Pongal With Gotsu

As we all are ready to celebrate Pongal festival in a week’s time, I thought of sharing a few types of pongal recipes. So I am kick starting with the most traditional one "Ven Pongal with gotsu".

Ven pongal and gotsu is the standard Saturday morning breakfast at my house, its are family's favorite food. Love to have pongal with hot ghee on top it with gotsu or sometimes with sambar, what’s more comforting than this for a weekend.

Ven pongal is a very traditional south Indian food. No restaurant menu card in Tamil Nadu is complete without pongal. Each restaurant have their own way of preparation, the recipe below is the way most of the families in Tamil Nadu make pongal at home.

Ven pongal is not only famous in restaurants, but it is very popular in many temples in south India. This pongal is offered to god as a Neivedhyam / prasadam. Love the ven pongal given at Tirupathi temple at Andhra. Mom makes it for Krishna Jayanthi / Krishnaastami also.

Ingredients For Pongal :

Raw rice / Sona Masoori rice – 1 cup
Moong Dal – ½ cup
Water – 4 cups
Ghee – 2 tablespoons
Whole pepper corns – 10 to 15
Cumin seeds – 2 teaspoon
Hing – 1 pinch
Cashew nuts – 10 to 15 broken
Ginger – 2 teaspoons finely minced
Curry leaves – 10 leaves
Salt

Procedure :

Wash and soak rice and dal for 30 minutes. Then measure water and mix the dal and rice. Add salt and hing powder. Now cook this mixture rice cooker or in normal pressure cooker. If using pressure cooker allow it cook for 3 to 4 whistle or sound.

In a separate tadka/ popu pan add ghee let it heat and add whole pepper corns then cumin seeds, when the cumin seeds turns light brown color add the minced ginger waiter for few seconds then add cashew nuts, hing powder and let the cashews fry and finally add the curry leaves and let it splutter then remove from the heat and add it to the cooked pongal and mix it well.

Ingredients For Gotsu :

Purple brinjal – 1 cup finely cubed
Moong dal – 1/ 4 cup
Hing – 1 pinch
Garlic – 2 pods
Onions – 1 lager diced
Tomato – 2 large diced
Green chili – 4 slit
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Chili powder – ¼ teaspoon
Salt
Oil – 2 tablespoon

For Tadka
Mustered seeds – 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves – 10 leaves

Procedure :

Cook and mash moong dal with turmeric, hing and garlic. Set is aside

In medium sauce pot heat oil add mustered seeds and curry leaves, let them splutter. Then add the onions and sauté it for few minutes then add tomatoes and fry. Then add the cubed brinjals and sauté it.

Now add salt, chili powder and fry. Pour 1 cup of water and cook the brinjal covered for 5 minutes, it should be almost mashable. Then pour the cooked dal mixture to the sauce pot and cook it for few seconds. Finally add some coriander leaves and mix well until every thing is combined. Serve it hot with pongal.




You may also like my: