South Indian
Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu Savory Rice and Moong Dal)
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Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu Savory Rice and Moong Dal) is South Indian home cooking, eaten at breakfast. On the plate it is the dish at the centre. Below is what usually sits beside it, what it does and does not contain, and what else to cook once you have made it.
Ingredients
The quantities follow this count.
How to cook it
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Dry roast the moong dal in a pan until lightly golden and fragrant, then rinse it together with the rice.
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Pressure cook the rice and dal with the water and salt until soft and mushy, about 4 whistles, then mash lightly with the back of a ladle.
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Heat the ghee in a small pan and fry the cashews until golden, then add the cumin, crushed pepper, ginger, and curry leaves and let them sizzle.
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Pour the tempering over the mashed rice and dal and stir to combine, loosening with a splash of hot water if it looks too thick.
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Serve the pongal hot, with extra ghee spooned over the top.
Watch how to cook Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu Savory Rice and Moong Dal)
Someone making it start to finish, so you can see what the steps look like.
Serve it with
A South Indian breakfast is a plate rather than a single dish. These are the courses that normally sit beside Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu Savory Rice and Moong Dal), read from the same composition Dinejot builds a real meal from.
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The sharp little thing
Safe at your table
Dinejot tracks ten allergens and tags every one of them by hand, so the absences below are as deliberate as the presences. Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu Savory Rice and Moong Dal) carries tree nuts and dairy. It is free of the remaining 8 allergens on that list.
| Allergen | In this dish | Cook this instead |
|---|---|---|
| Peanuts | No | |
| Tree nuts | Yes | Adai (Tamil Nadu Multi-Lentil Dosa) |
| Dairy | Yes | Adai (Tamil Nadu Multi-Lentil Dosa) |
| Gluten | No | |
| Shellfish | No | |
| Eggs | No | |
| Soy | No | |
| Fish | No | |
| Sesame | No | |
| Coconut | No |
These tags are set by a person rather than inferred from an ingredient list, and they describe the recipe as written here. Read the labels on whatever you actually buy.
What it brings to the plate
Estimated, per serving
- Calories
- 380 kcal
- Protein
- 9 g
- Carbs
- 44 g
- Fat
- 19 g
- Fiber
- 3 g
- Sugar
- 2 g
- Sodium
- 580 mg
- Saturated fat
- 10 g
Estimated values. Actual nutrition varies with ingredients, brands, and how you cook.
When to cook it
Ven Pongal (Tamil Nadu Savory Rice and Moong Dal) takes about 35 minutes from a cold stove to the table, and the cooking itself is a fair bit of work. It is eaten at breakfast. Nothing in the calendar rules it out, so it is a year round dish. It also turns up at Pongal.
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Cook this with your whole family
Dinejot plans breakfast, lunch and dinner as whole plates, built around the cooking you call home and filtered for the allergies at your table.
Meal suggestions support your goals. They are not medical advice. Please ask your doctor about your family's health needs.