PONGAL DAY SPECIAL – VARIETY OF RICE RECIPES!

BROWN RICE PONGAL

Prep Time: 20 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Servings- 8

Ingredients

3/4 cup Brown Rice

1/2 cup Moong Dhal

3 cups Water

1½ Cup Jaggery

1 Cup Coconut

¼ tsp Cardamom powder

Ghee

Cashews & Raisins

Method

1. Rinse and soak the brown rice for 1 hour. Drain water and keep aside.
2. Lightly roast the dry moong dal for 4-5 minutes until aromatic. Do not brown it.
3. In a pressure cooker, take the drained rice, roasted moong dal with 3.5 cups of water. Pressure cook for 2 whistles and then cook on sim for 15 minutes.
4. Meanwhile, in a heavy bottomed pan, place the grated jaggery along with 3-4 tbsp of water until you get a melted liquid jaggery.
5. Once the cooker has cooled, add the cooked dal-rice to the melted jaggery, adding some more water if required and bring this to a simmer, adding 1 tbsp ghee to it at this stage.
6. Crush the pods of the green cardamom and add it to the simmering pongal.
7. Heat the remaining ghee in a small pan or a tadka ladle, add the raisins and chopped nuts and stir until the raisins puff up and the almonds are golden brown.
8. Remove the pongal into a serving bowl and add the raisins and almonds as a garnish.

TAMARIND PONGAL

Prep Time: 30 mins

Cook Time: 40 mins

Servings- 10

Ingredients

1 cup Broken Rice

Tamarind - small lemon sized

3 tbsp Gingelly Oil or Sesame Oil

½ tsp Mustard Seeds

½ tsp Ured Dhal

½ tsp Channa Dhal

1 tsp Peanuts

3 Red Chillies

½ tsp Turmeric Powder

A pinch of Asafetida

Curry Leaves - a handful

1 tsp Salt or as needed

Method

1. Soak tamarind in a cup of hot water for 10 minutes and extract juice and keep aside. If you want you can use tamarind paste.
2. In a pressure cooker, heat gingelly oil and add mustard seeds.
3. When it splutters add ured dhal, channa dhal, asafetida and peanuts and roast foe some time.
4. When it turns red add curry eaves and red chillies and saute for a minute.
5. Now add the broken rice, tamarind juice and 1 and a half cup of water along with salt and turmeric powder.
6. Close the pressure cooker with the lid and pressure cook for 3 whistles.
7. When cooled remove the lid and mix well.
8. Serve hot with Coconut Chutney or pappadam.

GHEE RICE

Prep Time: 35 mins

Cook Time: 30 mins

Servings- 8

Ingredients

1.5 cups Basmati Rice

3 tbsp Ghee 

15 Cashews

2 tbsp Raisins

2.5 cups water for cooking rice

Salt to taste

1/3 cup Fried Onions

1/4 cup Coriander leaves

1 Bay leaf

1 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Black Peppercorns

2 Cardamoms

2 Cloves

A small Cinnamon stick

Method

1. Wash and soak basmati for 30 minutes.
2. Drain water and take it in a pan.
3. Heat ghee in a pan.
4. Add cinnamon, green cardamom, cloves and black peppercorns handle them crackle for a few seconds.
5. Add cashew nuts and fry until they are slightly browned.
6. Now add raisins and fry until they plum up.
7. Remove with a slotted spoon and set aside.
8. To the same ghee, add onions and fry until they turn brown.
9. Add cloves, bay leaves, cinnamon and crushed cardamom.
10. Add enough water to cook the rice and salt to tate.
11. Boil on low flame and when the rice is 90% cooked, drain it on a sieve and set aside.
12. Add hot milk and saffron and set it aside.
13. In a pan heat ghee and roast cashew nuts and raising until crisp.
14. Remove them and add the rice to the same pan.
15. Mix well, pour the saffron milk, keep flame low, cover and cook for 5 minutes.
16. Garnish with the roasted nuts and raisins and serve it

IN CONCLUSION

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