Foxtail Millet or Thinai Pongal also known as Navane Pongal in Kannada is an easy and healthy South Indian recipe made with millets & yellow moong lentils in ghee tempered with few spices in an Instant Pot Pressure Cooker or stovetop.
Pongal is the South Indian version of moong dal khichdi. It's very light on the stomach and very easy to prepare. Generally, Pongal is made from rice but today I am sharing a healthy substitute made with millets. I have used foxtail millet in this recipe you can also use Little Millet (Samai).
Foxtail Millet in Indian Languages
Foxtail Millet is a type of small cereal grains from the grass family. Millets release Glucose slowly into the bloodstream as against highly processed Rice & wheat which release it very quickly. Millets are highly nutritious and rich in calcium, protein, fiber and the list goes on. They are gluten-free, unlike wheat.
- Hindi / Punjabi – Kakum/Kangni
- Kannada – Navane
- Telugu – Korra
- Tamil – Tenai/Thinai
Don’t have an Instant pot? You can easily make this millet Pongal in the normal Indian/stovetop pressure cooker. I have provided the steps below.
LOOKING FOR MORE BREAKFAST RECIPES Then do check Hariyali Poha, Karnataka Style Mandakki Usli, Spicy Tawa Idli, Palak Moong Dal Dosa, Pav Bhaji Dosa, Restaurant Style Upma.
If you don't have Foxtail millet at home, You can make this millet Pongal with little millet (Samai), Kodo millet, or barnyard tastes equally good.
What to Serve with Millet Pongal?
Millet Pongal dish is usually served with some spicy chutney or sambar. You can also serve it with some papad and pickle for a quick meal.
How to Make Foxtail Millet Pongal in Instant Pot
Firstly, Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil to the POT. Note: Tastes better with Ghee.
Once hot, add in the jeera, black pepper. Saute for few seconds.
Next add the green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, cashew-nuts, and asafetida. Saute for another 30 secs till cashews turn light golden brown.
Next, add the rinsed moong dal and saute well 1-2 minutes till dal turns light brown or till aromatic.
Then add the millets, water, and salt to taste. Mix well. Make sure to Deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits to avoid BURN notice.
Close the lid on the pot. Set the pot to MANUAL/PRESSURE COOK (High Pressure) and set the timer to 8 minutes.
Once the pot beeps, let the pressure release naturally.
Once the pressure has released, open the lid and mix millet Pongal well. Note: If Pongal is not mushy then select saute mode and add 1 cup of water and cook for 1-2 minutes or till mixture boils.
Foxtail Millet Pongal is ready, serve with yogurt, raita or coconut chutney.
Tips to Make Millet Pongal
- Pongal tastes best when made fresh and eaten hot.
- Pongal thickens a little on cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat in a microwave or on the stovetop (add water if required to adjust consistency) just before serving.
Variations
- The ratio of dal to millet is a personal preference. I have used equal amounts of dal and millet 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 thinai Pongal recipe healthy.
- Adding ghee enriches the taste of Pongal but Vegans can skip ghee/clarified butter and replace it with any cooking oil.
- You can also use husked split moong dal, which makes this moong dal millet khichdi more healthy.
- You can use the same recipe to make quinoa, rice, broken wheat Pongal. Just replace millets with rice, broken wheat, or quinoa.
If you like this recipe, then checkout more Millet Recipes from my blog
Foxtail Millet Pongal
Ingredients
Measuring cup used 1 cup = 250 ml
- ½ cup Foxtail millet
- ½ cup Yellow Moong Dal
- 4 cups Water +1 cup extra to adjust consistency
- 2 tablespoon Ghee/Clarified Butter (Vegans can replace ghee with oil)
- 1 teaspoon Cumin (jeera) seeds
- ½ teaspoon Whole Black Pepper/Pepper corns
- 2-3 Green Chillies
- 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:
- Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Add ghee or oil in to the POT.Note:Tastes better with Ghee.
- Once hot, add in the Cumin/Jeera, Black Pepper. Saute for few seconds.
- Next add the green chillies, ginger ,curry leaves ,cashew-nuts and asafetida.Saute for another 30 secs till cashews turn light golden brown.
- Next, add the rinsed moong dal and saute well 1-2 minutes till dal turns light brown or till aromatic.
- Then add the millets, water and salt to taste.Mix well.Make sure to Deglaze the bottom of the pot to remove any stuck bits to avoid BURN notice.
- 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 ,let the pressure release naturally.
- Once the pressure has released, open the lid and mix millet pongal well.Note: If pongal is not mushy then select saute mode and add 1 cup of water and cook for 1-2 minutes or till mixture boils.
- Millet Pongal is ready, serve with yogurt, raita or coconut 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 millets.
- Add 4 cups of water, mix well.Close the lid and put the whistle weight on. Cook for 4-5 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 and saute for few seconds.
- Next add the green chillies, ginger ,curry leaves ,cashew nuts and asafetida.Saute for another 30 secs 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
- Pongal tastes best when made fresh and eaten hot.
- The ratio of dal to millet is a personal preference. I have used equal amounts of dal and millet 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 thinai Pongal recipe healthy.
- Adding ghee enriches the taste of Pongal but Vegans can skip ghee/clarified butter and replace it with any cooking oil.
Nutrition
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Anonymous says
Do we need to soak millets
Bhavana Patil says
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.