Matar Poha Cutlet; a spicy, crispy, shallow fried potato patty/cutlet with green peas, poha (flattened rice) and a sprinkle of Indian spices; perfect with a cuppa chai/coffee!
Mornings in our house begins with a hot breakfast of either idlis, dosas, upma or the easiest of them all, “matar poha” with a large cuppa coffee! Poha is “flattened rice” and is used in various mouthwatering Indian dishes like kanda poha (with onions), batata poha (with potatoes), matar poha (with green peas), poha chutney (with coconut masala), bhajjile phovu etc. On days when I have run out of dosa or idli batter, do not feel like having toast or cereal or even some humble upma (savory Indian cream of wheat), a simple and quick savory matar poha chock full of softened onions, green peas/small bits of potatoes (or both!), a shower of freshly grated coconut and lots of lots of cilantro saves my morning!
Now, that breakfast is done, you do sometimes have leftover and leftover poha is not my kind of thing! It does tend to dry up and no one wants it anymore! That is when another favorite Indian snack comes to the rescue; potato cutlet! These are spicy potato patties, shallow fried with some delightful Indian spices! All you need to do is mash the leftover poha with some mashed potatoes and spices, make cutlets/patties and shallow fry until crisp and golden brown! How easy is that!
Just boil a couple of potatoes (in a saucepan or pressure cooker to hasten the cooking) and mash them with leftover matar poha. Jazz up the flavor with some basic Indian curry powders like garam masala powder, turmeric powder, tangy chaat masala powder or any of your favorite masala powders.
Make flat round patties, drench in some rice flour batter/slurry and cornmeal or suji/semolina (crisps up the fried patties) and shallow fry until golden brown and crisp.
Serve up these made-in-a-jiffy cutlets with some ketchup, green chutney or tamarind chutney along with a large cuppa chai or coffee!
Do not have matar poha? Then just soak thick variety of poha in some water until slightly soft, drain and squeeze out the water completely. Add this to the mashed potatoes. As you are using plain poha, you may need to add more spices accordingly. Proceed as usual. So, now you know what to do with the leftover matar or batata poha! For a more robust and healthier snack, add more vegetables like boiled carrots or green beans and enjoy Indian style potato cutlets any time! Happy Cooking!
Cook Time: 15 minutes Total Time: 30 minutes
2 large potatoes, boiled, peeled and mashed 2 cups leftover matar poha 1 tsp garam masala powder 1 tsp chaat masala powder ½ tsp hing ½ tsp turmeric Cornmeal/fine suji for coating 3 tbsp rice flour Salt to taste Oil for shallow frying
Instructions Notes Adjust spices according to taste. You can mix in some chopped cilantro/coriander leaves in the patty dough for added flavor.
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