Pongal (Spiced) Rice Recipe

Get ready to celebrate Pongal (South Indian Thanksgiving) the right way with Spicy Pongal Rice:

INGREDIENTS

 

• 2-3 tablespoons Ghee/Clarified Butter (Vegans can replace ghee with oil)
• 1 teaspoon Cumin (jeera) seeds
• 1 teaspoon Black Peppercorn (whole or crushed)
• 2 Green Chillies
• 1 teaspoon Ginger, finely chopped
• 1 stalk curry leaves
• 8-10 pinch Cashew Nuts, optional
• 1 pinch Hing (Asafoetida)
• ¾ cup Split Yellow Moong Dal
• ¾ cup White Rice, short rice grain preferable (or quinoa, millets)
• 4 cups water + 1 cup extra to adjust consistency
• Salt to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

 

INSTANT POT METHOD:

• Press SAUTE mode(Normal) on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil to the pot.

  Note: Tastes better with Ghee
  
• Once POT is hot, Add in the cumin, crushed black pepper, and cashew nuts. Saute for 30 secs or till cashew nuts turn light brown in color.
  
• Add the chopped green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and asafoetida. Saute for another 30 secs.
  
• Next, add the rinsed dal and rice. Saute well 1-2 minutes till dal turns light brown or till aromatic.
  
• Add water, salt. Mix well.
  
• Close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 8 minutes.
  
• Once the pot beeps, Wait for the pot to naturally depressurize.
• Open the lid and mix Pongal well.

  Note: If rice is not mushy then select saute mode and add 1 cup of water and cook for 1-2 minutes or till mixture boils.
  
• Pongal is ready, serve with yogurt, raita, or tamarind chutney.

INDIAN PRESSURE COOKER METHOD:

• Heat 1 teaspoon ghee in a pressure cooker and add the washed dal, Saute well 1-2 minutes till dal turns light brown or till aromatic. Then add rice.
• Add 4 cups of water, mix well.
• Close the lid and put the whistle weight on. Cook for 3-4 whistles on medium flame and turn off the gas.
• Once the pressure has released, open the lid and Mix the mixture well.
• Meanwhile in a pan add the remaining ghee, once it's hot add cumin, black pepper, cashew nuts. Saute for 30 secs or till cashew nuts turn light brown in color.
• Add the chopped green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and asafetida. Saute for another 30 secs.
• Add this tempering into the cooked moong dal rice mixture and boil.

  Note: If rice is not mushy then add 1 cup of water and adjust consistency.
• Pongal is ready, serve with chutney, sambar, raita, or tamarind chutney.

NOTES

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT 

Tips

• Pongal tastes best when made fresh and eaten hot.
• Using small grain rice such as sona masuri or Seeraga Samba rice is preferred to make traditional Pongal.
• Pongal thickens a little on cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat in a microwave or on a stovetop (add hot water if required to adjust consistency) just before serving.

Variations

• Ratio of dal to rice is a personal preference.I have used equal amounts of dal and rice to include more protein into the diet. But you can reduce the dal as well.
• You can also add some vegetables like carrots, peas, spinach to make this Pongal healthy.
• Adding ghee enriches the taste of pongal but Vegans can skip ghee/clarified butter and replace with any cooking oil.
• You can also use husked split moong dal, makes this moong dal khichdi more healthy.
• Use the same recipe to make healthy pongal recipe with millets, quinoa, rava, oats.