Ven Pongal - South Indian Breakfast with rice and Lentils

Ingredients

Ven Pongal / Pongal is a staple South Indian breakfast with rice and lentils. Rice and yellow moong dal are pressure cooked in milk and water until they are mushy. Then the rice is topped with ginger, green chilli, pepper tempering and smothered generously with ghee. Served with coconut chutney and sambar. Pongal is delicious and filling breakfast that keeps you filled and satisfied for hours.

To Pressure cook Rice

• 1 Cup Rice
• 1/4 Cup Yellow Moong dal
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 3 Cups of water
• 1 Cup of milk

For the tempering

• 1 Tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 Tablespoon Ghee
• 1/2 Teaspoon whole black peppercorns
• 6 cashew nuts chopped roughly
• 1/2 Teaspoon Fresh Ginger chopped fienly
• 1/2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
• 1 Green Chilli chopped finely
• 1 Sprig of curry leaves
• a big pinch of Hing / Asafoetida

Directions

1. Wash rice and dal together for 3 times and soak in regular tap water for 15 minutes
2. Add rice , dal , salt ,water and milk in a pressure cooker and pressure cook for 6 whistles on low flame
3. Once the pressure drops, open the lid of the pressure cooker and gently mash the rice with a back of a ladle
4. In a tadka pan / wok , heat oil and ghee
5. When the oil is hot, reduce the flame to low and add cumin seeds, whole black peppercorns and wait for them to splutter
6. Then add curry leaves, cashew nuts and fry until they are golden
7. Add ginger and green chillies and fry for 30 seconds
8. Finally add a big pinch of hing and give it a nice stir. Switch off the flame and add this tempering to the cooked rice and mix nicely
9. Serve hot immediately with coconut chutney and sambar