Venn Pongal: Pongal is a Tamil harvest festival. It usually falls on the 14th or 15th of January each year. Venn (the Tamil word for “white”) Pongal is a popular savory dish in Tami Nadu and other South Indian homes and is typically served as a special breakfast. It is usually served with sambar and coconut chutney. Traditionally Pongal is made with newly harvested rice & moong dal as they give the best gooey texture to the dish. There are two versions of Pongal, sweet or savory. Today I’m sharing the savory version with you. The savory version is a comfort food for many South Indians as it is light on the stomach & easy to prepare. It uses just rice, split yellow moong dal, peppercorn, cumin seeds & ghee (clarified butter).
This recipe is also available on NewsBreak Video. My video channel is also named Sofia’s Passion for Cooking. Please follow me on both for more tasty & easy recipes. Thanks!
Ingredients:
Rice ½ cup
Split yellow moong dal ½ cup
Water 4½ cups
Salt to taste
Ghee (clarified butter) 5 tbsp.
Chopped or minced ginger 1 tbsp.
Black pepper corn 1tbsp.
Cumin seeds ½ tsp.
Asafetida a pinch (optional)
Fried cashews for garnishing
How to make Venn Pongal:
1. Add ½ cup rice in a bowl.
2. Take ½ cup of split yellow moong dal and dry roast for 2-3 mins until its color changes slightly on a medium heat.
3. Add the dal with the rice and wash a couple of times & soak them for 10-15 minutes.
4. In a pressure cooker add 1 tbsp. ghee (clarified butter) and add the soaked rice & dal.
5. Into that add 4½ cups of water with salt to taste.
6. Put the lid on & cook on high until the pressure comes.
7. Once the pressure comes, lock the pressure and cook on medium for 5 minutes and on low for 7 more minutes.
8. Wait till the pressure releases and open the lid carefully.
9. Mix it once. Look how gooey it is!
10. Take the desired amount you need. I'm going to make some Sweet Pongal with the rest. I'll share the recipe soon.
11. In a pan add 2-3 tbsp. ghee over medium heat and fry some cashews.
Tempering for Pongal:
12. In the same pan fry together 1 tbsp. minced ginger, 1 tbsp. peppercorns, ½ tsp. cumin seeds and a pinch of asafetida for 3-4 minutes.
13. Add fried cashews and peppercorns into the Pongal & mix it well. Add 2 more tbsp. of ghee. You can always add more ghee but do not add less of it.
14. Serve with sambar & coconut chutney .
Prep Time : 15 min. Cooking Time : 15 min Total Time : 30 min
Try it today and let me know what you think!
Comments / 3