Ven Pongal

5 from 18 votes

Made from rice and lentils, this satisfying South Indian breakfast, Ven Pongal (also called Khara Pongal), is enjoyed with sambar and chutney. It is deliciously seasoned with curry leaves, cumin seeds, and black pepper. Learn this easy, soul-warming Ven Pongal recipe that takes less than 30 minutes to make.

Prep Time5

Cook Time25

Total Time30

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: South Indian

Keyword: how to make pongal, instant pot pongal, ven pongal

Diet: Gluten-free, Vegetarian

Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker, Stovetop

Servings:

Author: Meeta Arora

Equipment

Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

1 cup Short grain Rice I used sona masoori rice
1/2 cup Split Yellow Lentils (Moong Dal)
3 tablespoon Ghee or Oil
1 teaspoon Cumin seeds (Jeera)
1/2 teaspoon Black Peppercorns whole or lightly crushed
1/8 teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing) optional, skip for gluten-free
10-12 Cashews
10-12 leaves Curry Leaves (Kadi Patta)
2 Green chili pepper slit into 2, optional, adjust to taste
2 teaspoon Ginger finely chopped
5 cups Water
1.5 teaspoon Salt

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

(optional) Switch on the saute mode on your Instant Pot and add the moong dal to it. Roast it until nice and fragrant for a couple of minutes. Remove it.
Add the moong dal, rice to a bowl or strainer and wash them well.
Start the Instant Pot in sauté mode and heat ghee in it. Add cumin seeds, black peppercorns, asafoetida, curry leaves, and cashews.
Sauté till the cashews are lightly roasted. Take out half of the tempering and reserve it for later. Add green chili and ginger.
When the ginger turns golden brown, add rice and moong dal. Sauté for 2-3 minutes.
Add water and salt. Close the lid with the vent in the sealing position.
Change the Instant Pot setting to rice mode, which defaults to low-pressure cooking for 12 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally for 10 minutes, then manually release the remaining pressure (10-minute NPR).
Open the Instant Pot, and serve pongal. Top with reserved tempering with roasted cashews. Enjoy hot with sambar and chutney!

Traditional Stovetop Method

Follow the steps to roast the dal and then rinse the rice and dal with water.
Pressure cook the dal and rice along with the water for 3-4 whistles on medium-high flame. After the pressure is released, check consistency and add more water if needed.
In a pan on the stovetop, prepare the tempering. Heat ghee, then add cumin seeds, black pepper, asafoetida, curry leaves, cashews, and roast till the cashews are lightly browned. Then add green chili and ginger. When the ginger turns golden brown, the tempering is ready.
Pour the tempering on top of the cooked dal and rice. Mix and simmer for 1-2 minutes. Pongal is ready to enjoy with sambar and chutney.

Video

Notes

Vegan Pongal: To make this pongal vegan, use plant-based oil of your choice in place of ghee.

Consistency: Adjust the consistency of the ponagl by adding hot water to it as needed. The pongal will thicken as it cools.

Reheating: To reheat refrigerated Ven Pongal, add a couple of tablespoons of water, mix well, and microwave it for a minute.

Nutrition