Wednesday, April 22, 2009

Kumta Phovu (Avalakki/Poha/Beaten Rice)

This poha has a story behind it which my mom heard from hers..

Kumta is a town in North Karnataka and there was this woman who made this poha (supposed to be the cheapest and most easily available) with this spicy masala and sold it at the bus stop in Kumta.
This was apparently her only source of income and it was so popular that it got to be known as Kumta phovu.
I dont really know the authenticity of this story, so dont sue me for it, but naming a dish after a place or person is quite common.
We make a dal at home called 'Veena pachchi(aunt in Konkani) dal'. Thats the only way its known. Veena pachchi is an old friend of my mom and we had it at her place once and loved it, so thats how its known at home. I must post the recipe for this dal too - its a lovely yellow dal, simply and super tasty.

masala poha

Beaten rice is available in this really thin 'chivda' variety, then a thin one, medium and really thick. If you use the thin one (not chivda variety), then you just put the poha in a colander and run it under some water and let the water drain. If its the medium variety, then you soak it in water for 3-4 mins and then drain. This needs to be done with a little care or the poha gets too soggy to eat.

What you need

4 tbsp grated coconut
3 red chillies
small ball of tamarind
2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon
1 tbp coriander seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4 cups poha
1 medium sized onion
a few curry leaves
1/2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp grated coconut (optional)

What you do with it -

The poha / avalakki should be slightly thick and not thin like the one used for chivda(In Bangalore, we get this as Medium Avalakki an in Gujarat is its sold as Kanda Poha)
Soak the poha in water for about 3-4 mins and drain the water out
Grind the coconut, chillies, tamarind, cumin, cinnamon and cloves to a coarse chutney
Mix in the chutney with the washed poha
Chop the onion into really small pieces
Prepare a seasoning of mustard seeds and curry leaves in oil and add over the poha
Garnish with grated coconut if you like and sprinkle the chopped raw onion over it
Serve with chivda / mixture or something crunchy

7 comments:

FH said...

I think I made this with Shilpa's Phovu pudi long time ago. Your's looks delicious. I don't get paper thin avalakki, but will try with the medium poha sometime later! :)

Anonymous said...

I've never heard of poha until this post! beaten rice? sounds...painful? haha!
but the dish looks fantastic as always!

Bindiya said...

I love poha and we make it with potatoes all the time, the addition of coconut is new to me,ur pic is making me drool!.

Miri said...

Love poha and this version sounds great! I make the usual kanda poha and another one which I simply call "Sandhya pachhi poha" ;) garlic and coriander ground to a paste flavours it

SJ said...

yeh, u still in Blore a? Thumba jealous I am! We make the same poha!!

Vani said...

This looks so good and sounds so yum, Arch! My FIL had made a no-cooking poha dish one day with sambar powder (saaru pudi) and coarsely beaten coriander seeds. Reminded me of that.
Glad the Korean potatoes were a hit. Surprising flavors int hat, right? And thanks for letting me know :)

Home Cooked Oriya Food said...

Thats real yum... I will try it...

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