Ven Pongal
A savoury porridge of rice and moong dal cooked soft with ghee, pepper and cumin, offered in Tamil temples and cooked at home on Pongal festival morning.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Total
- 35 min
- Servings
- 4
- Difficulty
- Easy
- Calories
- 320 kcal
Equipment
- •Pressure cooker
- •Tempering pan
Nutrition
Per serving, approximate
- Calories
- 320 kcal
- fat
- 11 g
- carbs
- 48 g
- fibre
- 3 g
- protein
- 8 g
- calories
- 320 kcal
Instructions
- 1
Gently dry-roast the moong dal without oil until fragrant. Wash it together with the rice.
- 2
Pressure cook the rice and dal with water and salt for 4-5 whistles until very soft and mushy.
- 3
Mash the hot rice-dal mixture gently with a ladle.
- 4
Heat ghee (clarified butter) in a small pan. Fry the cashews until golden, then take them out.
- 5
In the same ghee, sizzle the cumin, crushed pepper, ginger and curry leaves until they crackle.
- 6
Pour this spiced ghee and the fried cashews over the pongal. Mix everything together well.
- 7
Stir in a little hot water if the pongal has become too thick.
- 8
Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambar (lentil vegetable stew).
Chef's tips
The dal and rice must be very soft and creamy, never stiff. Add extra ghee at the end for a rich aroma.
Ingredient substitutions
- moong dal → toor dal
Storage
Refrigerate for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Reheating
Reheat with a splash of water and extra ghee on the stovetop.
Common mistakes to avoid
- •Undercooking the rice and dal, leaving the texture grainy
- •Skipping the spiced ghee step, which takes away the classic aroma
Serving suggestions
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