Poha

Poha is flattened rice stir-fried with mustard seed, curry leaf, turmeric, peanuts and onion. It is a light, everyday breakfast across much of India, and it comes together fast enough that it rarely needs planning ahead.

What it really is

Flattened rice — rice that has been parboiled, pressed flat and dried, so it needs no real cooking, only a rinse — is soaked briefly in water until it softens, then folded into a pan where mustard seed and curry leaf have already popped in hot oil with turmeric and chopped onion. A handful of peanuts, often fried separately for crunch, is stirred through at the end, along with a squeeze of lime and fresh coriander.

The rice is barely cooked at all. A quick rinse and a few minutes tossed in the hot pan are the entire process — poha that sits in water too long turns to mush, and poha cooked too hard turns dry and hard rather than soft.

How it is served

• Warm, straight from the pan, in a shallow bowl.
• With a wedge of lime and fresh coriander scattered over the top.
• Alongside sev — crisp fried gram-flour noodles — for extra crunch, in many regional versions.

How to write it on the menu

• Flag the peanuts plainly.
• It is naturally vegan and gluten-free as standard.
• Say if it comes with sev on top, since that adds both texture and, depending on the brand, further allergens worth checking.

The ingredients, allergens and dietary notes listed here describe a typical recipe. They are not a binding declaration for any particular restaurant: recipes, portion sizes and the products used can differ.