Ven Pongal

Ven pongal is a Tamil breakfast and the savoury dish of the Pongal harvest festival. Serve with coconut chutney and sambar.

Video and original recipe by Hebbar’s Kitchen. Our recipe below is our own home-style version, written in our own words – quantities and steps may differ from the original.

• Serves 3
• Prep 10 min
• Cook 25 min
• Vegetarian · gluten-free
• Famous in Tamil Nadu

Ingredients

• 120 g rice
• 60 g yellow moong dal
• 900 ml water
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp ghee
• 1 tsp whole black pepper, lightly crushed
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp grated ginger
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 pinch hing
• 12 cashews

Method

1. Dry-roast the moong dal for 2 minutes until fragrant. Wash with the rice.
2. Cook rice and dal with water and salt for 20 minutes (or 4 whistles) until very soft. Mash lightly.
3. Heat ghee, fry cashews until golden, then pepper, cumin, ginger, curry leaves and hing.
4. Mix into the pongal and serve hot with extra ghee.

Shop the ingredients

Everything you need for this recipe is in stock at Farmah’s – order online or pick it up at Annenstraße 41, Graz.