Pongal (Kara pongal)

My love for pongal started during my oracle days. The cater managed to serve the best tasteless food, we used to wonder how he manged to do it. The two dishes that we could eat is Bisibele bath with Raitha and Pongal with Raitha. Till then I never used to like pongal not even in my bad dreams I would like to have this dish. Mom tho had stopped preparing this dish at home just because I did not prefer it.

I learnt to prepare this once I moved to Germany and these days this is one of the quick bfast or brunch that I can prepare.

Ingredients :
Rice : 1 cup
Moong Dhal : Half cup
Green chillies : 2 -3 Nos.
Pepper : 1 tea spn half crushed
Ginger : half inch finely chopped
Curry Leaves : 2 strings
Cashewnuts : 7 - 8 Nos
Cumin seeds - 1 tea spn<
Oil and Salt
Use pressure cooker / electric rice cooker or any vessel
Wash Moong Dhal and Rice and add water (Triple the qty of water that you would normally add to Rice. Now you have moong dhal also so add more accordingly) put some salt and slit green chillies into. Cook it till the water is almost absorbed and becomes a thick gravy consistancy. Pongal tastes good when its little watery than dry.Check if salt is fine else add more.
Seasoning : Take little ghee or oil in a pan once its hot add cumin seeds, cashewnuts, curry leaves, ginger, pepper and once it fried add it to the cooked pongal. There you go pongal is ready. Serve with chuttney or cucumber raitha.
*while preparing in a vessel other than cooker or electric rice cooker, stir it occasionally to ensure that it does not stick to the bottom of the vessel.
*while the pongal is cold and while reheating sprinkle some water on it and heat it so that it tastes just like the freshly made one.
* the proportion of Moong dhal can be increased from 1 rice : 1 moon dhal. I love the taste when its 1 rice : 0.5 moong