Ven Pongal / Khara Pongal / Ghee Pongal Recipe

Ven Pongal / Khara Pongal.

South Indian king of breakfasts Ven Pongal / Khara Pongal. Rice and dal/lentils cooked and tempered with cumin, pepper, ginger and ghee. With step by step pictures.

I was never a Ven Pongal fan until I became pregnant with my first born. I used to crave for a few things and Ven Pongal was high on that list. Not just any Ven Pongal. But Ven Pongal from a small little restaurant in San Jose called Komala Vilas. My husbands friend, whom we called Thambi used to come and stay with us over the weekends. Thambi is a foodie. He loved to eat out. So every Saturday, we would get up late, get ready and drive straight to Komala Vilas and have piping hot Pongal. Their Pongal was different. Pepper and Cumin was never whole in their Pongal. It was crushed, fried and then added. This little step took their dish to another different level. ‘What nicer thing can you do for somebody than make them breakfast?’ – Anthony Bourdain. So lets make some awesome Pongal. Come with me.

Note: The rice dal ratio – Generally the ratio is 1 rice : 1/2 dal. You can go upto 1:1 to have a very rich pongal. If unsure go with the 1: 1/2 ratio.

Soak rice in water. Preferably raw rice. I used Sona Masuri rice. Once we have done that, lets roast some lentils. Take split moong dal and dry roast it on a very low flame until you can smell the roasted dal. It would take approximately 3 minutes. Don’t roast for long. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water for a good 15 minutes or 10-12 whistles. We need to cook it until well done. I dont add the rice and dal directly in the cooker. I place some water in the cooker and place a bowl inside and add the rice, dal and water to the bowl. This way the rice mixture does not scorch in the bottom.

Coarsely grind pepper and cumin with the help of a mortar and pestle. Set aside. Mince a teaspoon of ginger very finely. You will need some green chillies and curry leaves too.

Heat some ghee and oil in a pan. I used 2 tablespoons of ghee and a tablespoon of oil. Add in the broken cashew nut, ginger, curry leaves and green chillies. Roast on a low flame. Once the nuts are roasted add in the pepper-cumin mixture. Roast briefly for 20 seconds.

Add in the cooked rice-dal mixture and salt. Mix everything to combine. Saute briefly for a minute or two. Remove off heat.

Serve hot with chutney and sambar.

Here is the recipe for sambar

Main Ingredients

• 1 cup Raw rice (sona masuri)
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup split moong dal (see notes)
• 4 cups water

Tempering Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon Ghee
• 1 tablespoon Oil
• 2 Tablespoon broken cashewnut
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Soak rice in water. Take split moong dal and dry roast it on a very low flame until you can smell the roasted dal. It would take approximately 3 minutes. Don’t roast for long. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water for a good 15 minutes or 10-12 whistles.
2. Coarsely grind pepper and cumin with the help of a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
3. Heat some ghee and oil in a pan. I used 2 tablespoons of ghee and a tablespoon of oil. Add in the broken cashew nut, ginger, curry leaves and green chillies. Roast on a low flame. Once the nuts are roasted add in the pepper-cumin mixture. Roast briefly for 20 seconds.
4. Add in the cooked rice-dal mixture and salt. Mix everything to combine. Saute briefly for a minute or two.
5. Remove off heat.

Notes

The rice dal ratio – Generally the ratio is 1 rice : 1/2 dal. You can go upto 1:1 to have a very rich pongal. If unsure go with the 1: 1/2 ratio.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: South Indian

Main Ingredients

• 1 cup Raw rice (sona masuri)
• 1/2 cup to 1 cup split moong dal (see notes)
• 4 cups water

Tempering Ingredients

• 2 tablespoon Ghee
• 1 tablespoon Oil
• 2 Tablespoon broken cashewnut
• 1 teaspoon minced ginger
• 1 teaspoon pepper
• 2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 green chillies, chopped
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 teaspoon salt

1. Soak rice in water. Take split moong dal and dry roast it on a very low flame until you can smell the roasted dal. It would take approximately 3 minutes. Don’t roast for long. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker with 4 cups of water for a good 15 minutes or 10-12 whistles.
2. Coarsely grind pepper and cumin with the help of a mortar and pestle. Set aside.
3. Heat some ghee and oil in a pan. I used 2 tablespoons of ghee and a tablespoon of oil. Add in the broken cashew nut, ginger, curry leaves and green chillies. Roast on a low flame. Once the nuts are roasted add in the pepper-cumin mixture. Roast briefly for 20 seconds.
4. Add in the cooked rice-dal mixture and salt. Mix everything to combine. Saute briefly for a minute or two.
5. Remove off heat.

Notes

The rice dal ratio – Generally the ratio is 1 rice : 1/2 dal. You can go upto 1:1 to have a very rich pongal. If unsure go with the 1: 1/2 ratio.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: South Indian

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/ven-pongal-khara-pongal/

Spicy Kongunad kozhi Kuzhambu-Kulambu / Chicken Curry/Kurma.

Easy recipe for South Indian Tamilnadu Kongunad style kozhi kuzhambu curry without coconut.-A sunday special. Serve with Rice or Roti/Chapati. With step by step pictures. Spicy Chicken kurma /Murg Korma.

The first time I ate chicken – kozhi Kuzhambu as a kid was at my aunt/my dad’s sisters place as my parents are vegetarian. We would visit my aunt once a month usually on Sundays. Sundays meant meat for lunch. Those days, in most of the homes in South India, meat was consumed only on Sundays. The men folk of the house would generally go and get the meat in the morning. The ladies of the house would start the ritual of grinding the masalas on the stone mortar just after breakfast. I would eagerly wait for lunch time as the whole house would start smelling like flavor town. This kozhi Kuzhambu curry takes me back to my childhood. Food is nothing but memories. This is my Aunt Sarasu Athamas Kozhi Kuzhambu recipe.

In the below picture, Sarasu athama can be seen decorating snack boxes for the grooms folks during my wedding at mid night. She was so tired that she could no longer sit that day. She is now 80. I pray to god to keep her in good health. Come with me and I will show you how to go to flavor town.

Here is the video of the recipe:

This kozhi Kuzhambu recipe has one raw masala paste and one fried masala paste. So lets make them. Shall we?

Kozhi Kuzhambu Raw Masala Paste You will need the following things for the raw masala paste. Grind everything as smooth as possible. You can add enough water while grinding to get the desired texture.

Kozhi Kuzhambu Fried Masala Paste

Heat oil in a pan and add in pepper, cumin seeds, curry leaves, coriander seeds and dry red chillies. Briefly roast for a minute in medium flame. Add in the onions and saute until the onions are slightly brown. Remove off heat. Empty the mixture in the pan to a bowl and let it cool slightly.

Take the empty pan and set on heat again. Do you see those brown bits sticking to the pan? Those are flavor bombs. De-glaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of water and allowing it to boil for a couple of minutes. Scrape the pan while boiling to remove off all the caramelized bits. Add it to the fried mixture.

Grind the mixture to a very smooth paste. Add enough water while grinding to get a smooth paste.

Now lets start building the flavors. We need to peel and finely chop about half a cup of shallots. Heat oil in a pan and add in 3 sprigs of curry leaves and the shallots. Fry till nice and translucent.

Add in the chopped tomatoes and turmeric and fry till the tomatoes are nicely cooked and juiced down.

Once the tomatoes are cooked, add in both the ground masala paste (raw and fried). Add 2 cups of water or as necessary. Add in the chicken pieces with the bone. Reduce the flame to low and let it simmer on a low flame for 40 minutes. Oh yes. 40 minutes. Stir the curry every 10 minutes once so it doesn’t scorch at the bottom of the pan. Finally add in the salt. My aunt almost always added the salt only at the end for this curry. So I do the same. Now, don’t ask me why?

After 40 minutes, Remove the pan from the heat and serve hot with rice.

Raw Masala Paste:

• 1 pod Garlic
• 1 tablespoon Fennel Seeds
• 1 inch Cinnamon
• 2 Cloves
• 3 teaspoon Poppy Seeds
• 1 small piece 1 inch Ginger

Fried Paste

• 1 tablespoon Oil
• 1 tablespoon Pepper
• 1/2 tablespoon Cumin seeds
• 1 sprig Curry leaves
• 1 tablespoon coriander seeds
• 3 dry red chillies
• 2 medium Onion, chopped

For the Gravy

• 3 tablespoon Oil
• 1/2 cup shallots
• 3 sprigs curry leaves
• 2 medium tomatoes, chopped
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1.5 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 kg chicken with bone

Raw Masala Paste

1. Grind everything as smooth as possible. You can add enough water while grinding to get the desired texture.

Fried Masala Paste

1. Heat oil in a pan and add in pepper, cumin seeds, curry leaves, coriander seeds and dry red chillies. Briefly roast for a minute in medium flame. Add in the onions and saute until the onions are slightly brown. Remove off heat.
2. Take the empty pan and set on heat again. De-glaze the pan by adding 1/2 cup of water and allowing it to boil for couple of minutes. Scrape the pan while boiling to remove off all the caramelized bits. Add it to the fried mixture.
3. Grind the mixture to a very smooth paste. Add enough water while grinding to get a smooth paste.

For the gravy

1. Heat oil in a pan and add in 3 sprigs of curry leaves and the shallots. Fry till nice and translucent.
2. Add in the chopped tomatoes and turmeric and fry till the tomatoes are nicely cooked and juiced down.
3. Once the tomatoes are cooked, add in both the ground masala paste. Add 2 cups of water or as necessary. Add in the chicken pieces with the bone. Reduce the flame to low and let it simmer on a low flame for 40 minutes. Oh yes. 40 minutes. Stir the curry every 10 minutes once so it doesn’t scorch at the bottom of the pan. Finally add in the salt.
4. After 40 minutes, Remove the pan from the heat and serve hot with rice.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 30 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hour
• Category: Main
• Cuisine: South Indian