Rava Pongal | Cream of wheat and lentil porridge

Wish you all a very happy Makar Sankranti | Lohri | Pongal!

Festival for me is all about having great time with family, cooking, eating & serving good food, not to forget to worship the God. We had a great weekend & hence was tired to cook elaborate meal on Monday morning. Since, it is the festival, I did not want to skip the tradition of making the pongal, both khara & sweet! I made this rava pongal instead of the regular rice pongal.

Pongal tastes divine with just a couple of ingredients that goes in. The magic of pongal lies in the ghee/clarified butter that is added!

Here goes the recipe for it.

Preparation Time: 5 mins
Cooking Time: 15 mins (except the lentil cooking time)
Serves: 2-3

Ingredients:

• Moong dal/Split green gram lentils/Hesaru bele: 1/3 cup
• Cream of wheat/Rava/Uppittu rave: 1 cup
• Ghee/Clarified butter/Tuppa: 3 tbsp(divided use)
• Pepper powder: 1/4 tsp
• Pepper pods: 6-8 nos
• Cumin seeds: 1/2 tsp
• Cashew nuts: a fistful
• Curry leaves: 4-5 nos, torn
• Salt: As needed
• Water: 3 cups

Method:

• Heat the 1 tsp ghee in a pressure cooker. When ghee is hot, throw in the moong dal & saute the dal on medium heat until it slightly changes its color. Add in around a cup of water & pressure cook the dal for two whistles or 15 mins on medium heat. Allow it to cool.
• Meantime, heat a tbsp of ghee in a wok. When hot, throw in the cream of wheat & roast on a medium heat for 5-7 mins. The cream of wheat should turn golden brown & the aroma of the roasted rava should fill your kitchen!
• Boil 3 cups of water in a sauce pan.
• When the lentils are cooled, mash them thoroughly. (Refer notes)
• Heat 1 tbsp of ghee in a broad pan. When ghee is hot, add in the cumin seeds & the cashew nuts. When nuts turn golden brown, throw in the curry leaves, pepper pods & pepper powder.
• When curry leaves wilt, add the hot water & salt.
• Pour in the roasted rava & mix well. Ensure no lumps.
• Add in the mashed dal & mix again. Cook it covered over low-medium heat for couple of minutes.
• Turn off the heat. Add couple of teaspoons of ghee, mix well & serve!

Notes:

1. My family prefers grainy dal over completely mashed. Hence, I keep them a little coarse (as seen in the picture).
2. Coconut chutney & kootu is a great combination for pongal.