Print Options:

Khara Pongal

Description
A traditional and popular breakfast dish of South India. Serves 4 to 6
Ingredients
    For rice-dal mixture
  • 1 cup rice (short grained variety - sona masoori or parboiled rice)
  • 1 cup moong dal
  • 1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder (haldi)
  • 1 teaspoon whole black peppercorns
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  • 1 tablespoon ghee (clarified butter)
  • 5 to 6 water
  • For tempering
  • 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
  • 3 tablespoons ghee
  • 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 2 to 4 green chillies (slit)
  • 1/4 teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
  • 1 sprig curry leaves
  • 3 to 4 tablespoons cashew
  • Other ingredients
  • 2 teaspoons whole peppercorns
  • 2 teaspoons cumin seeds
  • 1 " ginger - grate or crush roughly
  • salt to taste
  • To serve
  • coconut chutney or
  • onion raita (pachdi or)
  • puli gojju or
  • sambhar/gosthu
Instructions
    For the rice-dal mixture
  1. Wash the rice and dal thoroughly. Drain.
  2. In a pressure cooker put the rice, dal and saute till just warm. Add in the peppercorns, cumin, turmeric, ghee. Mix. Add 5 to 6 cups water (as per consistency desired). Close lid, keep weight and pressure cook for upto 3 whistles. Open lid once pressure drops.
  3. Proceed
  4. Meanwhile, pound together 2 tsp each of peppercorns and cumin to a coarse powder in a mortar and pestle/ mixer, set aside. Grate or grind ginger coarsely. Slit green chillies.
  5. For the tempering, heat oil and ghee in a pa. Add cashew and let start to turn light brown. Then add in the mustard, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, hing. Saute few seconds.
  6. Then add the pepper-cumin powder. Mix and immediately add to the cooked rice-dal. Keep over heat and add salt, water if needed for consistency and heat through, for about 5 minutes.
  7. Remove from heat and serve hot with accompaniment of your choice.
Note
Adjust quantity of water as per desired consistency. Generally pongal is of moist consistency. Amount of water also depends on the type of rice, you may need less or more.

Adapted from Latha Rao`s recipe collection