Rava Pongal is another specialty of Tamil Nadu. It is prepared during the festival of Pongal and is a savory dish that you can have for breakfast, or carry for your tiffin or a perfect choice to enjoy when you go for picnics with your friends, This recipe calls for only basic ingredients and is a wheat based dish. Highly filling and superb for children who have just started their teething phase.
Ingredients
- 1 Cup Rava/ Sooji
- 1/2 Cup Split Moong Dal/Pasi Paruppu/Split Green Gram Dal
- 1/4 Teaspoon Turmeric powder
- 1 Tablespoon Crushed Peppercorns
- 1 Tablespoon Chopped ginger
- 2 Chopped Green Chillies
- 10 Curry Leaves/Kariveppilai
- 3 Garlic cloves chopped
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds/Jeerakam
- 1/2 Teaspoon Asafoetida powder/ Hing Powder/ Perunkayam
- Salt as required
- 3.5 Cup Water
- 1/2 Cup Milk
- 1 Teaspoon Ghee
- 3 Teaspoon Oil
How to Make Rava Pongal/ Sooji Pongal
- Take a pan and dry roast the rava. Keep aside.
- Next, dry roast the dal until an aroma comes. Then transfer to a bowl and soak in one cup of water. Keep aside.
- Take a pressure pan and boil water in it.
- Drain the moong dal from the water and add to boiling water in pan.
- Mix in turmeric powder and salt into the dal.
- Let it boil for 5 minutes.
- Now add roasted rava into the watery dal mix. Note The dal is still cooking and if you do not stir, the rava will form into lumps.
- Now cover with the pressure pan lid and cook for 2 whistles.
- Take off heat and once the steam is released, open the lid. Stir well to combine the dal and rava.
- Place back on heat and pour milk into it and mix well. Let it boil at a low heat.
- In a small frying pan, pour oil and heat it.
- Add cumin seeds, crushed pepper, cashew nuts, ginger, green chilly, curry leaves, asafoetida (perunkayam) powder and mix well.
- Pour this flavored oil mix into the rava pongal and mix well.
- Cook on low heat for about 2 minutes.
- Check seasonings, add salt and keep stirring to combine well.
- Add ghee and mix well.
- Take off from heat and serve hot.
Tip
If you like, you can enjoy this rava pongal with pickles, medhu vada and pongal sambar. This recipe is very to prepare and it can be surely tried by vegetarians and beginner cooks. If you have some coconut chutney or tomato chutney, it will go well with this rava pongal. This recipe is quite bland, so those who love their spicy tooth, you might as well, add in more chopped chilies to make it extra lip smacking.
