Pongal chutney – foggy mornings and steaming food.

Background:

Pongal chutney brings images of warmth in me. Always. Pongal being typically associated with Margazhi visually conjures up foggy mornings and the warm pongal sliding down my throat. The chillies in the chutney and the black pepper in the pongal warming my insides and the contented feeling of a full stomach.

Stuff you will need:

1 cup white rice
1/2 cup moong dhal
Salt to taste
Black pepper – 2 tsp broken
Cumin seeds/Jeera – 2 tsp
Curry leaves – 2 twigs
Cashews – 10 broken in half and roasted in ghee
Ghee – 2 tbsps
Ginger 1 inch cube – shredded

How to make it?

Pressure cook rice and dhal together with salt to taste with 5 cups of water. Heat ghee in a small tempering vessel. Add cumin seeds. As it browns add black pepper, curry leaves and ginger. Set aside. When the rice dhal mixture is done, add the seasoning and the roasted cashews. Using a flat ladle mix it all well. The resulting texture should be a soft mashed pongal with the smell of ghee emanating.

Serves two

Special Notes:

Pongal is usually served with coconut chutney. A handful of grated coconut, a handful of pottu kadalai, 2-3 green chillies and salt to taste. Grind it all up to make a smooth paste, season with mustard and urad dhal and its done!

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