PONGAL

PONGAL
A savoury rice and dal dish.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup rice
• 1/2 cup moong dal(greengram dal)
• 5&1/2-6cups water
• ¼ inch Ginger
• 4 tbsp. Ghee
• 1 tsp. Whole black pepper.
• 1 tsp. Cumin seeds
• 10 - 15 Cashew nuts
• Curry leaves few
• salt to taste

Method:

• Wash  rice and  moong dal .
• Add about 4 times water ,salt to taste and pressure cook until it is  cooked till soft. 
• It should be semisolid/watery.
• You can add more hot water if needed to get right consistency
• Cut or grate ginger into fine pieces.
• Take 1 tbsp ghee in a frying pan and add 1 tsp whole black peppers and 1 tsp cumin seeds.
• When roasted add ginger pieces .
• Add cashew nuts and remove the pan when the cashews are roasted .
• Add this to cooked dal-rice mix.
• Add crushed  curry leaves and mix well.
• Add some ghee while serving.
• Serve with coconut chutney.

      Tips:

•    Open lid of cooker immediately after the pressure subsides.
•  If you leave it for long time pongal will become hard like cake.
• You can use 1/2 tsp each of powdered pepper and zeera also(instead of whole pepper & zeera)

SAKKARAI PONGAL

A sweet rice and dal porridge like dish.

Ingredients:

• Raw Rice – 1cup
• Moong dal/ green gram dal – 1/2 cup
• Jaggery – 1 cup grated
• Milk – 1 cup
• Water – 3cup
• Cashew nuts and raisins – for garnishing
• Ghee – 4tsp
• Cardamom powdered – 1/2 tsp for flavor .

Tip:To powder cardomom microwave it for 30 seconds at HIGH (it will puff up).Powder in a blender/mixie with a tbsp of sugar.You will get a fine powder with out any fibers.Try it and see!

Method:

• Wash moongdal and rice mixture thoroughly.
• Cook in a pressure cooker adding milk and water till soft.
• Meanwhile grate the jaggery add 1/2 cup water, heat till it melts and filter with a fine sieve/filter to remove impurities.
• Remove the cooked rice mixture from pressure cooker and add jaggery to it and mix well. If the rice is dry you can add more water to make it semi solid.
• Add cardomom powder and mix well.
• Take a pan, heat ghee and fry the cashews and raisins in it.
• Pour the ghee with cashews and raisins to the cooked pongal and mix well.
• Serve hot.