What is Ven Pongal ?
Ven Pongal, refers to the spicy Pongal, which is made as a comfort food in most South Indian homes for breakfast. It is made with lots of ghee/clarified butter and peppercorns and Mung beans/Green gram dhal. A quick, easy and healthy South Indian breakfast to prepare.
“Ven” means white in the South Indian language of Tamil.
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What is Pongal?
PONGAL , the harvest festival is dedicated to the Sun God, Surya celebrated by the Tamil people in the South of India for four days .It is observed at the start of the month Thai according to the Tamil solar calendar. This festival corresponds to Makara Sankranti, the harvest festival under many regional names celebrated throughout India
Pongal is also the name given to the rice dish prepared in the South of India, especially Tamil Nadu during this festival. The word “Pongal” in the South Indian language of Tamil means to bubble up and overflow.
What are the two different types of Pongal that are prepared?
- Chakarai Pongal ( “chakarai” means sweet )
- Ven Pongal (“Ven” means white )
Chakarai Pongal is made with rice boiled with milk and jaggery and is a sweet dish. This festive food is mostly made during the harvest festival of Tamil Nadu which is named by the same word, “Pongal”.This dish is prepared in earthenware pots on a wood fire during this festival and shared amidst family and friends.
Chakarai Pongal is also prepared as prasadam (an offering made to the deity) in the temples and then distributed among the devotees gathered in the temple.
Ven Pongal, on the other hand , refers to the spicy Pongal, which is made as a comfort food in most South Indian homes for breakfast. It is made with lots of ghee/clarified butter and peppercorns to add a tinge of spice & flavor.
Ven Pongal , is a healthy dish too, since it contains *Mung/Green gram dhal which is high in protein content, peppercorns and ghee.A very easy and quick dish to prepare and the most comforting and delicious dish to taste.
Ven Pongal Recipe
Step by step instructions on how to make it
Ven Pongal| How to make it?
4
servings5
minutes10
minutes131
kcal15
minutesIngredients
1 cup 1 Raw Rice
3/4 cup 3/4 Mung bean/Green Gram Dhal
2 cups 2 Milk
2 cups 2 Water
1 tbsp 1 Peppercorns
2 2 Green chilies
A pinch Turmeric powder
1 tsp 1 Jeera/Cumin seeds
1/2 tsp 1/2 Mustard seeds
a few a few Curry leaves
1/2 tsp 1/2 Salt
A pinch Hing/Asoefoetida
1 tsp 1 Oil
3 tsp 3 Ghee
Directions
- Wash the raw rice & mung beans/green gram dhal well & place them in the pressure cooker. Add jeera/cumin seeds, turmeric powder oil, milk & water to the rice & mung beans, stir.
- Close the lid & pressure cook till you hear 3 whistles. Allow it to cool a bit, then remove whistle and open the lid. Set aside.
- Meanwhile in a small seasoning pan add the ghee, when it is warm add the green chilies, pepper corn, hing/ asoefoetida and season with mustard seeds & curry leaves.
- Add this seasoned mix into the slightly cooled contents in the pressure cooker, add salt to taste.
- Mash the rice, to get an almost a porridge like consistency.
- Serve hot with coconut chutney/sambar.
Notes
- A most loved comfort breakfast in South Indian homes, which is healthy for children and elderly alike. Quick & easy to prepare.Tastes delicious with dollops of ghee/clarified butter.
Nutrition Facts
4 servings per container
- Amount Per ServingCalories131
- % Daily Value *
- Total Fat 9g 14%
- Saturated Fat 5g 25%
- Cholesterol 22mg 8%
- Sodium 425mg 18%
- Potassium 194mg 6%
- Total Carbohydrate 9g 3%
- Dietary Fiber 1g 4%
- Sugars 7g
- Protein 4g 8%
- Vitamin A 4%
- Vitamin C 4%
- Calcium 15%
- Iron 6%
* The % Daily Value tells you how much a nutrient in a serving of food contributes to a daily diet. 2,000 calories a day is used for general nutrition advice.
Some of my links to previously published posts related to this Indian festival , Pongal are listed below for your interest :
One of all time favourite dish….it’s a comfort food..thank you Maya for sharing the recipe. I add few cashews for seasoning…to add that extra richness. Perfect presentation. Keep posting many such traditional recipes.
Thank you, Chethana, for stopping by my blog and leaving your kind comments, so appreciate it. What better day to post Pongal recipes than today, right, so posted one of Spicy and one of sweet Pongal along with a post to share the significance of the festival itself and how it is celebrated in the South of India, so appreciate your kind words .