Pongal is a delicious and comforting South Indian style rice and lentils dish. My recipe is made in an Instant pot which makes it very easy and convenient. A perfect one pot meal.
Katte pongali or Venn pongal is a savory rice and lentils dish that is very popular in South Indian cuisine. It is a one pot meal that is hearty and comforting.
My mom used to make it for breakfast/ brunch. But I make it as a meal for any time of the day. It is also a perfect dish to make during dasara or any other Indian festival.
This is a easy to make recipe that takes about 10 minutes of hands on time. I use the instant pot because it is so much easier and more convenient. The use of ghee gives the dish its characteristic flavor and taste.
In addition to this savory version, a sweet pongal is also made with jaggery. Both of these ghee laden rice dishes are served as prasad (offering) to devotees in Hindu temples.
Ingredients
This recipe uses basic pantry ingredients:
Rice - I use sona masoori variety. You can use other short or medium grain rice. Do not use aromatic variety like basmati or jasmine.
Moong dal - you can use either split, skinned or split without skin. Traditionally it is made with split, skinned moong dal and that is what I usually use.
Ghee - adds a lot of flavor to this dish. But if you are vegan, then feel free to use oil.
Other ingredients you need are:
- Peppercorns & cumin seeds
- Ginger, green chilies and curry leaves
- Hing, turmeric and salt
- Cashews (optional)
Instructions
Traditionally Pongal is made in a pressure cooker or in a pan. But I have found that the Instant pot works the best for me as it is hands free. I can set it up and go about doing other stuff. Here's how I make it in an Instant Pot.
Set the Instant Pot on 'Saute' mode. Add the moong dal and rice to the pot and roast for 2~3 minutes or until fragrant. Turn off the instant pot and remove rice and dal into a sieve and wash well under water.
Return them to the Instant pot and add turmeric, salt and water. Set it on 'Manual/ Pressure cook' and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
In the meantime, coarsely grind peppercorns and cumin seeds and set aside.
In a small pan, heat ghee and oil on medium heat. Add the freshly ground pepper-cumin powder, hing, grated ginger and curry leaves. Cook for 1~2 minutes or until fragrant.
Add this tempering to the cooked rice and dal. Mix well to combine.
At this point, if the pongal looks too thick, then add ½~1 cup of water to get to a porridge like consistency. Serve hot with chutney or sambar or plain yogurt.
Tips
- I recommend using short or medium grain rice. Avoid using basmati or jasmine or other aromatic variety.
- Use a combination of water and milk to make a creamy and soft pongal.
- To make in a pressure cooker, follow the same process but cook for 3~4 whistles.
- Vegetables like carrot, onion, potato, green peas etc. can be added to make this a wholesome meal.
Frequently Asked Questions
The main ingredients used in both of these dishes are similar - rice and lentils. In the south, pongal has a creamy consistency and is usually made without any veggies. North Indian version, Khichdi, is more pilaf-like and might have vegetables added.
Traditionally pongal is served with gosthu (vegetable side dish) in Tamil Nadu. In Andhra it is served with your favorite chutney or sambar.
Few more south Indian recipes to try:
- Tomato Moong dal
- Curd Rice | Daddojanam
- Palakura Punukulu (Spinach lentil fritters)
- Mysore Kuzhambu
- Vankaya tomato pachadi (Eggplant-tomato chutney)
- Sorakaya kobbari karam (bottle gourd in coconut curry)
Pongal
Ingredients
- ½ cup Moong dal
- 1 cup Rice*
- ½ teaspoon Turmeric
- To taste Salt
- 4 cups Water*
- 1 teaspoon Peppercorns
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 3 tablespoons Ghee*
- 2 tablespoons Oil
- ½ teaspoon Asafoetida
- 2" Ginger piece, finely grated
- 3 Green chilies, slit
- 6~8 Curry leaves
- 2 tablespoons Cashews
Instructions
- Set the Instant Pot on 'Saute' mode. Add the moong dal and rice to the pot and roast for 2~3 minutes or until fragrant. Turn off the instant pot and remove rice and dal into a sieve and wash well under water.
- Return them to the Instant pot and add turmeric, salt and water. Set it on 'Manual/ Pressure cook' and cook on high pressure for 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- In the meantime, coarsely grind peppercorns and cumin seeds and set aside.
- In a small pan, heat ghee and oil on medium heat. Add the freshly ground pepper-cumin powder, hing, grated ginger and curry leaves. Cook for 1~2 minutes or until fragrant.
- Add this tempering to the cooked rice and dal. Mix well to combine.
- At this point, if the pongal looks too thick, then add ½~1 cup of water to get to a porridge like consistency. Serve hot with chutney or raita.
Notes
- I recommend using short or medium grain rice. Avoid using basmati or jasmine or other aromatic variety.
- Use 3 cups of water and 1 cup of milk to make a very-soft pongal.
- To make in a pressure cooker, follow the same process but cook for 3~4 whistles.
- Vegetables like carrot, onion, potato, green peas etc. can be added to make this a wholesome meal.
Parita
Nice Combo Pavani...Pongal looks yummy similar to khichdi isnt it?
Pooja
Pongal is looking lovely..
Ramya Vijaykumar
pongal has come really well Pavani... Love the color... Havent tried with tomato raita...
Prathibha
my comfort food....lovely colour..
A 2 Z Vegetarian Cuisine
Nice picture, haven't tried with tomato raita, good combo.
Suparna
Hi Pavani,Pongal is an any time comfort food, tomato raita works well with pongal 🙂 ur pongal looks vry pleasant and tasty.TC
Red Chillies
This is one of our favorite comfort and go-to meal. Healthy and delicous isn't it?
varunavi
Loved the pongal.I used to feed my kids this almost everyday,now i stopped it.
Finla
Looks creamy and delicous.
Lubna Karim
Oh wow pongal looks drooooooolworthy.....
Cham
I never tasted pongal with raita, delicious!
Rajesh Kumar
Wow looks really delicious. I would like to try this soon :-order online food delhi
Mona Kumari
Thank you for sharing this information and Very good looking blog.very informative article.laxmi nagar restaurant, indian food,chinese food
Usha Rao
Made IP pongal for lunch and it was an easy peasy process. Thanks for the recipe.
Chef Mireille
I love ven pongal and since I have recently gotten an IP been looking for recipes to try. This one came out perfect. Thanks as I now have more recipe to add to my IP repertoire.
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
We love ven pongal and making it in IP has been a breeze. Looks so perfect Pavani and it's absolutely a keeper recipe.