An Instagram account is documenting regional varieties of poha

When 42yearold Mumbaikar Nandan Mangaokar mdash a travel and food enthusiast mdash realised that his tryst with poha had turned into a mild obsession he and his cousins joked about a sobriquet The choices were hold on Poha Ali Khan and Poha Pandit The latter seemed befitting Mangaokar had after all like a dedicated researcher tried and documented over 40 mindboggling varieties of the way the ubiquitous flattened rice is consumed across the country through his Instagram handleDoodanche fov from Goa PicsNandan MangaokarAs someone who has roots in both Mumbai and Pune Mangaokar is no stranger to poha But itrsquos only when he started actively cooking during the first lockdown that a few cups of Dalgona coffee later he landed upon the recipe of thakkali aval a Tamil preparation of poha with tomatoes ldquoWhen I cooked it I was quite surprised I realised therersquos a huge variety of poha in the country that goes beyond one tasterdquo he tells us over a phone call after having just finished his 47th preparation of poha With the aid of the Internet and kind strangers on Instagram the foodie drew up a regionwise list that will easily cross 60 recipesSihi avalakki from KarnatakaSince last year the Poha Pandit has been tracing not just how poha is consumed by different communities but also the way similar ingredients are added to it in various ways Take for instance ingredients such as dairy and matar ldquoMy mother adds curd to soaked poha and throws in green chillies and coriander When I posted about this someone from Karnataka pointed out how they add tadka to it Then look at the Assamese jolpan made with chire poha muri puffed rice curd and gur Similarly in Goa doodancheacute fov is poha cooked in thick milk and garnished with dried fruits and nuts while in Bengal itrsquos aamkoladoichire mangoesbananascurdpohardquo he explains Similarly while Maharashtrians make a mean vatanyachi pohe in Bihar poha is fried in oil like chivda ldquoMatar is cooked separately and the dish is topped with chopped onions peanuts or chaknardquo he revealsNandan MangaokarBut what makes poha this popular Mangaokar points to how the ingredient is economical and easy to whip up ldquoPoha is equated with Lord Krishna He was known to like it So it is often found at temples as prashads like sihi avalakkirdquo But in a lot of cuisines flattened rice is also a quick replacement for rice since it can be soaked in minutes he says pointing to chirer pulao in Bengal and lemon aval in Tamil NaduThe Poha Panditrsquos list also features interesting nonvegetarian options such as prawn poha and bhujing ldquoMembers of the CKP community top poha with dried prawns while bhujing is an East Indian delicacy made with chicken in Vasai My list also includes a dish that involves bhetki and chire from Bengalrdquo the blogger claims Apart from traditional recipes Mangaokar has occasionally experimented with peri peri poha and a poha smoothie too though hersquos not too proud of the latter ldquoA lot of the dishes are native to a region So Irsquom trying to document them Irsquom often asked how I can eat poha every week But Irsquom quite happy to do so since itrsquos a different taste every time It is the perfect example of how wersquore one country with diverse cultures united by pohardquo he signs offLog on to hishappinesss on InstagramMalabar aval milkIngredientsgtgt 34 cup of dry roasted poha you can microwave it for 30 seconds ensure the poha is crispy gtgt 14 cup of roasted peanuts gtgt 1 cup of chilled milk gtgt 1 ripe banana gtgt 2 tbsp jaggery powder or sugarMethodMash a ripe banana and add the jaggery powder to it Mix it well and keep it aside for five minutes Roast the peanuts and poha separately Take a tall glass Pour in the banana jaggery mixture Next tip in the roasted poha Now top it up with the peanuts Finally pour in chilled milk Stir it with a long spoon and enjoy this cold milk drink If you want you can garnish with some cocoa powder or tutti frutti Those who are vegan replace the cow milk with almond milk