Pongal [Pon – gul, rhymes with sea-gull] is a classic one item meal most popular as a breakfast in South India. It would not be an overstatement to say that most South Indians would have eaten it at least once. Here I present what I consider a slightly offbeat variation of the commonly known recipe, the origin of which goes somewhat like this.
I was in Dubai this May and as a frazzled mom of a toddler who was on a hunger strike for what seemed like days, I was all ears for any trick that showed the slightest chances of working. So, while sharing each other’s motherhood experiences, my co-sister ((India) one’s husband’s brother’s wife) suggested using okra in the traditional Pongal as one of the toddler pleasing food ideas. Okra in Pongal is not instantly intuitive, you think? I had heard it the first time too, but I was ready to give it a shot if my tiny one opened her mouth. I tried this recipe at the first chance I got to cook for her and lo and behold, she liked it and finished the plate too.
I do not know if it was only to do with the Okra, but she ate and that’s what counts. If you have a trying toddler like mine you are most likely nodding by now. Go ahead and try and let me know if you got a seal of approval from yours. For those of you who have never eaten Pongal once or eaten the original one a gazillion times, whatever your excuse, it sure is worth a try.
The recipe here is adapted for the serving size needs of a toddler and yields about 2 – 3 servings depending upon his/her appetite.
Things’s you’ll need:
- 2 okra / Lady’s finger finely chopped
- 1/2 Carrot finely chopped
- 5-6 stems Dill weed chopped (Sapsige soppu, kannada)
- 1/2 medium tomato finely chopped
- 1/4 Onion minced
- 1/8 cup Split yellow dal (Split Moong dal)
- 1/8 cup Rice
- 1/4 tsp Turmeric
- 1 tsp Cumin seeds (Jeera)
- Ground Black pepper to taste (optional)
- 4 Cashews coarsely crushed
- 2 -3 tsp Ghee (Clarified Butter)
- Salt to taste
- 1 1/2 cups Water
How it’s done:
- Dry roast the rice and dal until rice turns opaque and dal turns light golden making sure not to burn them. Alternatively, microwave the rice and dal for a 1 to 1- 1 /2 mins checking in between. Optionally, a drizzle of ghee can be used for roasting the rice and dal mix.
- Heat ghee in a pressure cooker, when it is hot enough add the cumin seeds and let it crackle. Add in the cashews.
- When the cashews turn light golden, sauté the minced onions along with turmeric.
- When the onion turns translucent, add in the okra and sauté till the okra is no longer sticky.
- Add in the chopped carrots and dill weed and sauté for a few more minutes.
- Finally add in the chopped tomato, sauté and add ground pepper and salt to taste.
- To this, add the roasted rice and dal mix and stir for few more minutes till all the veggies stick well to the rice.
- Now add the water, cover and pressure cook until at least 3 whistles.
- When the cooker cools, serve with a drizzle of ghee.
Rice and Yellow dal microwave roasted
Veggies ready for the Pongal
Rice, dal and vegetable mixture before pressure cooking
Tips:
- Do not let the ghee smoke or burn. If that happens, discard and restart (I know it feels terrible to waste ghee!)
- For more servings, increase the vegetable proportions and just add water 6 times that of rice & dal mix to yield a soft and porridge like Pongal. Example, for 1 cup of mix i.e, 1/2 and 1/2 cup of rice and yellow dal, add 6 cups of water.
- A small pressure cooker say of 2 or 3 liters is very handy to cook small quantities especially for “toddler only” food.
Loved it, looks like I just added a new dish to my comfort food list! Delicious! 🙂