Fill a pot with enough water to submerge the potatoes. If you have a steamer basket, then fill the bottom inch of the pot with water and place the steamer basket in it. I use the steamer that comes with my small electric rice cooker.

Wash the potatoes under running water and place them in the steamer, or in the water directly.

Turn the heat on and cook the potatoes until they are just cooked. This usually takes about 10-15 minutes. They are done when a sharp knife slides through the potatoes smoothly without breaking the potato into two halves.

Transfer the potatoes to a colander and stop the cooking by running cold water over them. Set aside.

While the potatoes are cooking, measure out the avalakki (poha) into a large bowl and rinse with cold water until the water runs almost clear. Drain the water and set aside for 5 minutes to rehydrate. It is ok if there is a tablespoon of water at the bottom. But don’t leave too much water in the avalakki, or it will get very mushy when cooked.

After 5 minutes, mix half the salt into the poha.

When the potatoes have cooled enough to handle, you can peel them. I like to leave the skins on if I am using a variety that has a thin skin. It’s completely up to you.

Using your palms, or the back of a spatula, gently ‘smash’ each potato a couple times until it falls apart into large chunks. Set aside.

Meanwhile, heat a heavy bottomed saucepan and add the oil.

Once the oil is heated, add the mustard seeds and cover, until the seeds pop. Once the mustard finishes popping , lower the fire and add urad dal, curry leaves and chilis. Give a quick stir and wait a minute until the dal turns golden.

Add the chopped onions, turmeric, and the rest of the salt. Cook while stirring frequently until the onions turn translucent.

Add the potatoes and stir gently until the onions and potatoes are combined and all the pieces of the potatoes have taken on the yellow color from the turmeric.

Next, add the rehydrated avalakki. Stir everything together for a few seconds until the onions and potatoes are evenly distributed.

Cook the avalakki over low to medium fire until the avalakki is heated through. This should not take more than a couple minutes. Avoid stirring too much at this stage. Adjust the salt if needed and turn off the fire.

Cover the saucepan and rest the avalakki for 5 minutes. This will allow the avalakki to finish cooking in the residual heat and fluff up a bit.

Uncover the saucepan, and fluff up the avalakki with a spatula. Garnish with fresh grated coconut, and chopped cilantro. Serve immediately.