KUTHIRAIVALI(BARNYARD MILLET) PONGAL

Pongal is a savory dish of rice and lentils in South India similar to the Khichdi in the North. I have supplemented the rice with Barnyard Millet, called Kuthiraivali in Tamilnadu. These millets are high in fibre and are gluten-free. So for all the health freaks,  here's the recipe for you. This is a simple one-pot recipe. It makes a great breakfast option as compared to the rice Pongal, as it is lighter.  

PREP TIME: 20 Mins                                           COOK TIME: 15 Mins

TOTAL TIME: 35 Mins                                        COURSE:  MAIN 

CUISINE: NORTH INDIAN                                 SERVINGS: 4

                                                                               AUTHOR: Rajni Ram

 

Ingredients:

Kuthiraivali(Barnyard Millet) 1.5 cups

Moong dal/ split green gram 1/2 cup lightly roasted

Pepper-Cumin powder 2 tsp (dry roast in the ratio 2:1 cool and grind coarse)

Salt as per taste

Cashewnuts 6-7 

Ghee 1 tbsp

Curry leaves a few

Ginger 1 tsp finely chopped

Asafoetida 1 tsp

Turmeric powder

Directions :

Roast the moong dal to a light brown. Put the Millet in a vessel add the roasted dal to it and wash them nicely. Now put them into a pressure cooker and add 4 cups water, the salt, and turmeric powder and cook for 5 whistles. Let the pressure release. Now open the lid and give a light mash to the millet- dal mixture. It would have absorbed all the water while cooking, so pour another 1 to 1.5 cups of water and stir nicely. Now in a small tadka kadai put in 1 tbsp of Ghee and heat. Put the Cashewnuts in and fry them to a light brown. Remove them from the ghee and set aside. Now to the same ghee add Cumin seeds, let them splutter add-in the ginger, pepper- cumin powder, asafoetida, and curry leaves and fry them well in the ghee. Transfer this into the cooker. The Kuthiraivali Pongal is ready. Serve with some coconut-coriander chutney. 

STEPWISE RECIPE FOLLOWS:

1. Assemble all ingredients. Roast the moong dal and keep it ready.

2. Wash the Kuthiraivali/Barnyard millet and moong dal and transfer them to a small pressure cooker. If using big cooker follow pot in pot method( that is putting the contents into a vessel and putting that vessel into the cooker). Pour 4 cups water and pressure for 5 whistles. Once the pressure releases check if the mixture is well cooked. They should be quiet soft, If not put back in the cooker for another 2 whistles.

3. The mixture will be a little solid, add around 1 to  1.5 cups of water, and loosen up the mixture.

4. In a tadka, Kadai, or small tempering pan add the ghee and let it heat. Add the cashews and fry to a light brown. Remove from ghee. To the same ghee add the cumin. Once they splutter add in the ginger, pepper-cumin powder, curry leaves, and asafoetida. fry nicely for a minute and pour it into the dal-millet mixture. The Kuthiraivali Pongal is ready  

Notes:

1. If using pot in pot method then after pressure cooking, you can make the tempering in a bigger pan and add the rice dal mixture to the pan.

2. While adding water to the Pongal after pressure cooking to loosen it, you can add hot water instead of room temperature one.

3.Pepper -cumin powder  direction pictures below--

 If you tried this recipe and liked it please do comment below. I would love to hear from you.