Savoury Pongal Recipe/Venn Pongal

Last week, I shared with you the recipe for Sweet Pongal.  Today, I will introduce to you its savoury cousin, Venn Pongal.  While Sweet Pongal is used as an offering to Gods during festivals such as Rathasaptami  and Pongal, (Tamil new year), Venn Pongal is one of the popular breakfast dishes of South India.  Even though this is labelled as a breakfast food, it can be consumed for lunch/dinner too.  My friends love this dish so much that when they visit me, they make me prepare it irrespective of the time of the day/night.   Importantly, all the ingredients needed are generally readily available at home.  It is nutritious, delicious, filling and easy to make; in short, an ideal breakfast recipe.

Ingredients:

Fine Rice 1 cup

Moong Dal 1 cup (yellow petite lentils)

Pepper 4-6
Ginger 1 inch piece, finely grated

Cumin seeds 1 tsp

Ghee 1-2 tablespoons (or edible oil of your choice)

Salt to taste
Curry leaves 5-6 leaves
Red Chili, one or two (optional)
Coriander for garnishing.(optional)

Time:

Preparation time 5 minutes, cooking time 20 min approx.  Serves 4.

Procedure in Detail:

Dry roast the rice and moong dal separately in a pan.  Wash and drain the rice and dal mixture.

In a pressure pan, bring to boil 5 cups of water.  Add the rice and dal mixture to the water, add salt, cover and cook on low flame for two or even three whistles of the cooker.

Once the cooker has cooled down, check the consistency of the rice.  It should have a thick and porridgy consistency.  If it is thicker, add hot water and bring to boil.  The final consistency of the Pongal should be thick and porridgy.  Transfer to a serving bowl.

For the seasoning, heat ghee/edible oil in a pan, splutter the pepper, add in the cumin seeds, add curry leaves once the cumin has spluttered, add in ginger and red chili.  Pour sizzling hot on the cooked pongal.  Garnish with coriander.

Tastes best served hot with fresh coconut chutney.

Tips:

1.  If you are health/calorie conscious, you can substitute the fine rice with millet, brown rice, oats or quinoa.  If you are using brown rice, dry roast and soak for at least an hour before cooking.

2.  If you are looking for totally oil-free cooking, skip the seasoning and add in the cumin seeds, pepper and grated ginger while cooking in the pressure cooker.  Add crushed garlic if it suits your taste.  Your oil-free Venn Pongal is ready to eat.
3.  One can add chopped french beans, fresh green peas, and carrots to enhance the nutrition value.
4.  If you would rather use a microwave oven instead of a pressure cooker, set the rice, dal and water mixture in the oven at high for 10 minutes and check the consistency in the end.
5.  The consistency of Pongal will largely depend on the rice used.  Basmati will not cook to a soft consistency.  Select rice that cooks to soft consistency; e.g., sona masouri or kolam.