a quick meal so we never tried chilling it. If you want it colder and quick too, you can always use chilled water to rinse the poha and then keep the colander in the fridge till you chop the onions and mangoes etc.

Makes sense :-)

After all it is a summer meal. Chilled fruity meals will be a nice way to brighten up dull hot days...


The most remarkable flavor in this fruity poha is the flavor of the coriander greens. I love mint with mangoes and would love to add loads of it, but after having tasted this, I think I would save mint for sweeter mango dishes and coriander greens for savory types. A very very refreshing citrusy earthy flavor is imparted by the greens of coriander.

Some of you might like a sprinkle a bit of chaat masala over it. Do that if you feel like.

Did you know poha is a pre and probiotic cereal ? 

It is made after parboiling the rice and partially ferments during the process of flattening. And if prepared this way it is a great detox meal. Also cooling for the Indian summers.

Isn't it an enticing healthy meal in more ways than one?

Enjoy the mango season in all it's glory...


Comments

  1. This sounds yummy and easy to make ! Maybe I should try it ! I love raw mangoes like crazy !!!!

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  2. Replies
    1. See both you comments :-)
      Yes it is ind\credibly yummy...

      Delete
  3. sangeeta this looks yum... i like making a no cook thayir saadam with poha... just mix yoghurt into soaked and drained poha, maybe some grated carrots, and give a tadka with the usual suspects :)

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    Replies
    1. Thanks Rajani.
      I make that dahi poha too, but without a tadka and with red onions and lots of coriander n mint chopped. Carrots would be great too.

      Delete
  4. all is fine BUt where do i get the MANGOE :(

    Bikram's

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  5. love this and I should add more such dishes to my meal. even here the mangoes that we are getting are really tart.

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  6. can you explain how poha is made? and how it is fermented?

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    Replies
    1. Poha is made using the paddy grains (rice with the husk). The paddy is parboiled first and then flattened in mills. The flattening process takes place while the parboiled paddy is still wet. The whole process of flattening, separating the husk and then drying takes about a whole day. A partial fermentation occurs during this time in tropical climates and the microbes get active.

      The flattened and dehusked rice flakes are then bleached sometimes to make them look white, so we need to look for the darker varieties to ensure a 'brown poha'.

      I hope this information is enough.

      Delete
  7. Mango Poha!! Wow, thats a really interesting combo! Looks great...

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  8. Have been freaking out on your salad recipes last couple of days... It was cucumber-mosambi salad yesterday & day before... And today it was mango poha/mango chiwda for the brunch... And it was yummm, suited for the sweet tooth and chatori... Though, I must admit it took me longer than 10 mins to fix it up :-P, a couple of things that I did differently, used crushed peanuts (didn't have patience to break those in halves) and used vinegar as didn't have lime juice...... -P...

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  9. sounds and looks yummy!! have some mangoes on hand and I know this is going to be made soon :)

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    Replies
    1. Glad you like it. Welcome to the blog Sugar :-)

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  10. Dear Sangeeta,

    Your recent blog entry got me here. I was hungry and had all the ingredients so thought let me give this a try. Till now the only form of poha I ate was the traditional aloo-pyaaz poha. I tried this quick version and I loved it. Can't thank you enough for this beautiful quick tasty recipe. Its simple, low calorie and perfect. God, I love your blog.

    regards

    Shiva

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  11. Thank you for this treat Sangeeta. Made it today and will be sharing the recipe on my blog wit hdue credits and link to your recipe. It turned out delicious.

    ReplyDelete

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