Ven Pongal

This recipe serves 2 - 3 people.

Ingredients

Raw Rice (Pacharisi) - 1/2 cup
Moong dhal (Pasi paruppu) - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 5 to 10 sp
Whole pepper - 1 1/2 sp
Cumin - 1/2 sp
Hing - 1/4 sp
Curry leaves - few (optional)
Water - 4 cups
Salt - To taste

Method

1. Wash rice & dhal together and keep aside.
2. In a pressure cooker over medium heat, add ghee.
3. When ghee is hot, add pepper, cumin, hing and curry leaves.
4. Once peppercorns start to burst, add water. (Take care not to burn yourself while adding water to hot ghee.)
5. Add washed rice and dhal along with the required salt.
6. Cook in a medium heat (for any number of whistles) till there is no water in the pressure cooker (may be 10 - 15 min).
7. Serve with Pongal sambhar / coconut chutney / vada.

Note

1. Never cook in a high heat since water tends to spill out during cooking (since we add more water to get mashy rice)
2. The dhal can be dry roasted before adding which gives an increased texture and aroma to the venpongal.