Pongal is a delicious, aromatic, protein packed traditional South Indian Porridge and dish made with rice and moong dal. You can make sweet pongal or savoury pongal. Here I am Sharing The savoury Pongal recipe known as Ven Pongal.

The savoury variation, known as ven pongal or khara pongal, is made with ghee, curry leaves, black pepper, ginger, cumin, and hing. During regular pooja, auspicious days, and festivals, this very savoury and delectable meal is presented to the deities.

Ven pongal is a popular dish during the festivities in south India but it's also one of the comfort foods that can be made and served at any time of the day. Ven pongal could be served as a light snack or as a whole meal, it depends on the portion size.

Ven pongal tastes delectable with a dollop of coconut chutney. I usually serve pongal with coconut chutney in the morning. But apart from that it pairs equally well with sambar and tomato chutney.

Jump to:

What is pongal and when is it celebrated?
Is Ven pongal healthy?
Why we love this Pongal recipe
Ingredients
Instructions
Ven Pongal In Instant Pot
Substitutions
Variations
Pro tip
Recipe Notes
Serving Suggestions
Storage
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What is pongal and when is it celebrated?

Pongal is a multi-day harvest festival held in South India, mainly in Tamil Nadu, that commemorates the first day of the sun's return voyage to the northern hemisphere, which is known in India as Makar Sankranti and is observed on January 14. Ven pongal is a popular dish that is served during this festival.

Is Ven pongal healthy?

Ven pongal is a traditional south indian dish that is considered a protein packed dish full of healthy nutrients. It contains a slight amount of ghee but not to worry because ghee is considered a healthy fat. You can switch the rice with brown rice or millets to make it even more healthier and diet friendly.

Why we love this Pongal recipe

What's not to love about this flavourful combination of asian style veggies and simply delicious sauce?

Easy, healthy, protein packed meal
Diet-friendly, weight loss friendly
Ready in about thirty minutes
Perfect to satisfy your south indian flavours cravings
A good way to spice things up in the kitchen

Ingredients

Rice: any standard medium to short grained white rice would suffice. Surti kolam, sona masuri, or indrayani are some of the short-grained Indian rice varieties I use to produce khara pongal.
Moong lentils: Ven pongal should be made using fresh lentils instead of dried ones. if you use the aged lentils then it will take much longer to cook. I have used yellow moong lentils that have been husked, split, and peeled.

Cumin seeds crushed
Asafoetida- Hing
Ginger
Water
Salt
Cumin seeds
Black pepper
Sprig of curry leaves
Cashews- for the nutty crunchy and creamy flavour but you can also skip adding this if you're allergic
Ghee- ghee stands to be the ingredient that makes a lot of difference because it adds the much wanted aroma to the ven pongal.

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Take the moong dal and get rid of any stones. Now, heat a pan and add the moong dal to the pan.
Roast the dal on low flame till it becomes aromatic.
Add the rice into moong dal and rinse it thoroughly.
Drain the rice and moong and add it in the pressure cooker.
Now add cumin seeds, asafetida and chopped ginger. Add salt according to your liking.
Pour the water into the pressure cooker. The amount of water depends on the consistency you need.
Moong lentils are usually cooked for 7 to 8 whistles. As a result, I add 3 cups of water. If you're using moong dal, which cooks in 2 to 3 whistles, add around 2.5 cups of water.
Pressure cook for about 7 to 8 whistles.
Allow the pressure to naturally release before removing the lid to check for doneness and consistency. Pongal has a mushy consistency, similar to Khichdi or porridge.

For tempering the ven pongal.

In a pan, heat ghee
Add cumin seeds
Let the cumin seeds flutter for a bit
Then add the cashews. Fry until its aromatic and golden
Now, add the black pepper and curry leaves to the cashews
Stir the mixture very well.
The tempering is ready.

Pour the mixture into the cooked rice and dal.
Mix everything thoroughly
Set aside for 5 to 6 minutes after covering with the lid (with the vent weight/whistle on the lid). This allows the tempering tastes to soak into the khara pongal while keeping the scent. Remove the cover and serve the pongal warm or hot.

Ven Pongal In Instant Pot

Take an instant pot and add ghee to it. Wait for the pot to be heated.
Add the cumin seeds, black pepper, and cashew nuts once the pot is heated. Cook for 30 seconds, or until cashews are golden brown.
Green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and asafetida, diced Continue to sauté for another 30 seconds.
Add the washed dal and rice after that. Cook for 1-2 minutes, or until the dal turns light brown and fragrant.
Now add salt and water
Close the lid to the instant pot and set it to high pressure. Set a timer for 10 minutes.
When the pot beeps, wait for the pressure to naturally release. After that, remove the cover and thoroughly combine everything.
Your instant pot ven pongal is ready. Serve it with coconut chutney or green chutney or lay it out as it is.

What kind of dal and rice are used?

To achieve the soft gooey texture, it's very important to use short grain rice and moong dal. If you use basmati rice give the dish a good mash with the back of the ladel.

The next ingredient you really need to focus on is the kind of ghee you temper the dish with. Cow ghee elevates the flavours of ven pongal and gives it the aromatic sense.

Can it be made gluten-free?

A lot of people avoid consuming rice either due to weight issues or they can't tolerate gluten. Ven pongal could be made with any kind of grain. You can switch your regular rice with millets, oats, brown rice, black rice and it would more or less taste the same.

Substitutions

Instead of white rice, you can use brown rice/black rice/quinoa/millets to make it healthier. All of the above grains are gluten-free.
Make sure you do not substitute cumin seeds with ground cumin.

Variations

Ven pongal can be prepared in a variety of ways. You might also blend veggies like carrots, french beans, green peas, cauliflower, capsicum, or corn with shredded coconut.

To make a healthier alternative, add some oats to the pongal. To develop healthier pongal variants, millets, quinoa and even broken wheat (dalia) can be included.

Pro tip

Ratio of Dal:Rice: WaterMost important to note here is ratio of dal to rice. I usually go with 1:1:1 for the perfect texture of the ven pongal.

Ghee: Make sure the ghee you use is fresh and flavorful since it's one of the main ingredients which adds a lot of aroma to the ven pongal.

Recipe Notes

Cooking in a pot or pan: If you don't have a pressure cooker, you may make khara pongal on the stovetop in a pot or pan. Cook the rice and lentils in 3.5 to 4 cups of water according to the instructions. If necessary, add extra water.

Proportions of lentils and rice: The quantity of yellow lentils, rice, water is important.

Serving Suggestions

Serve this flavourful deliciousness with a side of coconut chutney.

I personally love to serve ven pongal with a side of mango pickle, yoghurt and sambar. If you do not have a lot of time to prepare the side dishes, you can simply serve it with papad.

Storage

Ven pongal is best served fresh, thus I would not recommend making it ahead of time and freezing it. The pongal will thicken and turn lumpy if refrigerated or frozen. The flavour of the food alters as well. Freshly cooked lentils and rice are the finest.

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