Poha gets a crunchy twist

Manju Dewan

With everyone becoming diet conscious, snacks like poha and idli are becoming more and more popular as they are light to eat and easy to make. But it gets boring to have poha and idli everyday, so we tried an attractive cutlet snack combining poha with the ever popular bhujia.

Poha bhujia cutlets (The ingredients)

• 1 cup poha (soak and strain)
• 1 cup potatoes (boiled)
• 4 slices bread
• 4tsp onion (finely chopped)
• 2 tsp capsicum (finely chopped)
• 2 tsp carrot (finely chopped)
• ½ tsp garlic (finely chopped)
• 1/3 tsp green chilli (finely chopped)
• 1tsp mustard seeds
• 1tsp jeera
• ½ tsp red chili powder
• ½ tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp chat masala
• 1 tsp ghee
• Salt, to taste
• 2tsp cornflour
• 1 cup aloo bhujia
• Oil, to fry

Method

• Heat ghee in a pan. Add mustard seeds and jeera and let them splutter.
• Add garlic and green chilli and mix well.
• Add onion and sauté until transparent. Add remaining vegetables and sauté for 2-3 minutes.
• Take a separate bowl and add poha and mashed potatoes. Mix well.
• Mash the bread. Mix well.
• Add the sautéed vegetables to it and mix well.
• Add red chilli powder, garam masala, chat masala and salt.
• Add 2 tbsp aloo bhujia and mix well. Keep it in the refrigerator.
• Cut them into desired shapes.
• Mix cornflour with water to make a thin paste.
• Dip the prepared cutlets in the cornflour mixture and roll them in aloo bhujia.
• Heat oil in a wok and deep fry the cutlets until golden brown.
• Serve hot with dip of your choice.

 (Dewan is a Ludhiana-based culinary expert)

—As told to Poonam Bindra