Ven Pongal

Ven Pongal is one of the breakfast item from South India, mainly popular in Tamil Nadu, prepared during Pongal Festival and also served as a special dish on auspicious occasions like wedding ceremonies. Fresh curry leaves and Ghee is a must for this dish. Yeah, in order to enjoy cooking, sometimes you need more than two to eat. One such Sunday treat is this South Indian breakfast - Ven (White) Pongal. A porridge kind creamy dish made with rice and Moong dal and spiced up with peppercorns, cumin and grated ginger. The humble spices cumin and pepper work wonders in this dish. Don't be stringent in adding these spices. The pongal should be warm and slightly peppery and a dollop of ghee will balance to make it hearty and comforting. I love to do VenPongal as it is very easy and quick. We should be generous in using ghee for Pongal.  The flavor of ghee with pepper is the unique taste of pongal. It is the traditional neivedhyam in any temple. It is a salted variation and is also made of freshly harvested rice and moong dal. It’s a hot favorite in my family and while I learnt this recipe from my mother, I have added my own inputs and the addition of milk which really tastes awesome.

Prep time   : 10 mins|  Cook time    : 20 mins |  Serves         : 4
Cuisine :South Indian (Breakfast),Tamil Nadu Recipes

Ingredients	Quantity
Raw rice	1 cup
Split yellow moong dal	½ cup
Chopped ginger	1 tsp.
Hing	¼ tsp.
Whole peppercorns	1 tsp.
Cumin seeds	1 tsp.
Black pepper powder	1 tsp.
Curry leaves chopped	2 sprigs
Green chilli	2
Cashews(halved)	2 tbsp.
Ghee	2 tbsp.
Oil	2 tbsp.
Salt	To taste
Water	4 cups
Milk	½ cup

Method

1. Heat a pan on medium heat and roast the yellow moong dal until a lightly roasted aroma is released.dont let it turn dark brown2. Wash rice and mix the roasted dal.Pressure cook rice, moong dal with little salt and green chillies and add 4 cups of water for up to 3 whistles. Cook till the rice is smashed and mushy.3. Meanwhile heat a pan and add ghee. Fry peppercorns, once it splutters, add cumin seeds, grated ginger, curry leaves, pepper powder, hing and sauté for few more seconds. Turn off the heat and set aside.4. Now heat ½ tsp. of ghee in the same pan and roast cashewnuts until golden and crisp.Add the fried mixture with the boiled rice- dal mixture. Add the remaining ghee with pongal to get a delicious taste. 5. Also can be Served  with  Brinjal (eggplant) Gothsu. Serve with coconut chutney and Sāmbhar. The best combo for ven pongal. Notes

You can use Ponni raw rice or Sona masoori.If using an electric cooker, use the same proportion and cook rice and dhal with little salt and then do the tempering

If it’s too dry, it will be difficult to swallow. Upon cooling it becomes thick and dry. So serve them when it is warm. If serving later; add little warm water, loosen it and then serve.