Pongal also known as venn pongal (white pongal) is an authentic meal of India. Often it is served as a breakfast in Indian marriages. Mostly people prefer to have ulunthu vadai ,Idly-sambar and coconut chutney as side dish for pongal.
(you can see my menu card for their recipes too.)
Ingredients :
Raw Rice (pacha arisi or briyani rice) - 1 cup
Moong dal (green gram dhal) - 1/4 cup + 2 tbsp
Ginger-1 inch piece (chopped)
salt - 1 tsp
Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
Pepper corns -2 tsp
curry leaves - 1 sprig.
Asafoetida / hing -1/4 tsp
clarified Butter/Ghee/ butter- 4 tbsp
Water- 4 cups
milk - 1/2 cup (optional)
Cashews- 10 numbers.
Methods :
Heat a Pan .Dry roast rice and dhal, till we get a nice aroma of dhal.
Wash them .Add salt and water .
Keep it in a pressure cooker and allow 4 whistles.
(If you are cooking in a pan, cover it and have a look often. Because the dhal will rise up and overflow when hot.)
After cooking the rice and dhal tenderly, mash them mildly.(not like a paste, but gently.)
Heat a frying pan. Add the ghee.
Add Cumin , Ginger ,cashews, hing and whole pepper.
Immediately after the cashews turn golden in color, add them to pongal .
Serve hot.
Serving suggestions:
Serve hot with coconut cutney, Idly-sambar, ulunthu(black gram) vadai.
Serves 3 people.
It can be served as both breakfast or dinner.
Note:
Always keep the pongal in a tight lided vessel to retain moisture.
If it gets hard, don't shy to add little milk and reheat before serving.
