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When it is gloomy, cold and raining, it is time to reach for my pot. Oh shush, I am speaking of my Instant Pot!

When I was growing up in my village, during the winter months of December/January, if we went to the temple early in the morning, the priest would serve us a hot cup of Pongal. Ever since then, I have always associated winter mornings to the taste of a good Pongal. Over the years, I have ever so slowly perfected my own homemade Pongal. Recently, I have updated my recipe to make this cooking very simple using an Instant Pot.
For my non-South Indian friends, Pongal is the South Indian equivalent to a spicy western porridge. It has become a national breakfast food in India, and a very popular dish in the South. You can make this recipe a vegan dish by simply substituting the butter with a suitable vegetable oil. It is gluten free if you avoid the hing.
Here is my recipe. Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Print Recipe

Pongal

Pongal is the South Indian equivalent to a spicy western porridge. It has become a national breakfast food in India, and a very popular dish in the South. You can make this recipe a vegan dish by simply substituting the butter with a suitable vegetable oil. It is gluten free if you avoid the hing.

Course

Rice

Cuisine

Indian

Prep Time

5 minutes

Cook Time

10 minutes

Passive Time

10 minutes

Servings

people

Ingredients

• 2/3 cup Raw rice
• 1/3 cup Split yellow moong dal pasi paruppu
• 20 Cashew nuts Dry roasted with salt
• 1 tsp Salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp Butter
• 1/2 tsp Hing Asafoetida Powder
• 2 tsp Ginger finely chopped
• 1.5 tsp Cumin seeds Jeera seeds
• 2 tbsp Black Pepper Freshly cracked black peppercorn
• 1 Green chile One long. Split into half along the length
• Curry leaves few optional

Course Rice Cuisine Indian Prep Time 5 minutes Cook Time 10 minutes Passive Time 10 minutes Servings people Ingredients 2/3 cup Raw rice 1/3 cup Split yellow moong dal pasi paruppu 20 Cashew nuts Dry roasted with salt 1 tsp Salt to taste 2 Tbsp Butter 1/2 tsp Hing Asafoetida Powder 2 tsp Ginger finely chopped 1.5 tsp Cumin seeds Jeera seeds 2 tbsp Black Pepper Freshly cracked black peppercorn 1 Green chile One long. Split into half along the length Curry leaves few optional

Instructions

1. Put moong dhal in a small pot on medium heat and dry roast until it is hot to touch. Do not over roast it. Make sure you turn the moong dhal over constantly so as to make the roasting uniform.
2. Plug in the Instant pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to change the digital display to ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté. In the Instant Pot inner pot, add the butter. Once it is melted, add hing, add finely chopped ginger, sauté for 2-3 seconds, then add pepper (best if you have freshly ground pepper) and cumin seeds. Add salt. Add the green chilie. If you want to add more flavor, add a bit of ground cumin powder. Adjust the ‘sauté’ temperature down if needed. Sauté for another 1 min. You can add fresh curry leaves. Make sure nothing burns or stick to the bottom of inner pot. Add roasted moong dhal and the rice.
3. Add three cups of water. The amount of water you add would vary based on the rice you use. I use Thai Jasmin rice for my cooking. Adjust as needed.
4. On manual, under high pressure, with vent sealed, cook for 8 min. Let it cool down naturally.
5. Open the lid, add the Cashew nuts, and thoroughly mix.