ITC Aashirvaad Instant Khatta Meetha Poha Review – Mishry

Hurried breakfasts, evening snacking or a late night craving – instant meals are a lifesaver when you’re not in the mood to cook and a cookie doesn’t quite cut it.

ITC Aashirvaad offers popular breakfast favorites like poha, upma, and idli-sambar as instant meals. Our ITC Aashirvaad Instant Khatta Meetha Poha review explores its cooking ability, the ingredient list, taste and texture. Along with that we also check for packaging, as it adds to the convenience that any instant meal offers.

How did we rate this instant meal by ITC Aashirvaad?

Quick look at the product details of ITC Instant Poha – 

What are we looking for? We were looking for a delicious khila-khila poha that is packed conveniently and can be consumed on-the-go during rushed mornings or on a long road trip.

To review ITC Aashirvaad Instant Khatta Meetha Poha, we set the following parameters – 

1. Taste 

Contrary to what many may believe, instant meals can be very fresh tasting. The ratio and quality of ingredients used can help achieve that with ease.

The parameter of taste includes balance of seasoning, individual taste of poha and millets along with the vegetables and nuts. Does the meal taste fresh or do some ingredients have an undesirable aftertaste? What about the vegetables?

2. Texture

What can go wrong with texture? An overcooked mushy poha. Lack of the khila-khila texture. Rancid, soggy nuts and vegetables that lack a bite or are undercooked. 

Ideally, there should be crunchy nuts, well-done vegetables and a pleasantly plump poha with millets. 

3. Convenience

The packaging and method of preparation collectively impact the convenience that any instant meal has to offer. 

4. Other Factors

Price

Is this priced competitively to other instant pohas we have reviewed earlier? If priced higher, is the quality of the product and packaging an indicator? This is priced at Rs 55/- for a single serve.

Packaging

Does it come with cutlery? How conveniently is the poha packed? Would it be ideal to carry this on a trip? 

Ingredients

The type of fat used, added flavors, preservatives and more. We looked for the percentage of millets used as well. 

Appearance

Does this look appetizing and fresh or not? 

Shelf life

What is the shelf life of the instant meal? 

Previously reviewed – Why we gave a thumbs down to the idli-sambar and suji halwa by ITC Aashirvaad

Price and packaging – Packed in a sturdy box made of paper/cardboard. The poha comes in a red box with a green lid. Inside, there is a red foldable spoon along with the contents packed in a foil pouch. The box has a wide mouth which makes stirring in the water easy.

An 80 gm pack is priced at Rs 55/- and serves 1.

How to make this instant poha? As per information on the pack: 

• Remove contents from cup and add boiling water till watermark (Approx 95 ml).
• Empty the poha mix in the cup and mix well.
• Keep the lid closed for 5 minutes and mix again.
• It’s ready.

The poha is very easy to make, as claimed. The water level indicator is helpful.

Ingredients – The main ingredients include rice flakes (62.2%), sugar (7%), refined palm oil , peanuts, raisin, salt and dehydrated onions. Apart from that it also contains green chilli paste, dehydrated potatoes, spices and condiments. 

The millet mix added is proso (0.5%), foxtail millet, barnyard millet, kodo millet and quinoa. 

Curry leaves, mustard seeds and dried mango powder are there in the meal too.

What we could see – In its dry state we could see flattened rice flakes, peanuts, mustard seeds, curry leaves, dehydrated onions and raisins.

The aroma is unpleasantly oily. 

Taste – The poha has balanced seasoning and is the perfect blend of khatta and meetha. The seasoning is apt and has a low-chilli quotient making it suitable for those who have a low tolerance for spices. 

While the poha doesn’t look oily, there is a lingering oily taste which is undesirable.

The curry leaves and mustard seeds lend their signature flavors subtly. 

Texture – The ratio of water given on the pack is correct as the poha turned out to be fluffy and has a khila-khila texture. Peanuts and onions have a desirable crunch. The peanuts are tasty, fresh and roasted evenly.  

Sadly, the potatoes have not rehydrated well and have a chalky bite. Raisins are chewy and taste fresh. 

The role of millets, taste or texture wise, was unclear as we could not taste, see or feel them. 

Here are some interesting FAQs on ITC Aashirvaad Instant Khatta Meetha Poha.

All you need is hot water and it is ready in 5 minutes! ITC’s Instant Poha is a mix of fluffy rice flakes and crunchy peanuts. The chalky potatoes, oily taste and aroma are a few things that did not work for this instant meal.

Have you tried RTE meals yet? Which is your go to brand?

Our reviews are unbiased and all samples used during the reviews were paid for by us. Read our entire ethics statement here.