Ven Pongal-South Indian Dal Khichdi

Ven Pongal is one of the most favoured and enjoyed dishes at home. It is a rice and dal concoction which is a typical breakfast dish in Tamil Nadu. I learned to make pongal from my mother, not by asking her, but jus by watching her making it… In fact it can be prepared in a jiffy and especially if suddenly guests drop in. Even though quite a good quantity of ghee is used for preparing the dish, the other major ingredients help in the proper digestion too.  So no need to keep counting calories

Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw Rice       1 cup

Moong Dal    1/4 cup

Ginger           1 teaspoon( finely chopped)

Pepper Corns 1 teaspoon

Cashewnuts   for garnish

Curry Leaves  1 sprig

Asafoetida      1/4 teaspoon

Ghee               Enough to fry garnish ingredients

Salt                 To taste

Method:

Wash rice and moong dal.  Pressure cook together with salt. The mixture should be of a porridge like consistency.  Heat a kadai and pour enough ghee. Once its hot, add the pepper corns, ginger pieces, Cashewnuts, curry leaves and remove from fire. Then add a pinch of Asafoetida.  Add this garnish to the rice-dal mixture and mix well.

Pongal is ready to be served with hot sambar and coconut chutney.

(My cam is behaving weird by not connecting through bluetooth. Will post pics later..plz excuse me for that)