Pongal Varities

Vegetable Pongal

January 21, 2014 By

When I was a kid I loved to to have Raw veggies like cabbage , long beans , french beans, even ladies finger but My kid is totally opposite she never likes veggies only cheese . Am sure many mom’s might be worrying about it and trying something different to attract kids and indulge them in having more veggies in their diet. So when I was thinking about how I can give her the veggies she doesn’t like to have them in raw form I made this delicious pongal for her lunch and she liked it a lot with some color peeping there and she had no clue what they were and enjoyed them . For my BM 3 day of pongal series I made this yummy kid friendly pongal. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 36.

Vegetable pongal is mainly made with rice and moong dal as we make ven pongal but adding veggies to it increases the nutrients and makes it more healthy. I used ghee to make this pongal as kids love the flavor of ghee and tastes yummy. Pressure cooker makes it easy but if you don’t want the veggies to mash up then you can cook the rice and lentils separately in pressure cooker and then saute the veggies separately till they are turn , then transfer the veggies to the cooked and mashed rice and lentil . I served this with the Tri color capsicum thogayal but any chutney and sambhar can go with this. Any method you do it will taste good. So with any ado lets move the recipe..

Ingredients

Rice – 1 cup
Green Gram Dhal / Moong dal ( yellow one) –1/2 cup
Chopped vegetables – 2 cups (I used carrot and frozen peas)
Curry leaves – few
Green chillies – 2 No
Fresh ginger – a small piece
Asafotida – A pinch
Black Pepper pd – 1/4 tsp
Urad dal / Black gram dal – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Cashew nuts – few
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Water – 4 1/2 cups
Salt to taste

Method

In a pressure cooker heat ghee add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and then curry leaves.
Wait till they splutter and then add urad dal and saute till they turn light brown.
Add green chillies,ginger,Asafoetida, chopped vegetables and saute for a while.
Then add washed and drained rice and moong dal .
Mix well and then add water, pepper pd, salt.
Close the pressure cooker lid and cook them for 3-4 whistles .
Mean while heat 1 tsp ghee and Roast the cashews till light brown. Keep them aside.
After 3-4 whitles switch off the flame and wait till the pressure subsides.
Open the lid and give the pongal a quick mix .
Add the roasted cashew to the pongal and mix them.
Serve them warm with any chutney and sambhar.

Kaadaikkanni Pongal / Oats Pongal

January 19, 2014 By

Its weekend and its a busy day for all I hope.. If you are looking for a delicious and a quick breakfast which is perfectly healthy then this must be a option. Oats is rich in fibre rich and a gluten free option to be included in diet of all ages . So thinking of preparing some healthy and delicious breakfast i ended up making this yummy oats pongal. Pongal is always my family favorite breakfast , instead of making them rice i made it with oats and they turned out so gud .

Oats pongal is a quick to make tiffin which needed very less time of cooking and more over if you make it in pressure it can be made in jiffy. Many people include oats in their diet for is nutrient content and most probably it gluten free. As pongal is an very traditional South Indian dish giving it a twist was very interesting.. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 36. So make this healthy and yummy oats pongal and enjoy !!

Ingredients

Oats – 1/2 cup ( I used Old fashioned )
Moong dal / Green gram dal – 1/4 cup
Ginger – a small piece
pepper corn – 2-3 NO or pepper pd – 1/4 tsp
cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Green chillies -2 No
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Oil – 1 tbsp ( I used olive oil )

Method

In a pressure cooker heat oil , add cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves .
After they splutter add ginger, green chillies saute for a while.
Then add 4 1/2 cups of water, salt , pepper corn and let it boil .
After it boil add oats , and dal and mix them well.
Close the lid and cook them till 3-4 whistles .
Switch of the flame and wait till the pressure subsides.
Open the lid and give them a mix .
Serve this healthy pongal with any chutney and sambhar for breakfast or tiffin .

Godhumai Rava Pongal / Crackled Wheat Pongal

January 17, 2014 By

Am sure all would have enjoyed pongal festival , am here today with a very healthy pongal recipe. I love ven pongal for breakfast a lot and used to enjoy them with chutney and sambhar. As many people were asking me to share some healthy recipes here is a healthy pongal recipe with out using rice. As we all know too much intake of rice lead to increase in weight , so diet conscious people generally try to avoid taking rice in their diet first . If you seriously want to loose some weight you should first stop taking lots of rice . So if not rice what can be the other substitute for it – crackled wheat , semolina, oats, Barley, ragi etc there are so many options i can keep on going.

Godhumai rava / crackled wheat is a very healthy option for diabetic patience and can be made in several diffrent delicious ways . One such way to make a tasty dish is pongal. Crackled taste yummy when included with lentils and I tried making this pongal for our breakfast. They taste so delicious and they are very healthy. If you are looking for recipes to skip rice then this is a very nice option . Kids too will enjoy this delicious pongal .For this weeks blogging marathon I have chosen pongal varities so 2 more pongal to come stay tuned..Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 36.. Now lets quickly move to the recipe..

Ingredients

Crackled Wheat / Godhumai rava – 1 cup
Moong dal – 1/2 cup
Pepper corn – 3-4 Nos or Pepper pd – 1/4 tsp
Curry leaves – 1 sprig
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Turmeric pd – 1/4 tsp
Urad dal / black gram dal – 1 tsp
Green chilli – 2 nos
Ginger garlic paste – 1 tsp
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Cashew – 4-5 No ( lightly roasted in ghee)
Salt to taste

Method

In a pressure cooker heat ghee , add Mustard seeds, cumin seeds, curry leaves , urad dal.
After they splutter, urad dal turns slight brown add ginger garlic paste and saute them .
Now add green chillies and saute them .
Add the crackled and saute for a while .Then add moong dal , to this add 4 1/2 cups of water
Add the pepper corn / pepper pd, turmeric pd and salt . Mix them well and close them with lid.
Put the whistle on and cook for 3-4 whitles.
After 3-4 whistles switch off the flame and wait till the pressure subsides.
Open the lid and mix them well.
Granish them with roasted cashew and drizzle some ghee on top.
Serve this healthy pongal with an chutney and sambhar.

Sakkarai Pongal with Jaggery ( Pongal spl )

January 14, 2014 By

Pongal / Makar sakranti is celebrated all over India but as am a Chennaite I used to enjoy those pongal holidays a lot. We used to get 4 days holidays and lots special program in TV was so much fun . Other than that our neighbors used to share all those yummy treats they made for pongal . Sugar cane is another reason why i love pongal festival ,I just love to enjoy the juicy sugar canes which i miss today. Pongal / Makar sakratri is winter harvest festival celebrated all over India by different names . As am a north indian we make sweet and savory vada’s but in Tamil nadu it is celebrated for 4 days – Bhogi, Thai pongal, Mattu pongal , Kaanam pongal each day has it own significance.

People make sweet savory pongal varieties and vadas this day , served ( bhog/ padayal) to god then they enjoy the festival with family. On the last day thats is on kaanam pongal with family they have a fun time at beach or some entertaining places like to watch movie etc . So this festival bring so many happy faces to enjoy !! So I made sakkarai pongal and masala vadai for this auspicious day 🙂 Wish you have a very happy pongal / makar sakrantri 🙂 ..Ok now over to the recipe..

Ingredients

Moong dal – 1/4 cup
Rice – 1/2 cup
Milk – 1 cup
Water – 1 1/2 cup
Ghee – 3- 4 tbsp
Cashew nut – 4-5 Nos
Raisins – 3-4 Nos
Jaggery pd – 1 cup
Cardamom pd – a pinch

Method

Wash and Soak rice and dal for 15 mins.
Drain the water from rice and dal , In a pressure put rice , dal, water ad milk.
Pressure cook them for 3- 4 whistles then turn off the flame .
After the pressure subsides open the lid and and mash them well with a ladle.
In a sauce pan take the jaggery pd and 1/2 cup water , boil them till one string consistency .
To check the one string just drop the syrup with a ladle it should form a string while flows drown.
After it attains the one string consistency add the syrup to the cooked and mashed rice and dal also add the cardamom pd .
In a low flame mix them well till well combined and add ghee .
Cook them for 2 mins while mixing them .

In a another sauce pan heat 1 tbsp ghee and saute cashews and raisins till they turn slight brown .
Transfer the roasted cashews and raisins to the pongal and mix well.
Enjoy them warm!!

Linking this to Tamizhar samayal Tuesday whose brain child is +nalini suresh .