Ginger, Salt & Pepper

Pongal comes in 3 different forms-

• Ven-pongal- which is the savory pongal
• Sakkarai pongal– which is pongal made sweet with the inclusion of jaggery
• Paal pongal- which is pongal cooked in milk

Of the 3, Ven-pongal has remained my personal favorite for the occasional breakfast with Sambhar and Thenga (coconut) chutney.

Cuisine: Indian

Course: Breakfast

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cooking time: 30 minutes

Servings: 4
Ingredients

3/4 cup – White rice (Ponni raw rice or Sona Masoori preferred)

1/4 cup – split, skinless Moong dal

4.5 cups – Water

3 tbsp – sliced Ginger

1 tbsp – Black Peppercorns

10-15 – Curry leaves

1/4 tsp – Jeera (Cumin)

4 tbsp – Ghee (Clarified butter)

1/4 cup – Cashewnuts (Optional)

Salt – to taste
Steps

1. Crush the peppercorns, ginger and jeera coarsely together
2. In a pressure cooker, heat the ghee
3. Add in Curry leaves and wait for it to fry a bit
4. Add in cashews and the crushed ginger, peppercorns and jeera and fry till golden
5. Remove 3/4th of this mix and set aside
6. Add moong dal to the pressure cooker and fry for a few seconds
7. Add in the rice and stir to mix well
8. Now add in the water and salt to taste
9. Close and cook with the weight on for 6 whistles or until the rice and dal mix is very soft and can be turned into mush with the back of a spoon
10. Now add in the reserved 3/4th mix of cashews, ginger, pepper, jeera and curry leaves and mix well.
11. Serve hot with Sambhar and coconut chutney.