One Pot Pongal – South Indian Rice and Lentil Porridge
Pongal or South Indian Khichuri as my mother likes to call it is of my favorite all time comfort foods. Melted ghee or clarified butter and the toasted cashew nuts make all the difference. Baring the final tempering or tarka, it is a simple one pot dish. I usually make this with a combination of quinoa and rice. A little more quinoa than rice. Everyone in our household argues over the toasted cashew nuts.
Pongal literally means to boil over and is gone in two forms sweet and savory. This savory version is often enjoyed as breakfast and is called Venn Pongal.
A lovely bright and sunny morning. My indulgence for the day was this pongal, which I made just for myself. It was easy enough in the instant pot, and the magic at least for me rests in the tempering. Or as my husband says, it offers me my excuse to indulge in clarified butter or ghee. If you want to keep this recipe vegan, there is always coconut oil.
Consistency and getting the best from Pongal
The proportion of rice to lentils is 2 is to 1. I use 1 cup of rice and quinoa mixture for half a cup of moong dal. This makes quite a bit.
Add enough water, the pongal thickens pretty quickly.
The Story of the Week
The year which had started out on a somewhat high note seems to have hit a pensive note. I have concluded that Lady luck really is not one of my friends. I am not especially unlucky, but that is probably the best I can say about chance in my life.
Yes, actually right about now, I could really use a visit from Lady Luck. Please, pretty please can you knock on my window today.
However, as I say I am also looking forward to next weekend. I have a mini-reunion of sorts with a bunch of school friends. They are all flying from different parts of the country and we meet up here in the Big Apple. And I get to try Bergdorf Cafe for the first time. Additional Bonus, we are expecting very spring like weather.
Back to the pongal, this recipe is about as easy as it gets. Just a note, I add a little more turmeric and lentils than a lot of traditional recipes. I feel it just helps balance out the nutritional level. The consistency is soft and porridge like.
Some interesting recipes worth checking out include my lime and peanut rice and cashew lime rice with mint.
If you like this recipe and want more ideas, do join my Indian Instant Pot Facebook group and Legume Love Group. Of course Instant Indian my new Indian Instant Pot Cookbook is ready for order, joining its siblings The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles and Spices and Seasons.
Do not forget to get social with me, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and even Youtube.
A comforting well seasoned rice and lentil porridge.
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup moong lentils
- 1 cup of rice or a mixture of equal parts rice and quinoa
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric (optional, note this is usually not added)
- 4 cups water
- 2 tablespoon ghee or clarified butter
- 2 tablespoons cashew nuts
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1/4 teaspoon asafetida
- 1 tablespoon lightly crushed black peppercorns
- 1 dried red chili
- 8 to 10 curry leaves
- 1 tablespoons chopped cilantro
Instructions
- Turn the instant pot onto sauté mode and add in the yellow lentils. Sauté the lentils lightly until fragrant. Add in the rice and quinoa, minced ginger, salt, turmeric and the water.
- Set to 8 minutes of high pressure and allow a natural release.
- Remove the lid and mix the mixture well. It should be soft and porridge like, add a little more water if needed.
- In a small pan add 1 teaspoon of the ghee and add in the cashew nuts and stir for a couple of minutes until a few shades darker.
- Remove the nuts with a slotted spoon.
- Add in the remaining ghee and heat and add in mustard seeds and wait until they crackle.
- Add in the asafetida, black peppercorns, red chili and the curry leaves and stir well.
- Pour this over the rice and lentil mixture.
- Garnish with the cashew nuts and cilantro and enjoy
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