Mataar Pohe: Simple food at it's best

I know I know, many of you might be laughing and saying to yourself "Oh! why has she posted Mataar Pohe ?" It's such a simple and common dish, prepared at least once a week in most Marathi households. But isn't this exactly what makes Pohe so very special and close to your heart . I mean I have travelled to quite a few places throughout the world and have enjoyed the cuisines of each and every place I visited, but the craving that you get for your own staple food is unbeatable. Particularly when you return home after travelling for a few days to new destinations and after tasting and trying different exotic dishes, the one thing you want to eat on returning home is something familiar,simple and that which you have grown up eating in your Mom's kitchen. And for me Mataar Pohe or simply Pohe falls in that category.

And I know for a fact that the love for Mataar Pohe is not restricted to the Marathi household. I had non-marathi friends in school who loved it when I got this in my short break dabbaa and asked their moms to make it at home and I once even had a German friend staying over at our place who was mad for this dish. So I think it is safe to assume that it is a hit dish.

As green peas are in season right now I make mataar pohe quite often ,so it had to have a place on my blog.
Here's how
For 4 people

5 big handfuls of dry pohe (the thick variety), to get a good handful put your hand in the pohe container and grab as much pohe as you can.
1 large onion finely chopped
1 cup shelled  green peas
 8 to 10 curry leaves
5  tblspns of oil
2 tspns mustard seeds
1/2 tspn hing
1.5 tsps Jeera (cumin seeds)
1 tomato chopped
3 to 4 green chillies cut into small pieces
1/2 cup freshly grated coconut (the fresher the better)
1 lemon
2 tspn sugar,
1/4 tspn turmeric powder
1/2 a cup water
salt as per taste
coriander for garnishing

Wash the Pohe in a sieve  ,draining all the water and set to one side . This will soften the pohe.

In a deep pan heat the oil and prepare the tempering by adding the mustard seeds first. When they begin to splutter add the hing and then the cumin seeds. Fry for few seconds, then add the curry leaves and green chillies.

After a seconds add the chopped onion and fry this for a few minutes on moderate heat. Next add the peas and now cover and cook on low heat until the peas go soft.

Now add the sugar ,salt ,turmeric powder.

Next add the washed pohe and toss it all nicely until completely mixed with the onions and peas.

Now splash a generous amount of water on the pohe and cover and cook for 1/2 a minute. This makes the dish moist. You do not want dry pohe,so the generous splash of water.

Uncover the pan and add the chopped tomato, give it a toss and again cover and cook for another 1/2 a minute. Not more than that  as we do not want to cook the tomatoes completely . Squeeze the lemon and check the taste at this stage . Add more salt sugar or lemon juice if you want.

Garnish with plenty of fresh coconut and coriander and serve hot .