A dish that defines the auspicious nature of South India. It is nutritious and very easy to make. This is one lightly spiced rice and dal dish made during the festival of Pongal in Tamil Nadu. A harvest festival to praise and please the Sun God. Try this wonderful recipe and make it a part of your healthy breakfast recipe.
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Raw White Rice/Pachari
- 1/2 Cup Split Moong Dal/Pasi Paruppu/Split Green Gram Dal
- 4 Cup Water
- 3 Tablespoon Ghee/ Clarified Butter
- 1 Teaspoon Ground fresh pepper
- 2 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 10 Curry Leaves/Kariveppilai
- 2 Medium green chilies chopped
- 2 Tablespoon Broken cashew nut pieces
- 1/4 Teaspoon Asafoetida powder
- Salt as needed
How to Make Venn Pongal/ Khara Pongal Restaurant Style
- Wash and soak rice for half an hour. Drain and keep aside.
- Wash dal properly and keep aside.
- Now heat a pressure pan and place the drained rice and dal into it. Heat and dry roast it on medium flame until a pleasant aroma comes. Add 2 tablespoons ghee to the rice dal mix and stir once more. Keep it aside.
- Add I teaspoon jeera (cumin seeds), and chopped green chili to the dal mix and stir well. Pour 4 cups of water, mix dal, rice and salt into the pressure pan, close with lid and cook the rice and dal mix for up to 10 whistles on medium heat.
- Open the lid carefully. Stir and mash the rice and dal with a long spoon. You can use a wooden or a steel spoon to mash to a semi-smooth form.
- Take a frying pan, add 1 tablespoon of ghee into it and heat it. Add broken cashew nuts roast until light golden.
- Add in 1 teaspoon cumin, fresh pepper, asafoetida, and curry leaves and saute well.
- Pour this mix into the mashed rice and dal mix and combine well.
- Serve hot with pongal sambar.
Tip
This is a traditional recipe that is prepared in the small towns of Tamil Nadu. If you cannot get access to freshly ground pepper, you can always coarsely pound the pepper and add while frying ginger and green chilies in ghee and then combine into the rice mix.
