Recipe: Venpongal

Having given the recipe for Sarkkarai Pongal, I thought it would be fitting if I gave the recipe for Venpongal also. Aama vadai and Obattu recipes later.

Ingredients:

Raw Rice: 1 cup
Roasted Green Gram dal: ½ cup
Ghee: 2 tbsp.
Ginger: 1" piece
Pepper corns : about 10 nos.
Jeera: 1 tsp.
Asafoetida: size of a pea
Salt to taste
Curry leaves: one sprig
Cashew nuts: 5 or 6
Raisins : 1 tbsp.
(The last two are optional)

Method

As I said in Sarkkarai pongal, use only south Indian cooking rice. Wash the rice and dal and cook in 4 cups of water with asafoetida. The rice and dal should be cooked real soft . Mash the cooked rice and dal with a spatula adding enough salt.

Slice the ginger into small pieces. Break the cashew nuts into small pieces.

Heat 1 tbsp. of ghee in a pan, add the pepper corns. When the pepper corns get fried and start floating on the surface, add jeera and sliced ginger and curry leaves and pour into the cooked venpongal. Heat the remaining ghee, add the raisins and cashew nut pieces. When they turn golden brown add to the venpongal (The tempering could be done in one step, if you are experienced enough not to burn any of the ingredients).

Enjoy the Pongal with coconut chutney or Kothsu.