SUDAMA'S GIFT

Pohe is a very famous Maharashtrian dish with some variants in the Northern States of India. You can find pohe in many “amrut tulyas” (tea shops – amrut, the nectar of immortality is compared to the sugary chai: truly, this IS the kali yuga) in Pune. Having a plate of spicy pohe with a cup of chai at one of these tea shops is a very common practice, especially for bachelors and for hostelites.

Pohe also plays an important part in the arranged marriage process in Maharashtra. Usually, when the boy and his parents, visit to ‘see’ the girl and meet her parents, the boy’s family is usually served “kanda pohe” (Pohe made with base of onions). Thankfully, I have never had that terrifying experience.

Pohe also features in Indian mythology in the story where Lord Krishna’s friend Sudama decides to visit him. Krishna and Sudama studied under the same Guru. But after their studies, Krishna became the ruler of Dwarka while things did not work out too well for Sudama. So, Sudama’s wife suggests that he visit Krishna, who might be able to help them with their financial difficulty. Sudama is also a great devotee of Krishna. Sudama’s wife quickly wraps a small package containing flattened rice as a gift for Krishna.

When Sudama reaches Dwarka and sees the opulence in which Krishna lives, he is amazed and flattered by the treatment which he receives from Krishna. He is also embarrassed about the small gift which he has brought. But Krishna, who is the knower of everything, in whose leela (play) we are just mere pawns, knew why Sudama was there. He also knew that the humble Sudama is embarrassed to ask for help upfront. Krishna sees the package and asks Sudama what it is. Sudama awkwardly hands over the package containing flattened rice to Krishna as a gift. When Krishna sees what is inside it, he is very happy and takes a handful of the flattened rice and starts eating. Krishna swallows and reaches out for another handful when his wife Rukmini, stops him and says “The first handful you ate has filled the house of your loyal devotee with immeasurable wealth. If you take another mouthful, I will have to leave you and go with him.” Sudama does not hear this conversation.

So, Sudama starts his return journey empty handed. He feels ashamed about how he had thought of asking Krishna’s help for financial difficulties. But he feels content that he did not ask anything from Krishna. He is too overwhelmed by the grand treatment he received in Dwarka. When Sudama reaches home, he sees a huge mansion full of wealth and riches in place of his old humble abode. This is what he receives in exchange of one handful of flattened rice from Krishna. Because Krishna cherished the bhakti (devotion) of a devotee far more than all the riches he had.

Pohe can be made with onion base or potato base. Since most committed yogi’s do not eat onions, I will post the recipe for potato base. So, let us begin.

General health information: Pohe is basically flattened rice which is high in carbohydrates, low in fats and easy to digest. Important and major nutrients include vitamin A, vitamin C, iron and calcium.

Ayurvedic information:

Dosha information: V=P=K=

Rasa (primary tastes): Sweet, Sour, Salty, Pungent, Astringent

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 15 minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Type: Breakfast or snack

Serves: 1 person

Vegan: Yes

Ingredients:

1 cup pohe/flattened rice

1 tbsp oil

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 small potato sliced thin

1 tbsp unsalted peanuts/sunflower seeds

1 small carrot cut into small cubes

½ tsp turmeric powder

Rock/Himalayan Salt to taste

Lime

Lots of love and awareness 

Optional:

1 small chilli or more/less depending on how hot it is cut in 1 inch pieces

Grated coconut/coconut flakes/desiccated coconut for garnishing

Coriander/Parsley for garnishing (optional – but mandatory if using chilli as the coriander will counter the heating effect of chilli)

Preparation:

1. Soak the pohe in water for 5 minutes. Immerse your hands in the water and swirl the pohe gently in the water. Close your eyes and feel how the dry rough texture of the pohe becomes moist and soft. After 5 minutes, drain the water using a sieve and keep the pohe aside. If you soak for less than five minutes, the pohe will turn out dry. And if you soak it for more than 5 minutes, the pohe will just disintegrate. So, make sure you drain the water once the pohe are reasonably soft, which is usually after 5 minutes. The time the pohe needs to be soaked depends on their thickness.
2. Take oil in pan and heat it over low to medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and listen to the wonderful popping sound of the seeds.
3. Once the mustard seeds stop popping and the flavour has been released, add the chilli first, then the potato, then the peanuts and finally the carrot with gaps of around 15 seconds. Stir for a while till these are nicely sautéed.
4. Now, add the turmeric and watch the mixture turn into a beautiful shade of golden yellow.
5. Add the pohe and salt together. Stir well till the pohe magically and uniformly become yellow. The water soaked in the pohe will help to cook it. Keep stirring continuously otherwise the pohe might stick to the bottom. If at any time you feel that the pohe are dry, just sprinkle some more water. Keep on low to medium heat for 5-6 minutes. Turn off the heat and let it sit for a while.
6. Serve with a wedge of lime, chopped coriander and grated coconut/coconut flakes/desiccated coconut on top.

Pitfalls:

1. Make sure that the pohe are soaked just right and that they do not become too moist. If they remain a bit dry, this can be rectified later. But if they are soaked for too long, they will become too wet and fall off and this cannot be rectified. If you try to cook pohe which have been soaked for too long, it will turn into lumps.
2. When you heat the oil before putting in the mustard seeds, make sure that the oil is not too hot. If the oil overheats, first of all its composition will change chemically which is not good for health. Secondly, it will destroy the flavour and potency of the mustard seeds. So, it is better to start with low heat, add 2-3 mustard seeds to test the oil and increase the heat, if required. If the oil starts smoking and the mustard seeds pop too quickly then the oil and mustard seeds have been damaged. Ideally, the mustard seeds will sizzle for 10-15 seconds and then pop for 30-35 seconds.
3. When you add the pohe to cook, make sure you stir continuously so that they will not stick to the pan.

Notes:

1. Apart from carrot, you can use other vegetables like green peas, capsicum or green beans. These vegetables will go in at the same time as the carrot. According to my opinion don’t use more than two vegetables apart from the potato. Otherwise, the dish ceases to be pohe and becomes more like a vegetable dish.
2. One might wonder why I have included chilli and left out onion. I know committed yogi’s do not eat onion and garlic for sure. I have not heard the same about chilli even though I know that it could be too aggravating for a serious aspiring yogi. So, I included chilli but its use in the dish is optional. Chilli should be used only for its flavour and not for its kick because of the several health benefits which it offers. Individuals with Pitta constitution can go easy with the chilli or altogether without it especially in summer. Anyways, the assault of three cooling ingredients of lime, coriander and coconut is enough to balance the effects of chilli.
3. Peanut is a common nut which is used in India. I am aware that this is not the case in the West and that it is especially difficult to find unsalted peanuts. Hence, I thought that sunflower seeds would act as a great substitute for peanuts if you live in the West. Same with coriander which is a very common herb in India but not in the West. If this is not available, parsley can be used as a close substitute.
4. Please refer my post Getting Started With Ayurveda for understanding of Ayurvedic terms and concepts.

Variations:

As stated in the introduction, this dish can be made with the base of onions instead of potato. However, if you want an even healthier alternative, you can use sweet potato instead of potato. I make my pohe using sweet potato and it tastes amazing!