Indori Poha

Indori poha recipe with step by step pics. One of the popular street food snacks from Indore is poha with Jalebi. the poha which is made in Indore is very different than the Maharashtrian onion Poha recipe. In Indori poha onions are not sautéed but added as a topping on the poha. Along with onions some more ingredients are added as toppings. The taste of Indori poha is khatta meetha meaning sweet and sour. Fennel seeds are also added which give the poha a floral aroma and sweetish tones.

Making Indori poha is very easy. But do you need to have some ingredients to get the authentic taste – like jeeravan masala, masala boondi (nukti) and Indori sev or ratlami sev.

Jeeravan masala is spicy masala. It has a different taste altogether and cannot be compared to chaat masala or Garam masala.

You might have difficulties in getting this masala in your area or locality. However, you can always rely on the Internet for this. Just like I ordered it online, you can also buy this spice mix online and use it for the recipe.

Jeeravan masala can also be used for other snacks like Dahi vada or Samosa recipe or Batata vada or Fruit salad or Kachori or Sandwich recipes or Upma or Potato chips or sprouts salad.

From a long time I wanted to try Indori poha. I had the recipe method in my notes. I also checked a couple of youtube videos Here and Here.

Later using my own approximation (andaaz) for the ingredients I made the recipe. It was a big hit at my place and thereafter I made the Indori poha recipe again a few times. Another famous street food recipe from Indore which I have shared is this Bhutte ka kees.

Indori poha has a sweet, sour and spicy taste. The textures in this dish also ranges from soft to crispy to crunchy. So in one plate you get many tastes, flavors and textures.

Just as the combination of Indori poha with jalebi is a popular street food in Indore. In the same way Fafda and jalebi combo is popular in Gujarat.

Some more personal poha variations that are a common at my place are this South Indian style Poha Upma and Chooda Matar from Uttar Pradesh in North India.

How to make Indori Poha

1. First get all the ingredients ready for Indori poha. You will need 2 cups thick poha along with 1 green chili (chopped), 1 lemon, ¼ to ⅓ cup chopped onions, ¼ cup Indori sev, ¼ cup masala boondi (kara boondi, nukti), ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves, jeeravan masala and ¼ cup pomegranate arils (optional).

2. Jeeravan masala is one of the special ingredient masala that is added in Indori poha.

If you do not have jeeravan masala then mix ¼ teaspoon coriander powder, ¼ teaspoon cumin powder, ¼ teaspoon garam masala powder, ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder, 1 pinch black salt and 1 to 2 pinches of ginger powder. Use this spice mix instead of jeeravan masala.

Rinsing poha

3. Take the 2 cups thick poha in a colander or strainer.

4. Begin to rinse the poha in clean running water.

5. Gently mix and swirl with your hands while rinsing poha. Make sure that you do not rinse it too much or else it breaks and gets mushy. While rinsing, the poha absorbs enough water and it becomes soft.

6. Drain the water. The poha must become soft but remain intact, whole and separate. If the poha does not become soft, sprinkle few drops of water on the poha in the strainer till they get softened.

7. Take the poha in a mixing bowl.

8. Sprinkle ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, 2 to 3 teaspoons sugar and salt as required in the poha. You can add less or more sugar as per your taste preferences.

9. Just lightly mix with a spoon or with clean hands.

Making Indori Poha

10. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy kadai or pan. Keep heat to low or medium-low and add 1 teaspoon mustard seeds and let them crackle.

11. Then add 1 teaspoon fennel seeds.

12. Let the fennel seeds splutter.

13. Add 1 green chili (chopped). At this step you can add curry leaves if you want. For small kids you can skip green chilies.

14. Stir and sauté for a few seconds.

15. Keep heat to low and add the poha.

16. Gently mix poha with the tempered ingredients till the color of poha changes to a light yellow.

17. Cover kadai or pan with lid and on a low heat steam poha for about 1 to 2 minutes.

18. After 1 to 2 minutes remove the lid and stir again. Switch off the heat.

19. Now take the steaming hot poha in a plate.

20. Top with some chopped onions and chopped coriander leaves.

21. Sprinkle jeeravan masala on top. You can add 1 to 2 pinches of jeeravan masala or more. Jeeravan masala is spicy so add accordingly depending upon how much spicy food you like.

22. Add pomegranate arils. You can add the quantity of toppings as per your preferences.

23. Top with masala boondi or khara boondi (nukti).

24. Now top with Indori sev or ratlami sev. You can also use masala sev, laung sev or aloo bhujia.

25. Squeeze some drops of lemon juice from top.

26. Assemble poha in a similar way in plates and then serve Indori poha.

27. Serve Indori poha straight away. For best taste and texture enjoy the dish as soon as you make it.

If you are looking for more snacks recipes then do check:

• Bhel puri
• Masala puri
• Sev puri
• Pani puri

Please be sure to rate the recipe in the recipe card or leave a comment below if you have made it. For more veetarian inspirations, Sign Up for my emails or follow me on Instagram, Youtube, Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter.

This Indori Poha post from the archives first published in January 2018 has been republished and updated on December 2022.