Pongal is a popular South Indian food made with rice, moong dal, ghee, black pepper and other spices. Pongal can be sweet or savory. This is the recipe of savory Pongal known as khara Pongal (other name is Ven Pongal when you do not add turmeric powder, Venn=white).
Ingredients:
- 1 cup white rice
- ½ cup moong dal
- 3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
- 1-inch ginger
- ½ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
- Salt
- 1 tbsp black peppercorns
- 2-3 cardamoms
- ½-inch cinnamon
- Curry leaves
For tempering:
- Fistful of cashews
- 2 green chilies
- 2 dried red chilies
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- ½ tsp black peppercorn powder
- 1 tsp chana dal
- 1 tsp urad dal
Method:
- Dry roasting rice and moong dal is optional, but it gives very nice taste to Pongal
- Take a pan, add dry rice and moong dal, and roast it for 1 minute
- Then add 1 tsp ghee to the mixture and continue roasting for another 2 minutes
- Once it cools down, transfer it to the pot (either pressure cooker pot or instant pot), add 1:5-6 water, turmeric powder, cinnamon, cardamom, salt, black peppercorns, ginger pieces, and curry leaves
- Mix well and pressure cook on high pressure
- Once it is done, mix well. You can add more water at this step to get desired consistency. It should be mushy in texture
- Take a pan to make tempering, add ghee and heat it
- When ghee turns hot, add cumin seeds and let them crackle
- Then add chana dal, urad dal, cashews
- Once they turn slightly brown, add green chili pieces as well as dried red chili pieces
- Lastly add black pepper powder and turn off the stove
- Pour this tempering to cooked rice and dal
- Mix well, adjust the salt
- Serve khara Pongal hot with pickle, sambhar or chutney.
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