Pongal is a delicacy from south Indian cuisine. There are two varieties of pongal; chakara pongal (sweet pongal) and ven pongal (savoury pongal). In tamil, pongal means ‘to boil over’.
Ven pongal is a very popular breakfast dish is Tamil Nadu made with just three main ingredients, rice, moong dal and ghee. Adding sufficient amount of ghee is very vital in making delicious pongal. It is a south Indian version of khichadi.
Traditional Indian diet consists of combination food in order to provide complete protein. Combination food contains both grain and a pulse variety as only combination of a grain and a pulse will provide all essential amino acids. And Ven pongal is a classic example of a combination food.
Rava pongal is a variation of ven pongal. In rava pongal, instead of rice, rava (semolina) is used. It is very easy to make and equally delicious. Semolina is called as rava in Tamil. This will make a very ideal breakfast option. Without further ado, lets go into the making of this dish.
| Ingredients | Quantity |
| Rava | 1 cup, 185 gms |
| Moong dal ( pasi paruppu) | ½ cup, 60 gms |
| Ghee | 3/4th cup, 75 gms |
| Cashew nuts | 3 tbsps, 30 gms |
| Pepper | 1 tsp, 3 gms |
| Cumin seeds ( jeera) | 1 tsp, 3 gms |
| Asafoetida ( hing) | ½ tsp, 1.5 gms |
| Turmeric powder | 1/8th tsp |
| Curry leaves | 1 tbsp |
| Salt | 1&1/2 tsp ( to taste) |
| Ginger | 1 inch |
Preparation time- 10 mins
Cooking time – 30 mins
Portion size- 4
Method
- Wash the moong dal twice and drain it completely.
- Add 3/4th cup water and turmeric powder and pressure cook the dal for 3 whistles.
- Mash the dal well and keep it aside.
- Dry roast the rava in a heavy bottom pan till it becomes warm. Remove and keep it aside.
- Add 3 cups of water to the pan and salt required.
- When the water starts simmering, add the rava slowly in a continuous stream while stirring continuously to avoid lump formation.
- When it starts thickening, close the pan with a lid and cook for 5 mins on a low flame till the rava is completely cooked and becomes soft.
- Now, add the cooked the moong dal and little ghee and mix well. Let it cook for 2 mins.
- Keep aside 1 tbsp ghee for seasoning and add the remaining ghee and mix well.
- Close the pan again with a lid and cook on a low flame for five minutes.
- Crush the pepper, cumin seeds and ginger to a coarse powder.
- Heat the remaining ghee for seasoning. Add the crushed pepper, cumin seeds and ginger.
- Saute and add the cashew nut, asafoetida and curry leaves.
- Saute till the cashew nuts turn golden and curry leaves turn crisp.
- Add the seasoning to the pongal and mix well.
- Serve rava pongal hot with gothsu or sambar and coconut chutney.
Nutritive value of Rava Pongal for one portion
| Energy | 431 kcal |
| Carbohydrate | 46 gms |
| Protein | 10 gms |
| Fat | 23 gms |
| Fibre | 1 gm |
| Iron | 2.17 mg |
| Calcium | 44 mg |
| Zinc | 0.5 mg |
Check detailed video recipe for Rava Pongal 👇