Pongal - The Humble South Indian Khichdi
Wednesday, January 14, 2009
In South India, two dishes that are a must have during Sankranthi/Pongal is the Khara Pongal & Sweet Pongal using Jaggery . Khara Pongal is also known as Huggi in Kannada.
Khara Pongal or savoury Pongal is what I call the South Indian version of Khichdi. A mixture of rice & lentils simmered to a semi-solid consistency & tempered with cumin seeds, green chillies, ginger & pepper corns is a heart warmer. Popular in most South Indian homes as a Breakfast Dish, it can be eaten on its own or even with yogurt or spicy coconut chutney or a traditional eggplant dip, either way its overwhelming. It is way too simple to make & does not involve cutting of any vegetables, which is a blessing if one is short on time. I quite often enjoy this as supper on cold winter evenings.
Preparation Time: 30 mins
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup short grained rice (I Used Sona Masoori)
- 1/2 cup Moong Dal
1/2 cup Milk - 2 tbsp grated ginger
1/4 cup grated coconut - 3 green chillies - finely chopped
- A handful of curry leaves
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp freshly cracked Black Pepper
- 1 tsp Turmeric
- Salt as per taste
- 1 tbsp Desi Ghee/Clarified Butter
- 10 cashew nuts
Method:
Dry roast moong dal until it starts to turn slightly brown.
Pressure cook Moong dal along with rice along with turmeric powder
Grind grated coconut & ginger into a coarse paste without adding any water.
Heat Ghee in a heavy bottomed pan & add cumin seeds & freshly cracked Black Peppercorns once the seeds crackle, add curry leaves, green chillies & saute for a minute.
Add cooked rice & lentil mixture & Add 1/2 cup water & mix well.
Add the coconut-ginger paste & Salt
Add Milk & simmer on low heat for about 5 - 8 minutes.
In a small pan, toast chaser nuts in ghee until they turn golden brown
Add toasted cashew nuts toward the end & mix.
Drizzle Ghee on top & enjoy with your favorite Side Dish.
NOTE:
- Go easy on green chillies as ground pepper adds quite a bit of heat.
- You could use long grained rice too, but short grained rice works best.
- This can be made on stove top too instead of using a pressure cooker. Use Pressure Cooker to save time.
I Wish You All A Very Happy Makara Sankranthi !!!
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