Ven Pongal – Khara pongal recipe

Another classic south Indian breakfast recipe is – Ven Pongal or Khara Pongal. This is a mildly spiced rice and moong dal combination that is served hot with any south Indian chutney and sambar.

Ven pongal is also a very traditional recipe in south India that is often prepared during festivals. My mother very regularly makes this for breakfast along with onion tomato gravy. As a kid, I never used to like ven pengal, I always used to find some excuse not to eat it. But now, I find this very tasty especially along with a dash of ghee.

This is simple and quick recipe, no fuss, no cutting and mixing. It is wonderful to pack as tiffin for your kids school. It has a wonderfully healthy combination of carbs with protein. You can always pair up some crunchy salad or fruits along with this to make it wholesome.

 

ven pongal

 

I recently shared my collection of 10 south Indian chutneys. You can check that link to pick any of your favorite chutney.

 

Serves: 2

Cooking time: 20 mins

 

Ingredients:

Raw Rice – 1 cup
Moong dal or green gram – 1/4 cup
Water – 4 to 5 cups
Pepper corns – 1 tsp
Jeera – 1 tsp
Ghee or Oil – 1 tbsp
Curry leaves – a few
Hing – 1 tsp
Mustard seeds – ½ tsp
Cashew nuts (optional) – 2 tbsp
Salt – to taste

Procedure:

  1. Wash the rice and moong dal together. Drain and keep aside.
  2. In a small pan, heat the ghee/oil. Add the rest of the ingredients, except salt.
  3. Once the pepper corns splutter and the cashew nuts are brown, take of the heat and add to the rice-moong dal mixture.
  4. Add salt to this mixture.
  5. Add about 4 to 5 cups water to the rice and pressure cook till completely done. Might need about 6-7 whistles.
  6. If you are cooking on stovetop, add more water and cook till it becomes a coarse paste.
  7. Mix well and serve while hot !

 

ven pongal

 

Variations:

  1. Add the cashews after cooking if you want them to be crunchy.
  2. You can adjust the quantity of moong dal.
  3. Adjust the amount of peppercorns as per your taste.
  4. You can substitute pepper powder for peppercorns. If you do that, add the powder directly to the rice before cooking.

Ven pongal is best served with coconut chutney or onion-tomato curry (recipe here) and of course the classic south Indian sambar 🙂

 

ven pongal

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