Instant Pot Ven Pongal

Ven Pongal, also known as Khara Pongal, is a simple and easy classic South Indian breakfast recipe made with rice & yellow moong lentils in ghee and a few Indian spices in an Instant Pot and Stovetop Pressure Cooker.

Pongal is a hearty, spicy porridge-style dish to start your day on a healthy note and a perfect festive recipe & one pot healthy meal.

Pongal, Idli Vada combo is one of the most popular breakfast items you will find in any South Indian restaurant in India.

This Pongal is the South Indian version of moong dal khichdi. It is also known as Khara Pongal or Khara Huggi in Karnataka and Pesara Pappu Pongal in Telugu. It's very light on the stomach and very easy to prepare. Pongal food is suitable and nutritious for infants and toddlers. Also, if you are looking for a healthier variation, try my Millet Pongal.

Today I am sharing the One-Pot Ven Pongal recipe, which I have prepared in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT. Traditionally rice and dal are first pressure-cooked, and then ghee tempering is poured over cooked rice dal mixture and simmered for a few minutes.

Looking for more South Indian Rice Recipes, check Bisi Bele Bath, Ghee Rice, Lemon Rice, Menthya Bhat, Vegetable Pulao.

What is Pongal?

Ven Pongal recipe is a spicy and savory version where rice and moong dal are cooked together and tempered with cumin, pepper, ginger, and ghee. There's also a sweet version of Pongal known as Sakkarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal) made with jaggery instead of spices.

Pongal (Festival)

Pongal festival is a multi-day harvest festival of South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, that marks the first day of the sun's return journey to the northern hemisphere, widely known as Makar Sankranti in India, typically celebrated on January 14.

Ven Pongal Ingredients

• Yellow Moong Dal – Use skinless split yellow moong dal.
• Rice – I have used Sona masoori white rice but you can also use Seeraga samba rice, Kolam, Ponni for this recipe. Avoid using Basmati rice, brown rice for an authentic recipe.
• Black Pepper - Traditionally whole black peppercorns are used, I have used crushed black pepper since I don't like whole black pepper coming in every bite. Or simply use ½ teaspoon of ground black pepper.
• Spices & herbs - Do not skip any spices & herbs like cumin seeds, hing, ginger, curry leaves for this recipe. They enhance the flavor and make the dish yummy.
• Nuts – Use Cashews-nuts. But you can skip it too if you have a nut allergy.
• Ghee – Adding a good quantity of ghee, enhances the taste & aroma of the dish. But if you are a vegan replace it with oil.
• Edible Camphor – a pinch of Edible camphor (pacha karpoora) can be added to get Temple style Ven Pongal taste. If it's not readily available, skip it.

I have shared instructions for making ven Pongal for Instant Pot and Stovetop pressure cooker below.

How to Make Ven Pongal in Instant Pot?

Press SAUTE (Normal) on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil into the POT. Note: Tastes better with ghee

Once the pot is hot, add in the cumin seeds, black pepper, and cashew nuts. Saute for 30 secs or till cashew nuts turn golden brown.

Add the chopped green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and asafetida. Saute for another 30 secs.

Next, add the washed dal and rice. Saute for 1-2 minutes until dal turns light brown or aromatic.

Add water, salt. Mix well.

Close the lid on the pot, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position.

Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 8 minutes.

Once the pot beeps, wait till the pressure releases naturally. Next, open the lid and mix everything well.

Note: If rice is not mushy, select saute mode, add 1 cup of water, and cook for 1-2 minutes or till mixture boils.

Instant Pot Pongal recipe is ready, serve with yogurt, raita, or tamarind chutney.

Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method

• Heat 1 teaspoon ghee in a pressure cooker and add the washed dal, Saute well 1-2 minutes till dal turns light brown or till aromatic. Then add rice.
• Add 4 cups of water, mix well.
• Close the lid and put the whistle weight on. Cook for 3-4 whistles on medium flame and turn off the gas.
• Once the pressure has released, open the lid and mix the mixture well.
• Meanwhile in a pan add the remaining ghee, once it's hot add cumin (jeera), black pepper, cashew nuts. Saute for 30 secs or till cashew nuts turn light brown in color.
• Add the chopped green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and asafetida. Saute for another 30 secs.
• Add this tempering into the cooked moong dal rice mixture and boil. Note: If rice is not mushy then add 1 cup of water and adjust consistency.
• Serve with chutney, sambar, raita, or tamarind chutney.
  

Serving Suggestions for Khara Pongal

Serve piping hot Pongal dish with spicy coconut chutney or sambar. You can also serve it with papad, raita, and pickle for a quick meal.

Tips

• Pongal tastes best when made fresh and eaten hot.
• Traditional Pongal recipe is made with small grain rice such as sona masuri or seeraga samba rice.
• Pongal thickens a little on cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat in a microwave or on stovetop (add hot water if required to adjust consistency) just before serving.

Variations

• Ratio of dal to rice is a personal preference. I have used equal amounts of dal and rice to include more protein into the diet. But you can reduce the dal as well.
• You can also add some vegetables like carrots, peas, spinach to make this Pongal healthy.
• Adding ghee enriches the taste of pongal but Vegans can skip ghee/clarified butter and replace with any cooking oil.
• You can also use husked split moong dal, makes this moong dal khichdi more healthy.
• Use the same recipe to make healthy pongal recipe with millets, quinoa, rava, oats.

FAQs

More South Indian Breakfast Recipes to check

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Instant Pot Ven Pongal (Khara Pongal)

Bhavana Patil

Ven Pongal also known as Khara Pongal is a classic South Indian breakfast dish made with rice & yellow moong lentils in Instant Pot and Stovetop Pressure Cooker

4.95 from 18 votes

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Servings: 4

Calories : 319

Course: Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine: Indian, South Indian, Tamil Nadu

Diet: Gluten-Free, Vegetarian

Method: Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker

Prep Time : 5 minutes

Cook Time : 15 minutes

Total Time : 20 minutes

Equipment

• Instant Pot/Pressure Cooker
• Stove Top Pressure Cooker

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

Measuring Cup used [1 cup = 250 ml]

• 2-3 tablespoons Ghee (Clarified Butter) (Vegans can replace ghee with oil)
• 1 teaspoon Cumin (jeera) seeds
• 1 teaspoon Black Pepper corn (whole or crushed)
• 2 Green Chillies
• 1 teaspoon Ginger finely chopped
• 1 stalk Curry leaves
• 8-10 pinch Cashew Nuts optional
• 1 pinch Hing (Asafoetida)
• ¾ cup Split Yellow Moong Dal
• ¾ cup White Rice short grain rice preferable (or quinoa ,millets)
• 4 cups Water + 1 cup extra to adjust consistency
• Salt adjust to taste

Instructions

 

Instant Pot Method:

• Press SAUTE mode(Normal) on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil in to the POT.

  Note:Tastes better with Ghee
  
• Once POT is hot, Add in the cumin, crushed black pepper and cashewnuts. Saute for 30 secs or till cashew nuts turn golden brown in color.
  
• Add the chopped green chilies, ginger ,curry leaves and asafoetida. Saute for another 30 secs.
  
• Next, add the rinsed dal and rice. Saute well 1-2 minutes till dal turns light brown or till aromatic.
  
• Add water, salt.Mix well.
  
• Close the lid on the pot.Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set timer to 8 minutes.
  
• Once the pot beeps ,Wait for NATURAL PRESSURE RELEASE(NPR).
• Open the lid and mix pongal well.

  Note: If rice is not mushy then select saute mode and add 1 cup of water and cook for 1-2 minutes or till mixture boils.
  
• Pongal is ready, serve with yogurt, raita or tamarind chutney.

Indian Pressure Cooker Method:

• Heat 1 teaspoon ghee in a pressure cooker and add the washed dal, Saute well 1-2 minutes till dal turns light brown or till aromatic.Then add rice.
• Add 4 cups of water ,mix well.
• Close the lid and put the whistle weight on. Cook for 3-4 whistles on medium flame and turn off the gas.
• Once the pressure has released, open the lid and Mix the mixture well.
• Meanwhile in a pan add remaining ghee ,once its hot add cumin/(jeera) ,black pepper, cashewnuts. Saute for 30 secs or till cashew nuts turn light brown in color.
• Add the chopped green chillies, ginger ,curry leaves and asafetida. Saute for another 30 secs.
• Add this tempering into the cooked moong dal rice mixture and boil.

  Note: If rice is not mushy then add 1 cup of water and adjust consistency.
• Pongal is ready, serve with chutney, sambar, raita or tamarind chutney.

Video

Notes

I have prepared this dish in my electric pressure cooker, Instant Pot DUO60 6 QT

 

Tips

• Pongal taste best when made fresh and eaten hot.
• Using small grain rice such as sona masuri or Seeraga Samba rice is preferred to make traditional Pongal.
• Pongal thickens a little on cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and re heat in a microwave or on stove top (add hot water if required to adjust consistency) just before serving.

Variations

• Ratio of dal to rice is a personal preference.I have used equal amounts of dal and rice to include more protein into the diet.But you can reduce the dal as well.
• You can also add some vegetables like carrots ,peas ,spinach to make this Pongal healthy.
• Adding ghee enriches the taste of pongal but Vegans can skip ghee/clarified butter and replace with any cooking oil.
• You can also use husked split moong dal, makes this moong dal khichdi more healthy.
• Use the same recipe to make healthy pongal recipe with millets ,quinoa ,rava ,oats.

 

Note:Nutrition values are my best estimates. If you rely on them for your diet, use your preferred nutrition calculator.

Nutrition

Calories: 319kcalCarbohydrates: 54gProtein: 7.3gFat: 8.1gSaturated Fat: 4.3gCholesterol: 16mgSodium: 3.4mgPotassium: 207mgFiber: 3.8gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 200IUVitamin C: 0.8mgCalcium: 30mgIron: 1.8mg

Keyword how to make pongal, instant pot pongal, khara pongal, ven pongal

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