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Vaggarani Avalakki (vaggarani means tempering and poha is avalakki) is my comfort food.This simple snack sometime is also our dinner. If my husband and I are bored of having our usual dinner, our unanimous choice is vaggarani avalakki, and this definately brings smile on our faces. Only one main ingredient --- poha, with the rest of them being the usual ones required for temepring and garnishing. Adding lots of vegetables(optional) ups the yumminess of this dish.
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Ingrediants :
- Poha : 1 cup
- 3 finely chopped curry leaves
- 4 tsp of finely chopped cilantro
- pinch of sugar
- salt and lemon juice to taste
- 3-4 finely chopped green chillies
- 1 tsp of grated ginger
- grated coconut to garnish (fresh coconut adds to the taste)
- 1 tsp putani powder : optional
Vegetables : half of each vegetable, diced(you can add any vegetables of your choice)
- Cucumber
- Potato
- Green peas
- Carrot
- Simla Mirch (capsicum)
- onion
For tempering :
- Oil : 4 tsp or eyeball measure
- 1 tsp of mustard seeds, jeera, urad dal
- pinch of haldi and hing
Method :
- Wash poha and keep it aside. Drain poha completely of water.
- Cook the veggies of your choice.Do not make them mushy.
- Heat the pan. Pour 4 tsp of oil. Again like bread uppit, more the oil, the better. Using more oil prevents poha from drying and sticking to the pan.If you are capable of sprinkling the right amount of water over poha for it to cook and not make it a lump, then use less oil.My mum prepares poha this way. Am not experienced and take the short-cut ... I use more oil :-D
- Add mustard seeds, jeera and urad dal.When you see urad dal turning brown, add jeera, haldi,hing, finely chopped green chillies, grated ginger and curry leaves.
- Add cooked vegetables and saute them.
- Now Add poha. Cook it for 5 min on a very low flame. Poha usually cooks faster.
- After it is cooked, add salt, sugar, lemon juice and cilantro and mix well.
- Mixing fine putani powder to poha in the end is optional.It absorbs extra oil or water from poha.
We have it with a dollop of yogurt if we are having it for dinner. And later we always have this "wow we just had a sumptuous spread" kind of expression on our faces. I beleive this is what your comfort food should do for you :-)
P.S : The above image shows no vegetables. The only vegetable I had used was onion.
