Name: Ven Pongal Recipe - Khara Pongal Recipe
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: Raw Rice – 1/2 cup; Paasi paruppu / yellow moong dal - 3 tbsp; Water – 1-1/2 cups; Milk – 1/2 cup; Ginger - 1/2 inch piece (grated); Black pepper corn - 1/2 tbsp (whole); Cumin seeds – 1 tsp; Cashew nuts – 1 tbsp (broken); Asafoetida - 1/8 tsp; Curry leaves – 1 sprig; Ghee or clarified butter - 2 tbsp; Oil - 1 tbsp; Salt - to taste

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Ven pongal recipe with step by step photos. A staple, healthy and nutritious breakfast from South India. It is usually served with coconut chutney and sambar across all hotels in Tamilnadu and it a must in breakfasts served at weddings. Easy to cook to feed a big crowd and filling too at the same time. This is also known as Khara Pongal in some parts of South India.

I love a platter of Ven Pongal, Medhu Vadai along with coconut chutney and sambar for breakfast. It is my ultimate comfort food and I can eat 365 days year if I not really worried about the calorie pile up.

I prefer to make Ven Pongal for breakfast especially on Weekends. In fact Sundays are for preparing leisurely breakfasts which should differ from the daily dose of idlis, oatmeals and bread sandwiches on the go during week days.

Getting up late, treasuring a hot steaming cup of coffee while going thru the newspaper and making the breakfast while watching TV and relishing it with all the trimmings at your convenience is my way of enjoying the day.

Ven Pongal takes little time and can be rustled up in a jiffy. You do not need any elaborate preparation and you will this will also keep you happy till the Sunday late lunch.

While making ven pongal, make sure that you use rice which is sold especially for making pongal. As this rice happens to be new rice that is recently harvested and not aged, the pongal will come out nicely mashed. If you use any other type of regular rice, make sure that you add extra water and cook for longer time to prevent the rice from being grainy and separate.

You can cook the ven pongal completely in water or you can substitute half with milk. Adding milk will make the pongal more rich and very tasty. It also helps to cook the rice very soft and easily mashable. I have also stopped using Vanaspati for tadka and instead use a combination of ghee and oil as it will be easier on the stomach.

You can also check out Rava Pongal and Varagu Arisi Ven Pongal which also makes a nice variation to this regular one.

Ven Pongal recipe with step by step photos:

1. In a pressure cooker, add paasi paruppu (yellow moong dal) and roast till you get a nice aroma over low flame. Take care not to change the color.

2. Meanwhile wash rice well and add it to the pressure cooker. Add salt, water, milk (if using), mix well and pressure cook for 4 to 5 whistles.

3. In a mortar using a pestle, pound together pepper corns and cumin seeds coarsely. You can also use them as whole, but it will be more flavourful if you add pounded spices.

4. Heat a pan with ghee and oil. Add the pounded cumin-pepper and broken cashew nuts and cook over low flame till they become crisp and crunchy.

5. Next add ginger and curry leaves, Asafoetida and switch off the stove.

6. Open the cooker lid and check the consistency of the rice between your fingers whether its soft and easily mashable.

7. Transfer the tadka or seasoning to the pressure cooker and using a spatula mix vigorously distributing the seasoning evenly. A wooden spatula will work well.

8. Serve this ven pongal very hot along with medhu vada, coconut chutney, sambar and filter coffee for a sumptuous breakfast.

9. Drizzle more ghee on top of ven pongal before serving if you do not mind the calories.

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Ven Pongal Recipe details below: