Flattened Rice

Steamed or parboiled rice that is flattened into flakes and dried (see the photograph). Flattened rice keeps well in a sealed plastic bag in a cool, dark place and is a useful pantry item, for it cooks up very quickly (most commonly into pulao-like dishes) after a short soak in water. (See Mohan’s Morning Rice, for example.) You can find it at South Asian groceries; ask for poha (the Hindi word), aval (the Tamil word), or chira (the Bengali word).