If your day starts with this delicious, comforting and spicy Ven Pongal with some piping hot sambar and a cup of frothy filter coffee, its just gotta be a great day!
Happy New Year everyone! Here’s wishing everyone lots of happiness and delicious food to eat in 2017! Hope to help you in the “delicious food to eat” part with lots of exciting new recipes here on Cooking Curries.
Growing up, I was never a big fan of Ven Pongal / Khara Pongal. If given an option, I would always choose dosa, idiyappam or even idlis for breakfast than this hodgepodge of rice and lentils. I always thought it was a lunch or dinner food that we mistakenly ate for breakfast, as it has rice and dal in it.
As I grew older, I got used to the idea of a plate of khara pongal with some hot sambar and a generous serving of coconut chutney to go with it. Now, it is one of my favorite breakfasts to have. AJ loves it too, from his Chennai memories of eating this for breakfast, so that makes life a whole lot easier for me when I make this for breakfast.
Khara Pongal is basically South India’s answer to the Northern Indian counterpart of Khichdi. It has rice and lentils cooked together to an almost mushy state and seasoned with cumin and black pepper. Some add milk to it, but I don’t quite like the taste of it in the Pongal. Also, chances are your Pongal wont stay good for a long time, if you add milk to it. I made this version with turmeric powder in it. Amma usually does not put turmeric in the Pongal she makes, but I sometimes do to get some extra color and also to get some extra turmeric in our diet. It is delicious either way!
Pongal is usually served with sambar and chutney. I love this Tiffin Sambar the best with Pongal but the Varutharacha Sambar is also good with it.
Ven Pongal / Khara Pongal Recipe
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw rice
- 3/4 cup moong dal
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp coconut oil / ghee
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- a sprig of curry leaves
- 2 tbsp broken cashew nuts
- salt, to taste
Method:
Wash the rice and dal well and cook with the turmeric and about 4 cups water until well cooked and almost mushy. Mash well and add salt to it.
Heat the coconut oil or ghee. Crush the cumin and black pepper together to a coarse powder. Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil. Once it splutters, add the curry leaves, cumin-pepper mixture and cashew nuts. Once the cashew nuts turn slightly brown, pour this over the cooked rice and dal and mix it in.
Serve hot with sambar and chutney.
Ven Pongal – Savory Rice and Moong Dal Breakfast Porridge
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw rice
- 3/4 cup moong dal
- 1/4 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tbsp coconut oil / ghee
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- a sprig of curry leaves
- 2 tbsp broken cashew nuts
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Wash the rice and dal well and cook with the turmeric and about 4 cups water until well cooked and almost mushy. Mash well and add salt to it.
- Heat the coconut oil or ghee. Crush the cumin and black pepper together to a coarse powder. Add the mustard seeds to the hot oil. Once it splutters, add the curry leaves, cumin-pepper mixture and cashew nuts. Once the cashew nuts turn slightly brown, pour this over the cooked rice and dal and mix it in.
- Serve hot with sambar and chutney.
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