You need to forget the calorie count sometimes, especially when Durga Puja is knocking at the door.
What should I make for today’s breakfast? Like every other day when this question was haunting me this morning, suddenly a picture from the good old days flashed up in front of my eyes, how we used to have Chire Bhaja (Poha is Chire in Bengali) ) as a whole family sitting together back home. The deep-fried version with coconut, I was thinking about. I asked my husband, would you like to have chire bhaja on breakfast? He nodded and smiled.
I ran towards the kitchen. Quickly arranged the ingredients, and started frying the poha. Flower petals like, but crisp, hollow, poha. I couldn’t remember when was the last time I had this, maybe 10 years back or more. My mom would cook this occasionally, as this version of chire bhaja is deep-fried. But among the other versions of Chire Bhaja, this tastes best. It’s a typical Bengali style breakfast or perfect for evening snacking option. My father and my uncles have grown up eating this. Granny used to fry this in a large amount almost every day. And all her boys, including my father, would enjoy their tiffin with freshly grated coconut, followed by a good addition of sugar. No one was calorie-conscious, in those days people loved to eat real food, that’s all.
If you didn’t try fried Poha this way, try this recipe, you’ll love it! 🙂
Narkel die Chire Bhaja /Deep-fried Poha with grated Coconut
Narkel die Chire bhaja (Deep-fried Poha with grated Coconut) is a popular Bengali snack. Fried Poha served with freshly grated coconut, makes it a great tea-time snack or can be eaten as breakfast.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups- Poha/Chire/Rice flakes
- Half of one medium-sized coconut- Fresh grated coconut
- Vegetable oil for frying
- Sugar to taste
Instructions
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Heat 1 cup of vegetable oil in a deep frying pan/kadai. Start frying by adding poha in small quantity over medium heat, not more than 2 tbsp at a time. They will be puffed up within a few seconds, remove them quickly with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Fry all the poha like this.
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Now divide the fried poha into bowls. Top with a generous amount of grated coconut, sprinkle some sugar (add 1 tsp sugar for each individual, or you can adjust according to the taste). Mix well and serve immediately.
We have something similar, but we don’t fry the poha. We use the flattened type and have it with grated jaggery/ sugar, grated coconut and a pinch of elaichi. It tastes even better when mashed bananas are added. Good to see so much similarity in cuisines across India… 🙂
That’s nice Rafeeda! 🙂 We eat poha with bananas too, but that is after adding milk or water into it, with some sugar.