Ven Pongal

Ven Pongal is a popular food in South India which is served for Breakfast or Dinner.The preparation is so simple,pressure cooking rice with dhal and tempering with spices.Check the recipe for easy Tomato Gothsu here.Lets move on to the Pongal preparation..

Ingredients:

Raw rice	1 cup
Yellow moong dhal	½ cup
Pepper	½ tsp
Cumin seeds	1 tsp
Ginger finely chopped	1 tsp
Salt	As needed
Curry leaves	As needed
Turmeric powder	A pinch
Asafoetida	¼ tsp
Oil	1 tblsp
Ghee	1 tblsp
Cashewnuts	As needed

Method:

• Heat a pan and dry roast moong dhal(Pasi paruppu) slightly till nice aroma starts to come.
• Take the rice,moong dhal,turmeric powder,asafoetida and 1/2 tsp salt in a vessel.Add 5 - 6 cups of water and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
• Once the pressure releases,open and mash the cooked rice and dhal slightly and keep aside.
• Heat a pan add little ghee and roast cashews till golden and transfer to a plate.
• In the same pan heat the oil,1/2 tblsp ghee and add the chopped ginger followed by coarsely crushed pepper and cumin seeds,curry leaves and immediately add the rice+dhal mixture.Add the salt needed and mix well.
• Add the fried cashews and the remaining ghee and mix well.
• Serve hot with chutney or Gothsu.

Sending this to Favorite recipes Event: Breakfast Recipes hosted by Swathi and also to Healthy Food for Healthy Kids  event by Nithu and  hosted by Nivedanam.

Note:

• Adjust the water quantity according to the rice you are using.
• I usually don't add much ghee during the pongal preparation but add little ghee on the top while serving.