Venn Pongal

And its Pongal again - have come a full circle! My first ever post was a Pongal post - Chakkara Pongal. How could I not post something this Pongal? So, this time, I have opted to post the recipe for Venn Pongal. Of course I made the Chakkara Pongal as well for neivedyam.

 Venn Pongal literally translates to "White Pongal"!

Before I got married, I used to not like eating pongal. Infact at weddings I never understood the fascination with idli, upma, pongal and vadai for breakfast! Both, my sister and I, would drag our feet when called for the wedding breakfast feast - the only think we liked eating on that menu was the vadai!

Another memory associated with pongal is the bets that my parents would have on Sunday nights - appa, amma, sis and me would play some card game or carrom or some other board game like ludo or snakes and ladders. One parent and one sibling teamed against the other pair. We were young enough not to care about anything other than who won and who lost, my parents on the other hand had the same running bet. If my mom won, she got to pick what we had for dinner, but if dad won, it would either be pongal or khichdi for dinner - that's how much he loved both these dishes while the rest of us had them on our least favored list!

All these years later, post marriage and one kid, I have gained an appreciation for this dish though! It is a quick, one pot meal that has rescued me on many a weekends when I am in absolutely no mood to cook. The fact that hubby loves it is an added benefit! What I team it with depends on my level of laziness and how much time I have spent yapping on the phone with my parents and sis! When I have time on hand and don't mind a few additional minutes in the kitchen, I will serve it with a quick tomato gothsu (using canned diced tomatoes ofcourse ;) ), at other times I'll prepare a quick coconut or almond chutney (as was the case today), while on the laziest of days, we'll make do with some pickle!

What ever be the choice of accompaniment, this simple dish is one of my "go to" dishes on most weekends. I just take out a small portion and temper it without the pepper and cashews for my little one - pepper because he can't take the heat, and cashews because he is allergic to nuts.

Preparation & Cooking: 30 minutes          Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:
Moong Dal (Green Gram Dal) - ¾ cup
Rice - 2 cups
Water - 6 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Salt - to taste
For Tempering:
Ghee - 3-4 tablespoons
Cashews - 10-15, broken
Ginger -  1 teaspoon, minced
Cumin Seeds (Jeera) - 4 teaspoons
Peppercorns - 10-15
Curry Leaves - a few

Method:

1. Roast the moong dal for a few seconds till it gives off a nice aroma, don't let it brown.

2. Wash the rice and add it to the dal. Add in the rice, salt, water and milk and pressure cook it till it turns soft and mushy.

3. In the mean time, grind the cumins seeds and pepper corns into a coarse mixture or crush them using a mortar and pestle.
4. Prepare the tempering by heating the ghee and adding the cashews. When the cashews turn a golden brown, add in the ginger, curry leaves and the ground cumin and pepper mixture, give it a stir and take off the flame.

5. Once the pressure cooker has let off steam, open it and add in the tempering and mix well.



Steaming hot Venn Pongal is ready to be served.

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