A perfectly balanced dish of rice and legumes with added nuts and ghee. Ven pongal's heady aroma would sweep you off your feet.

Find Sakkarai Pongal recipe here

Ingredients
1 cup raw rice
½ cup moong dal (green gram dal)
½ tsp whole black peppercorns
½ tsp whole cumin (jeera seeds)
A small piece of ginger
Salt, as required


For seasoning


½ tsp each of cumin and black pepper, powdered together
A few cashew nuts
A few curry leaves
¼ tsp asafoetida
2 tbsp ghee + 2 tbsp oil

Preparation
Soak the green gram dal in water for 30 minutes
Add the soaked dal to the washed rice, and add about 2.5 to 3 cups water
Place in a bowl in a pressure cooker. Add a few whole peppercorns and cumin seeds to this along with chopped ginger
Cook for 3-4 whistles or 15-20 minutres. The rice and dal need to be cooked together until mushy and soft
For the seasoning, heat oil or ghee in a pan and add some cumin seeds, curry leaves, cashew nuts, and the asafoetida. Fry until the cashew nuts turn golden brown
Add the cooked rice/dal mixture to this
Add salt and stir well to combine all the ingredients. Once mixed well, add some more ghee and stir again making sure everything is mixed thoroughly
Enjoy the delicious ven pongal


(The author is a food blogger who blogs @www.cookingandme.com)

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