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.