Poha chutney or “phanna (seasoned) phovu” or sometimes called "poha upkari" is a traditional, healthy breakfast dish of the south Indian Konkani community (GSB’s) of Mangalore.
When we crave for something homely, delicious, quick, easy to make and healthy, then I love to make this instant snack to go with our evening chai/kaapi/coffee or even as a jhatpat breakfast idea on busy days!
It is a delicious mixture of poha or phovu (beaten or flattened rice), coconut and some spices like coriander, jeera (cumin) and chilies/chili powder, often relished with evening tea too!!
It is one popular dish in the hotels of Karnataka, especially where they specialize in Mangalorean food like Mangalore Buns or Buns Rotti, Biscuit Rotti etc.
Our 5 o’clock tea is usually accompanied by some snacks (either fried, steamed or just store bought dry snacks) and poha chutney is one of our favorites to have with sev (fried gram flour or besan/chickpea flour noodles), bibbe upkari (cashew nut curry) or chana upkari (black chickpea curry).
It is a quick dish as poha, coconut and the spices along with jaggery (Indian unrefined sugar) are a staple in any Konkani or Indian household.
POHA CHUTNEY/UPKARI/USLI:
So easy to make, all you need is some poha (also called flattened rice), freshly grated coconut (can use frozen too but thawed), basic spices (coriander seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seed), a few red chilies (or even store bought chili powder) and if needed, homemade or store bought sambar powder (again optional), salt and some jaggery/brown sugar/white sugar to sweeten it up a bit!
Basically, all you have to do is make a dry mix of coriander seeds, cumin seeds, dry red chilies, green chilies and some coconut in a blender.
(If you have already blended coriander powder and cumin powder, the better. I always blend up a fresh batch of these powders for every day use and replenish as needed).
Transfer to a bowl, add salt to taste and some jaggery and mix well. For more oomph, you can add sambar powder too!
Best part is the tadka or tempering!
Just pop some mustard seeds and curry leaves in some cooking oil especially coconut oil and add to this spicy, slightly sweet, aromatic and delicious coconut mixture!
This is the basic mixture which you can premix and store in the fridge to use any time you want!
Just before serving, stir in enough thin poha (not the thick variety!) and mix well, preferably using your hands.
Mix well and serve immediately.
It is best served along with some freshly chopped onions and some crispies on the side like sev, boondis etc.
We love the combination of POHA CHUTNEY with BLACK CHANA UPKARI. The best combination our family loves!
Do try this easy peasy Indian snack and enjoy with family and friends anytime.
Hope you will enjoy this favorite delicacy of ours. Do try and let me know!!
Ingredients
- 2 cups or as much as needed, poha (thin variety) or beaten rice
- 1 cup grated coconut
- 2 to 3 tablespoons jaggery powder
- Salt to taste
- 3 tablespoons coriander seeds
- 2 teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds
- 1 green chillie
- 3 to 4 dry roasted red chillies
- 2 teaspooons oil
- 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
- 7 to 8 curry leaves
- Finely chopped red onions
- Sev
Instructions
- In a blender, make a coarse powder of the coriander seeds, jeera, green chillies and red chillies.
- Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the grated coconut, jaggery or brown sugar and salt and mix well (preferably by hand).
- Adjust the amount of jaggery or salt to taste.
- In a small saucepan, heat the oil and once hot, add the mustard seeds.
- When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the curry leaves and pour this seasoning into the coconut mix well.
- Now, add the poha little by little, and mix well gently; you can adjust the amount of coconut mixture and poha according to your taste.
- Serve immediately with sev (fried gram flour noodles), bibbe upkari or chana upkari (dry curry of black chickpeas) or as such.
Step-by-step method to make Poha Chutney:
(Serves 3 to 4)
In a blender, make a coarse powder of the coriander seeds, jeera, green chilies and red chilies with a little grated coconut.
Transfer to a mixing bowl and add the rest of the grated coconut, jaggery or brown sugar and salt.
(If using spice powders, then just add to the coconut).
Mix well (preferably by hand) and adjust the amount of jaggery or salt to taste.
Sometimes, when in a hurry, I use already blended coriander and cumin powders. NO NEED TO USE THE BLENDER!
Just mix 1 tablespoon of coriander powder, 1 tablespoon of cumin powder 1 teaspoon of sambar powder, 2-3 tablespoons of jaggery powder and salt to taste with 1 1/2 cups of grated coconut.
Then stir in the tempering/seasoning (check below).
For the seasoning/tempering:
In a small saucepan, heat the oil and once hot, add the mustard seeds.
When the mustard seeds start spluttering, add the curry leaves and pour this seasoning into the coconut mix well.
Now, add the poha little by little, and mix well gently; you can adjust the amount of coconut mixture and poha according to your taste.
Serve immediately with sev (fried gram flour noodles), bibbe upkari or chana upkari (dry curry of black chickpeas) or as such.
Note:
If you do not have access to the different spices or are in a hurry, you can substitute sambar powder and mix in the coconut and poha.
Jaggery (unrefined sugar made from raw, concentrated sugarcane juice) can be replaced with brown sugar or just plain sugar, but jaggery gives it an authentic, earthy taste.
This poha dish is normally mixed with hands to allow all the flavors to blend through.
You can make the spice powder, mix in the jaggery and salt with grated coconut, stir in tempering and store and make fresh poha chutney anytime.
The amount of jaggery, coconut, poha and salt is a personal preference; in our family, we like it a bit sweet, so we add more jaggery.
Enjoy and Happy Cooking/Eating!
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