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.
