Poha

Poha is made in the Rajasthan and Gujrat areas of India and it's great as a breakfast food or as accompaniment. All Indian cooking requires ghee — to cook without it is like trying to make Italian food without olive oil, so don't substitute canola oil or something else for the 2 tablespoons of ghee.

Ingredients

• 2 cups flattened rice (poha) available at any Indian grocery store
• 2 cups water
• 1 potato, chopped small
• 2 tablespoons ghee
• 1 onion, chopped fine
• 1/4 cup groundnuts (raw peanuts)
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (just enough to color the rice)
• 1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
• Lemon juice, to taste
• Salt and pepper

Instructions

1. Soak the flattened rice (poha) in water and set aside.
2. In a large round-bottomed frying pan, heat the ghee until very hot.
3. Add mustard seeds, onion, potato and groundnuts.
4. When the mustard seeds are tender, cover with water and cook until potato and groundnuts are tender.
5. Drain off any excess water from the soaked rice.
6. Add the turmeric to the rice until it's golden yellow.
7. Add the rice to the frying pan and mix with the potato-onion mixture until hot.
8. Add salt, pepper and lemon juice to your taste.