Venn Pongal

Venn Pongal is a recipe that naturally suits an Ayurvedic diet. This is also a fantastic meal for your gut. It is simple to digest and comes together in minutes. I like using the Instant Pot since it makes for some hands off cooking.

Ingredients

1 C Short Grain Rice

3/4 C of Yellow Split Moong

1/2 Tsp of freshly ground pepper

1 inch of fresh grated ginger

3/4 Tsp of Pink Salt

For Tempering

1 Tsp of Cumin seeds

1/4 C of Raw cashews split in half

10-12 Curry leaves

1/2 Tsp of Peppercorn

1/8 Tsp of Asafoetida

2 Tbs of Ghee or Sesame Oil

1. Rinse your rice and lentils until the water runs clear.

2. Set your instant pot to sauté mode at medium heat for 10 mins. Add the ghee or oil, when the instant pot is heated.

3. Add the lentils and the rice. Sauté for 2-3 mins. Don’t burn the rice, you just want the grains coated with the oil.

4. Add the grated ginger, salt and ground pepper.

5. Add 5 C of water and cancel the sauté mode.

6. Put the lid on the instant pot, set it to manual at high pressure for 10 mins.

7. In the meantime, heat a small skillet or pan on the stove top.

8. Add 1 Tbs of oil or ghee. Once the oil is heated (~30 secs), add the tempering ingredients. Make sure that the cashews brown slightly and remove from heat. This is the best way to make sure nothing has burned.

9. By this time your grains should be cooked. Keep it at the “keep warm” setting of the instant pot for 10 minutes. At this point you can either release the pressure or let it release naturally.

10. Open the lid of the instant pot, add the tempering ingredients and mix well. Top your Pongal with some ghee/sesame oil and serve warm!

You can enjoy this as is or with some coconut chutney.