Madhuri Dixit's authentic Maharashtrian Kanda Poha recipe; here's how to make it for breakfast

Pink Villa

16-05-2025

Madhuri Dixit and Dr. Shriram Nene are one of the most beloved couples of Bollywood. Dixit, being the desi wife, and Nene, a green-flag bearer husband, serve the ultimate couple goals. The duo isn't any less magical in the kitchen either. The Dhak Dhak girl, along with her doctor husband, gave away the ultimate Indian soul food recipe, Kanda Poha, and took our hearts in return. Check out the recipe:
Ingredients:
Poha (flattened rice)
1 medium-sized onion
2 chillis
Oil
Mustard seeds
Neem Patti (margosa leaves)
Urad dal (Split white lentils)
Turmeric
Roasted peanuts
Grated coconut (optional)
Lemon
Coriander leaves
Salt
Sugar
How to make Kanda Poha, the Nene way
Soak the poha - Madhuri suggests poha needs to be washed and soaked for only around 5 minutes, unlike sabudana (tapioca pearl or sago).
While the poha soaks, chop the onions. Cooking along with Madhuri, Mr. Nene gets onto the chopping task, cutting those onions into half-moon shapes like a pro.
Cut chillis - Madhuri made it clear that she does not like too spicy. So the actress suggests cutting a chilli in half and not into too many pieces. This helps take out chillis while eating and prevents them from being in each bite.
Now that the poha is soaked, put two tablespoons of oil in the pan. Acting like true Indians in the kitchen, the Nenes put oil in the pan by intuition and not by measurement.
When the oil gets hot, add mustard seeds to the pan. Wait for them to sputter before proceeding to the next step.
Add 4-5 leaves of neem patti. But to avoid getting surprised like Nene, toss them carefully into the pan because they crackle and splutter.
Add a tablespoon of urad dal. Now, this is Madhuri's way of making Kanda Poha. She likes to add a hint of South Indian taste to it. Also, she enjoys the urad dal's crunchiness with the damp poha.
Once the urad dal turns slightly brown, add the Kanda aka onion. While adding the onions, Mr. Nene delightfully relishes in their aroma, enjoying the process to the fullest.
After the onion softens, add turmeric. Dixit likes her onions crunchy in her poha, so she doesn't completely cook and soften them. While cooking, she also shared a little anecdote of when her mother used to make curd-poha sans turmeric.
Now, goes in the main ingredient, your soaked poha. Mix the poha with the cooked onions well enough so each flattened rice is covered with the prepared tempering.
Add salt to your taste and a bit of sugar to the prepared poha. The sugar helps create a balanced taste profile, cutting the overpowering taste of spices and salt.
The poha is almost ready, but a Maharashtrian kanda poha is incomplete without roasted peanuts. Toss in some roasted peanuts for an enriched taste. Dixit likes to keep the peanut peel on; you can peel them off if you want.
Now comes the magical ingredient. Squeeze a lemon in for that irresistible tanginess. Madhuri suggests squeezing the lemons after the plating so that each one can have the zest to fit their taste.
Lastly, throw in some fresh coriander leaves for a complete and authentic kanda poha taste. And as Madhuri rightly said, you can either put a lot of coriander or the minimum amount, it wouldn't matter. However, what matters is that you place at least some coriander leaves on your poha.
Referring to the Maharashtrian food buffs, the Maja Ma actress suggests adding grated coconut to your poha. However, it's optional.
Hailing from the same Maharashtrian roots, Madhuri Dixit and Dr. Nene dished out the ultimate Kanda poha recipe while giving a glimpse of their unparalleled companionship. Rightfully concluding their poha-making process, Dr. Nene said, 'The journey is as good as the destination'.