sweet rice and lentil dish cooked during pongal festival, where rice is cooked with milk, jaggery and flavored with cardamom
- 1 cup white rice
- 1/4 cup yellow moong dal
- 11/2 cups Powdered Jaggery (check the sweetness of your jaggery and adjust accordingly. If its very sweet, use 1 cup)
- 2 to 3 tbsp ghee
- 2 tbsp chopped cashews
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 1/4 tsp cardamom powder or crush 4 to 5 green cardamom pods
- 2 cups milk ( if vegan substitute with water)
- 21/2 cups water
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Switch on the saute mode on your Instant pot and add the moong dal to it. Roast it until nice and fragrant for a couple of minutes. Remove it.
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Add the moong dal, rice to a bowl and wash them well.
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Now add the washed rice, dal to the instant pot, add water and milk. Cook in manual high for 15 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally. (If vegan, substitute the milk with more water)
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When the pressure subsides, add the powdered jaggery to the rice/ dal mixture and saute/ simmer them again in low or medium heat for about 8 to 10 minutes until the jaggery gets mixed with the rice well. ( If using jaggery cubes, melt the jaggery in about 1/2 cup water separately in the stove until no lumps remain and add the melted jaggery water to the cooked rice and let it simmer ) Keep stirring once in a while so that they dont get stuck at the bottom.
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While the rice and jaggery are cooking, heat a small pan and add the ghee to it (vegans can use any neutral tasting oil ) When the ghee becomes hot, add the cashews, raisins and saute them until the cashew turns golden.
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Add the ghee- cashew mixture to the pongal and add the crushed or powdered cardamom as well. Mix everything well. Let it simmer for couple more minutes. If at this stage the pongal is too thick, add 1/2 cup or more hot water and mix well. If it is too runny, let it simmer for some more time. Remember, the pongal will thicken some more when cooled.
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Serve hot with an extra dollop of ghee.
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Roast the yellow moong dal in the pressure cooker until nice and golden. Remove it and set it aside.
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Now wash the rice, dal well and add it to the pressure cooker with water and rice. Cook for about 4 to 5 whistles. Let the presure release naturally.
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While you wait for pressure to subside, powder the jaggery. If using jaggery cubes, melt them with 1/2 cup water, until no lumps remain.
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Now open the pressure cooker and add the powdered or melted jaggery to it and let it simmer for about 10 minutes. If at this stage the pongal is too thick, add 1/2 to 1 cup hot water as needed to dilute it. If too thin, let it simmer for more time until it thickens. Remember, the pongal will thicken some more when cooled.
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Add the crushed cardamom or powdered cardamom to it.
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Now heat a small pan with ghee and when it becomes hot, add the cashews, raisins and roast them until the cashews turn golden. Add them to the pongal and mix well.
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Serve hot with an extra dollop of ghee.
- Adjust the consistency of the ponagl by adding hot water to it as needed. The pongal will thicken as it cools.
- I haven't tried the pongal with plant based milk. But it tastes very good even if it is cooked with just water and no milk.
- Some people like to add a tiny pinch of edible camphor for some flavor. If using camphor, add it at the end, while adding the cashews and raisins and mix well.
- If you are cooking the rice and dal in an open pot, cook them with lots of water/ milk until they are well cooked and mushy. Proceed with the temperings and other steps as mentioned above.