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Pongal is a comforting South Indian dish mainly comprising rice and moong dal as the base of this delicacy. They are lightly seasoned with spices and heated with a wonderful ghee aroma to finish. Rice and lentils are pressure cooked together till they get creamy, and the dish is then given a topping of black pepper, cumin, ginger, curry leaves, red chilies, and roasted cashew nuts. Take a look at my straightforward recipe and you’ll get to know how to make Pongal easily at your home.

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KEY TAKEAWAYS

Pongal is a popular South Indian comfort food widely enjoyed across India.
Serve it with coconut chutney, sambar, papad, any dry vegetable or pickle for a complete meal.

Pongal tastes mildly spicy, earthy, and nutty.
Other similar recipes are veg khichdi, sakkarai Pongal, pulao, rava Pongal, and ghee rice.

The Ingredients:

For making the pongal:

½ cup rice (small grains)
½ cup moong dal
3 cups water (to boil rice and dal)
1 tsp ghee (clarified butter)
1 piece green chili (whole, slit from middle)
½ tsp sugar (optional)
Salt to taste
¼ tsp turmeric powder (optional)
Water (warm, as required for the desired consistency)

For making the tadka:

2 tbsp ghee
1 tbsp black peppercorns
½ tsp cumin seeds
¼ tsp asafetida (hing)
15 pieces cashew nuts
1 tsp ginger (finely chopped)
4 pieces dry red chilies (whole)
8 pieces curry leaves

During a small temple meeting near our home, I stumbled upon this Pongal recipe. Actually, as part of the occasion, everyone was receiving a warm bowl of freshly made Pongal. An elderly woman who had prepared the dish attracted my attention and she very kindly handed me her method. She told me about the advantages of roasting moong dal, the quantity of water to be added, and the reason why the ghee tempering was so important for the contrast final flavor. To be sure I don’t forget it, I jotted down all the steps in my kitchen notebook.

The following weekend I made it for my husband and our two boys, hoping it would taste as good. The Pongal was really soft, had a great aroma and just tasted great. My husband said he liked the comforting effect of it and my children with pleasure emptied their bowls and even asked for more. The fact that they enjoyed it to such an extent made me thankful that I had found such a great recipe.

How to Make Pongal? (Step by Step Guide with Images)

Step 1: Dry roast ½ cup of moong dal over a medium flame for a minute. Transfer to a mixing bowl when done.

Step 2: Add ½ cup rice (small grains) to it. Wash them both nicely.

Step 3: Transfer washed rice and dal to a pressure cooker and add 3 cups of water (3 times of amount of rice and dal combined), 1 tsp of ghee (clarified butter), 1 piece of green chili (whole, slit from middle), ½ tsp of sugar (optional), ¼ tsp of turmeric powder (optional), and salt to taste. Cover the lid and boil it for up to 3 whistles.

Step 4: Open the lid, and add warm water as needed to make it less thick. Mix nicely and check the final consistency. Keep it aside.

Step 5: Heat 2 tbsp of ghee in a tadka pan. When it is hot, add 1 tbsp of black peppercorns, ½ tsp of cumin seeds, and ¼ tsp of asafetida (hing) and let them cook for half a minute. Then, add 15 pieces of cashew nuts and 1 tsp of finely chopped ginger and cook for 30 seconds. Finally, add 4 pieces of dry red chilies (whole) and 8 pieces of curry leaves. Cook till the color of cashew nuts changes to light brown.