Pongal

The rice is cooked in boiling milk, and the name means boil over.

Vegetarian, but not vegan — contains dairy (ghee), dairy (whole milk).

Ingredients

250 g rice
100 g mung beans
700 ml whole milk
400 ml water
2 teaspoons black pepper, coarsely crushed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
a 4 cm piece of ginger, grated
1/4 teaspoon asafoetida
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
20 curry leaves
60 g cashew nuts
5 tablespoons ghee
1 1/4 teaspoons salt

Method

THE RICE IS COOKED IN BOILING MILK, AND THE NAME MEANS BOIL OVER. Its article gives both in its first lines: a dish of RICE COOKED IN BOILING MILK, and the name LITERALLY TRANSLATES TO "BOIL OVER" OR "OVERFLOW". It even records what is shouted while it cooks -- "Pongalo pongal!", let the pongal rise up. So the pot boiling over is not a mishap, it is the thing the dish is named for, and the practical consequence is that it needs a far bigger pan than the quantity suggests.
MILK, NOT WATER, IS WHAT MAKES IT. Seven hundred millilitres against four hundred of water. Milk scorches and it climbs, which is why it needs watching and a heavy base.
THE PAN IS NO MORE THAN HALF FULL. It will rise to the rim.
THE MUNG BEANS ARE DRY-ROASTED BEFORE THEY GO IN. Until they smell nutty, four or five minutes. Its article calls venn pongal a RICE AND LENTIL PORRIDGE SIMILAR TO KHICHDI, and the roasting is most of what separates the two.
THE PEPPER IS COARSE AND THERE IS A LOT OF IT. Two teaspoons, cracked. Its article lists black pepper first among the spices, and in the white version it is the whole seasoning.
THE CASHEWS ARE FRIED IN GHEE AND ADDED AT THE END. With the curry leaves and cumin.
IT IS SOFT AND ALMOST POURABLE WHEN IT COMES OFF THE HEAT. It sets firm within ten minutes, so it is served immediately.
THE SWEET VERSION IS A DIFFERENT DISH AND ITS ARTICLE NAMES IT. Sakkarai pongal, with JAGGERY, cardamom, cashews, raisins and nutmeg, offered and then eaten. No pepper, no salt, no asafoetida.
ITS ARTICLE NAMES TWO MORE. Kozhi pongal with chicken and sanyasi pongal with vegetables. The white one is eaten for breakfast with coconut chutney.

Our own recipe. This one was written for this site rather than taken from anywhere, so there is no source to point you at. The quantities and the order of the steps are choices, not the only way to do it.

Filed under India · All recipes