Foxtail Millet (or Thinai Pongal) is an easy and healthy South Indian recipe made with millets & yellow moong lentils. It is tempered in ghee with a few spices and can be prepared in an Instant Pot pressure cooker or on the stovetop.
Pongal is a traditional South Indian savory dish. It's very light on the stomach and very easy to prepare. Traditionally, ven pongal is made from rice, but today, I am sharing a healthy substitute made with millet. I have used foxtail millet in this recipe.
If you don't have foxtail millet at home, you can make this millet pongal with little millet (samai), kodo millet, or barnyard millet. They all taste equally good.
It is easy to cook, wholesome, and ready in under 30 minutes. This hearty meal is ideal for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. You can prepare it in an Instant Pot or traditional pressure cooker. Don't miss the sweet version, known as sakkarai pongal.
If you like this recipe, then check out more Indian Millet Recipes
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What is Foxtail Millet?
Foxtail millet, scientifically known as Setaria italica is a type of small cereal grain from the grass family, covered in a thin, crispy hull, usually available in a light yellowish-brown color.
Other names for foxtail millet include green foxtail, Italian millet, and German millet. The names in other Indian languages are
- Kannada – Navane
- Telugu – Korra
- Tamil – Tenai/Thinai
- Bengali - Kaon dana
- Hindi / Punjabi – Kakum/Kangni
Ingredients
- Millet - I have used the foxtail millet, but you can also use little millet, kodo millet, proso, or any variety for this recipe.
- Yellow Moong Dal - Use dehusked (skinless) split yellow moong dal.
- Black Pepper - Whole black peppercorns are used, but you may also use crushed black pepper if you prefer not to have whole peppercorns in every bite.
- Spices & herbs - I used cumin seeds, hing, ginger, curry leaves, and green chilies. They enhance the flavor and make the dish yummy.
- Ghee - Adding a good quantity of ghee, enhances the taste & aroma of the dish. But if you are a vegan, replace it with oil.
How to Make Foxtail Millet Pongal in Instant Pot
Firstly, Press SAUTE on the Instant Pot. Next, add 2 tablespoons homemade ghee (or oil) to the Pot. Note: Pongal tastes better with ghee.
Once hot, add 1 teaspoon jeera seeds and ½ teaspoon whole black pepper. You can also slightly crush and add it. Saute for a few seconds.
Next, add 2-3 green chilies (slit length-wise), 1 teaspoon ginger (finely chopped), 1 stalk curry leaves, 8-10 cashew nuts, and 1 big pinch asafetida. Saute for another minute or two till cashews turn light golden brown.
Next, add ½ cup of moong dal and saute well for 1-2 minutes until the dal turns light brown or aromatic.
Then add ½ cup of rinsed foxtail millet (you can use any other millet), 4 cups water, and salt to taste. Mix well.
Ensure you deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits to avoid BURN notice.
Seal the lid securely and set the vent to "SEALING". Then, choose the "PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL" setting on high pressure and adjust the cooking time to 8 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure before removing the lid.
Open the lid and mix everything well.
Note: If the Pongal is not mushy, select the sauté mode, add 1 cup of water, and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture boils.
Serve Foxtail millet pongal with yogurt, raita, or coconut chutney.
Traditional Stovetop Method
- Heat 1 teaspoon ghee in a pressure cooker and add the rinsed moong dal. Saute well for 1-2 minutes till the dal turns light brown or aromatic. Then, add rinsed millets.
- Add 4 cups of water, and 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 been released, open the lid and mix the mixture well.
- Meanwhile, in a pan, add the remaining ghee, once it's hot, add jeera, black pepper, and saute for a few seconds.
- Next, add the green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cashew nuts, and asafetida. Saute for another minute or two till cashews turn light golden brown.
- Add this tempered mixture to the millet pongal and bring it to a boil. Note: If the Pongal is not mushy, add 1 cup of water to adjust the consistency.
- Millet Pongal is ready.
What to Serve with Millet Pongal?
Millet Pongal goes well with spicy coriander coconut chutney, or vegetable sambar. You can also serve it with yogurt, papad/appalam, and pickles for a quick meal.
Variations
- Ratio: The ratio of dal to millet is a personal preference. I have used equal amounts of dal and millet to include more protein in the diet. But you can reduce the dal as well.
- Vegetables: To make this Thinai Pongal healthy, you can also add vegetables like carrots, green peas, beans, and spinach.
- Millets: You can also use any millet variety like Little Millet, Kodo Millet, Proso, or Sorghum.
- Other Grains: You can substitute millets for other grains, such as quinoa, rice, buckwheat, and broken wheat.
- Lentils: Split moong dal with husk (skin) also works well with this recipe.
- Vegan: Adding homemade ghee enriches the taste of Pongal, but vegans can skip ghee and replace it with any cooking oil.
Expert Tips
- Thoroughly wash the millet and moong dal to remove any dirt and excess starch.
- Pongal tastes best when made fresh and eaten hot.
- Pongal thickens slightly upon cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat them in a microwave or on the stovetop (adding water if necessary to adjust the consistency) just before serving.
- You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
More Indian Breakfast Recipes
Foxtail Millet Pongal (Thinai Pongal)
Ingredients
- ½ cup foxtail millet
- ½ cup yellow moong dal
- 4 cups water + 1 cup extra to adjust consistency
- 2 tablespoon ghee (vegans can replace ghee with oil)
- 1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- ½ teaspoon whole black pepper
- 2-3 green chilies
- 1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped
- 1 stalk curry leaves
- 8-10 cashew nuts
- a big pinch hing (asafoetida)
- salt to taste
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Firstly, Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Next, add ghee or oil to the POT. Note: Tastes better with ghee.
- Once hot, add in the jeera, black pepper. Saute for a few seconds.
- Next, add the green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cashew nuts, and asafetida. Saute for another minute or two till cashews turn light golden brown.
- Next, add the rinsed moong dal and saute well for 1-2 minutes until the dal turns light brown or aromatic.
- Then add the millets, water, and salt to taste. Mix well. Ensure that you deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits to avoid BURN notice.
- Seal the lid securely and set the vent to "SEALING". Then, choose the "PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL" setting on high pressure and adjust the cooking time to 8 minutes.
- When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure before removing the lid.
- Open the lid and mix everything well.Note: If the Pongal is not mushy, select the sauté mode, add 1 cup of water, and cook for 1-2 minutes or until the mixture boils.
- Serve Foxtail Millet Pongal with yogurt, raita, or coconut chutney.
Traditional Stovetop 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 millets.
- 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 jeera, black pepper and saute for few seconds.
- Next add the green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cashew nuts and asafetida. Saute for another minute or two till cashews turn light golden brown.
- Add this tempered mixture into the pongal and boil. Note: If pongal is not mushy then add 1 cup of water and adjust consistency.
- Millet Pongal is ready, serve with yogurt, raita or coconut chutney.
Notes
Tips
- Thoroughly wash the millet and moong dal to remove any dirt and excess starch.
- Pongal tastes best when made fresh and eaten hot.
- Pongal thickens slightly upon cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat them in a microwave or on the stovetop (adding water if necessary to adjust the consistency) just before serving.
- You can store the leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 days.
Variations
- Ratio: The ratio of dal to millet is a personal preference. I have used equal amounts of dal and millet to include more protein in the diet. But you can reduce the dal as well.
- Vegetables: You can also add vegetables like carrots, green peas, beans, and spinach to make this Thinai Pongal recipe healthy.
- Millets: You can also use any millet variety like Little millet, Kodo Millet, or Proso.
- Other Grains: You can substitute millets with other grains like quinoa, rice, sorghum, buckwheat, and broken wheat.
- Lentils: Split moong dal with husk (skin) also works well with this recipe.
- Vegan: Adding homemade ghee enriches the taste of Pongal, but vegans can skip ghee and replace it with any cooking oil.
Nutrition
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Satya
Tame came out good. I have added rice too but it became overcooked I think for 8 min in Instant pot. I cannot see any grains, it became almost like paste
Bhavana Patil
Hi Satya, I cook regular khichdi with rice on High pressure for 8 Minutes. I get a good consistency. Somtimes it may depend on the rice quality, if using basmati rice try 6 minutes, if sona masuri 8 minutes is good.
Akshya
Turns out great and is such a comfort food! We now prefer this to rice pongal. I increased jeera and black pepper by 50% for some extra oomph, and also crushed them in a mortar and pestle.
Bhavana Patil
Thank you so much trying and sharing your feedback Akshya, Glad you liked it.
Anonymous
Do we need to soak millets
Bhavana Patil
No Need to soak if you are making in a pressure cooker or instant pot.If you have time then you can soak for 15-30 minutes.