Pongal

This is one of my most favorite South Indian dish.

I always had south Indian food during my college days in Matunga, a locality in Mumbai which is full of south Indian Restaurants.

The best Pongal I had was on my trip to Tirupati and Chennai and since then was hunting for a recipe.Finally a colleague of mine from Chennai shared a recipe and I modified it a little for my taste buds. It turned out to be successful.Here is it


Ingredients
Moong Daal and Rice (Equal Quantity)
Cumin Seeds
Pepper corns
Pepper Powder
Grated Ginger
Red dried chilly
Curry Leaves
Cashewnuts,Raisins 10-12
Grated Coconut
Ghee
Milk
Salt to taste
Water


Procedure

Cook the rice and moong dal together in a separate utensil

In another pan add ghee add Cumin Seeds,Pepper corns,Pepper Powder,Grated Ginger,
Red dried chilly and Curry Leaves.Let it fry for a while add cashews and raisins.Add salt to taste and grated coconut.Now add the boiled Moong dal+Rice.
Add some milk and water.Once it becomes soft add some ghee.

Serve hot with Sambhar

Chef's Tips:
1)Never Pressure Cook the Rice Moongdal Mixture as it becomes too soft.Cook it in an open utensil.Cook it 75-80% as later when you add it to mixture it gets perfectly cooked
2)When you add cumin and pepper corns to ghee, wait for pepper corns to pop and then add rest of the ingredients
3)You can substitute red chillies with green chillies depending on your taste.I recommend red chillies as it gives a wonderful aroma.
4)You can add coconut milk instead of grated coconut
Bon Appetit
Ash