Rice, Pressed

This looks like rice that has been run over with a steam roller. Pohua, or poha in Hindi, is rice that has been soaked, parched, and then flattened. In preindustrial days, the flattening was done by hand in a mortar. Rice in this form is the foundation for a type of fried snack food popular all over India and for various quick-cooked savory or sweet dishes. Parsis cook pressed rice in the Hindu style, with potatoes and popped mustard seeds, or make a milky dessert out of it. Look for it as poha in Indian markets, where it comes in a finer and a coarser flake. Buy the finer of the two.