Rava Pongal or Semolina Pongal is a healthy South Indian breakfast recipe made using rava or sooji and moong dal. It is also made for the festival of Sankranti and is one of my favorite rava breakfast recipes. Here is how to make this simple yet very delicious recipe.
A healthy and delicious breakfast can literally make your remaining day better!
And that is why it is important to have a wholesome breakfast before you leave home for work.
As South Indian breakfast recipes are my favorite, today I am making Rava Pongal.
It is a simple recipe from Tamil Nadu which is popularly made for the festival of Pongal.
It is a one-pot dish made using Rava or sooji and moong dal.
It’s a nice variation of the classic Ven Pongal or Khara Pongal and is a delicious South Indian breakfast recipe made in a pressure cooker.
You can try the sweet Pongal version too which is called Shakkrai Pongal.
I usually make it for my weekday breakfasts, as it is super easy to make and tastes delicious too.
The best part you can even pack it for your Lunch Box.
You can also try your hands on some other South Indian Breakfast recipes – Rava Upma, Ven Pongal, Ragi Idli, Egg Dosa and Ragi Vermicelli.
What is Rava Pongal?
It is a popular South Indian breakfast dish where rava or sooji and moong dal is cooked along with ginger until it is cooked properly.
It is a simple breakfast recipe that gets ready in just 15 minutes.
Process
To make this dish, you have to first roast moong dal and rava until they are fragrant and slightly browned and then add them in a pressure cooker along with water, ginger, and salt and pressure cook until the rava and dal are softened.
Now heat ghee in a pan and add cumin seeds and chillies and cashew nuts.
Fry the cashew nuts until they turn golden in color and then pour this tempering over the cooked moong dal and rava pongal and serve hot.
I add finely chopped ginger to my pongal but since husband and kid are not a big fan of ginger coming in their mouth, I skip it whenever I make it for them.
But I strongly recommend adding some grated or finely chopped ginger to your Pongal.
Make it for breakfast and with Sankranti coming very soon, this could a lovely dish to make for the festival too.
Make sure the Pongal is not lumpy.
Roasting the rava helps a lot and it is a must for making sure it doesn’t clump up.
Pongal tastes best just out of the cooker. If you plan to prep in advance, roast the dal and rava and keep.
Just add water and pressure cook 10 minutes before you plan to serve it.
Pro Tips by Neha
Use coarse rava to make pongal.
Coarse rava is also called as Bombay Rava.
Make sure to roast the rava until browned.
It will not only increase the flavor of the dish but will also make sure the pongal is not lumpy.
To make the process quicker, you can roast the rava in bulk and store it in an airtight container whenever you have spare time.
You can use this roasted rava to make many dishes.
This pongal taste best when prepared fresh. Make the quantity only for one meal.
In case you have more, add some water to it before refrigerating.
The pongal with become thicker when refrigerated and adding some water to it will take care of the consistency.
Adding enough ghee is very important to make good pongal otherwise it will become like a paste.
You can add finely chopped veggies like carrots, beans, etc to this dish.
Serving Suggestions
I like to serve Rava Pongal with mango pickle, coconut chutney, and a drizzle of ghee.
You can also serve it along with Sambar of your choice. Papad on the side is a must for me personally.
This spicy Bombay Chutney goes very well with it too.
Step By Step Recipe
Dry roast the Dal until it is slightly fragrant and then wash it nicely.
Dry roast the rava until slightly fragrant. Do not brown.
Drain the dal and add it in a pressure cooker along with rava. Add water, ginger and salt and pressure cook till done. Remove the pressure cooker from heat and let the pressure release. Slightly mash the pongal with the back of a ladle until it is slightly mushy and creamy. Add more water if required.
Heat ghee in a pan.
Once the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds, heeng, curry leaves, green chilli and peppercorns and let them crackle for a few seconds.
Add cashew nuts and fry until they are slightly browned. Pour the tempering over the pongal. Mix and simmer for a minute. Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambhar.
Rava Pongal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Rava
- 1/4 cup Yellow Moong Dal
- 3 cups Water
- Salt to taste
- 1 tsp Ginger (Grated)
For tempering
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 1 tsp Jeera
- 1/4 tsp HIng
- 10-12 Curry Leaves
- 2 Green Chillies (Slit into half)
- 10-12 Cahsew Nuts
- 6-8 Black Peppercorns (Coarsely Cracked)
Instructions
- Dry roast the dal in a pan until it is slightly fragrant.
- Wash the dal.
- Dry roast the rava until slightly fragrant. Do not brown.
- Drain the dal and add it in a pressure cooker along with rava.
- Add water, ginger and salt and pressure cook till done.
- Remove the pressure cooker from heat and let the pressure release.
- Slightly mash the pongal with the back of a ladle until it is slightly mushy and creamy.
- Add more water if required.
- Heat ghee in a pan.
- Once the ghee is hot, add cumin seeds, heeng, curry leaves, green chilli and peppercorns and let them crackle for a few seconds.
- Add cashew nuts and fry until they are slightly browned.
- Pour the tempering over the pongal.
- Mix and simmer for a minute.
- Serve hot with coconut chutney and sambhar.
Notes
You can check more Sankranti Recipes here.
mehul
nice recipe
thanks for sharing
Neha Mathur
Thnx a lot 🙂