Pongal is a fabulous, quick, any-time-of-day base for a healthy and hearty meal. It's sort of like an Indian risotto.
I first encountered Pongal at a typical family restaurant in Mysore, India. We ordered it by pointing at another diner's plate, our usual technique when we didn't understand anything on the menu. The mountain of glossy, creamy rice looked simple, safe and not too heavy.
Well, After one bite of the mellow, risotto-like, savory rice dish, I was smitten. Pongal was a great breakfast, a refreshing contrast to the heavy, spicy curries we were eating for lunch and dinner.
Little did I know that this sole plate of beloved pongal would be my last for awhile. Pongal is served only on certain days in Karnataka — had I realized this, I would have tried to eat my fill that first time, because every morning after upon my request for it, I was answered sadly with a head shake and a, 'no madam, only pongal on Tuesdays.' Inevitably, that would be a week from when I was asking for it and we'd be moving on to another city by then. Blast!
No bother now though — I can have pongal all day long. After a little tinkering, I discovered the secrets behind this rather simple and delectable dish. It is lovely served with a curried vegetable of some kind: eggplant, okra ("lady fingers" as they're called in India), or green beans would all be nice. Or pongal can be served as is, for breakfast or a light lunch.
So check out your local Indian grocery, gather your supplies and go ahead and make pongal anytime you please! Let us know what you think.
Karnataka-Style Pongal
serves 4-6 as a main dish
1/4 cup moong dal or channa dal ("yellow split peas" are a fine US equivalent)
1 cup white rice
1/2 cup dried coconut
3 cups water
1/4 cup butter (ghee or vegan butter spread are also great)
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
7 curry leaves (1 to use as a garnish)
Salt to taste
Cover lentils with water and let stand for 20 minutes (this ensures even cooking time for rice/lentil combo). Mix the lentils with the rice and coconut, and with about 3 cups water. Cook until soft, about 20 minutes. You'll know it's done when the texture is creamy, like risotto. You may need to add more or less water, depending on what type of rice you use and the freshness of your lentils.
Meanwhile, heat a small sauté pan to medium and toast the cumin seeds, garlic, black pepper, turmeric, and curry leaves in 1/4 cup butter (or vegan butter spread). Heat mixture for about 2 minutes, until very aromatic. Set aside. When rice/lentil mixture is cooked through, add the spice mixture, stirring to combine.
Very nice with a sweet lassi or chai.
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I make this for breakfast several days a week. I use mung dal, which cooks quickly. And I add a 1" cinnamon stick to mine.
"Ochre" is a color. Okra is bindi or "lady fingers". Thanks for the recipe.
Do you continue stirring the rice and Moong Dal as it's cooking or do you just leave it alone as with typical rice recipes? Thanks for your help, and for posting this!
Would coconut milk work instead of the dried coconut and some of the water?
I'm curious to know if you stir/leave the lid off as well. I'm hopeless at cooking rice by the traditional method, but if I can be more hands on with it, I think I'd defintiely give this lovely looking recipe a try.
to clarify, I don't think coconut milk would produce the same effect as dried coconut, maybe I'm wrong though -- give it a try and let us know!
and, I leave the lid on until the rice/lentil mixture is almost cooked (about 15-20 minutes), but then I definitely give it several stirs towards the end, alternating with lid on and lid off. Adding a little extra water if needed, tasting for 'doneness.' Hope that helps!
I have never had Pongal, but it looks yummy. What an refreshing idea that looks super satisfying and doesn't require tons of ingredients. I have been looking for a new recipe that I can reheat for dinner, take for lunch, or maybe breakfast! I will try it soon....thanks!
Another vegetarian dish I can entice my non-veg husband to eat. Yum. Thanks for the ingredient substitutes. Exotic stuff sometimes stops me in my tracks!
beautiful! i love these photos so much, i want to eat this yellow delicious looking delight immediately. such a fun story as well, what fun!!!!!!
Looks so tasty! I love this post and I can't wait to try the recipe. One question though - when you say "mustard seeds" do you mean black mustard seeds? Or will any standard mustard seed work?
What indian cooking I've delved into so far *always* calls for black mustard seeds...
in my experience, any mustard seed (brown or black) will do.
Looks delicious! Can't wait to try it!
just pressure cook rice and dal and then later do the tempering...works well for any no hassle cook!!
Curry leaves = fresh or dry?
Fresh curry leaves if you can find them! try an Asian grocery store.
Could I make this in the slow cooker?
wow, these photos are just amazing. so beautiful! i really want to try this, but in the mean time, i will just keep repeating the word 'pongal' because it's really fun to say.
This turned out great. Thanks for the recipe. I omitted the curry leaves due to availability in my area and added cinnamon and a few raisins. I could eat this often.
um. i love pongal, and those photos make me have instant hunger for the yellow delight!
Great recipe, also very kid-friendly! And I've never come across this dish before, so this is definitely a nice addition to my Indian repertoire.
I couldn't resist the sounds of this recipe! Made it last night and it turned out really well! I used brown rice instead of white. Also, next time I might increase the spice quantities.
I wrote about it on my food blog -
http://graceishungry.blogspot.com/2010/10/pongal.html
ssssssooooooooooo good. I loved it :)