Ven Pongal
Spicy rice and lentil pudding tempered with pepper, cumin and cashewnuts in ghee
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw rice
- ¼ cup yellow moong dal / paasi paruppu
- 5-6 black peppercorn
- ½ tsp grated ginger
- 1 tbsp ghee
- Salt to taste
To temper
- 2-3 tbsp ghee
- 2 tsp black peppercorn
- 6-7 cashewnuts halved
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- ¼ tsp asafoetida / hing
- 1 tsp cumin seeds / jeera
Instructions
- Wash the rice and dal together. Drain them well and set aside.
- Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pressure cooker pan and add the peppercorn. Fry for a minute and add the ginger. Fry for few seconds.
- Add the washed rice, dal and salt. Fry them for 4-5 minutes over medium heat. Add 4 cups of water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or until mushy.
- Once the pressure releases, open the cooker and mash the rice and dal well.
- Heat ghee in a small pan and add peppercorn. Once it starts to splutter add cashewnuts and fry till golden. Then add ginger, curry leaves, asafoetida and jeera.
- Pour this into the pongal and combine well. Serve hot.
Notes
- Roasting the rice and dal and adding ginger and peppercorn while cooking the rice and dal gives a nice flavor and aroma, so do not skip it.
- If pongal turns out watery, then cook it in the open pan for some more time till water evaporates.
- If you do not like to bite into full peppercorns, you can crush them coarsely and add them.
- The standard ratio of rice : water is 1:4, but the quantity of water depends upon the quality of rice.
- You can reduce the quantity of ghee and substitute with oil for a low calorie pongal.