Ven pongal is a classic south Indian special dish prepared with rice, moong dal, a few essential spices and ghee (clarified butter). It is a simple and quick one-pot rice and lentil dish that gets ready in less than 30 minutes. Generally, it is served as a breakfast in South India but is ideal as a midweek meal or to serve at any time of the day.
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Pongal is often referred to as south Indian ghee khichdi. It is a hearty comfort food that’s perfect for old or unwell people as it is light on the stomach and easy to digest.
Ven pongal is a classic dish that shows up in all south Indian home's breakfast menus, especially in Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. Khara pongal, katte pongali and ghee pongal are other regional names for the same dish. It is one of the traditional dishes prepared on auspicious days, specifically on makar Sankranti. It is also offered to devotees in most temples. This is one of the most preferred tiffin dishes on wedding breakfast menus. Pongal, chutney, sambar and vada are extremely adored combinations in south Indian cuisine. In fact, next to idli, dosa pongal is the most popular dish often seen on the restaurant’s south Indian menus.
Every household has its own slight modifications to suit personal taste and texture preferences, pretty much with the same key ingredients. While some go for equal rice to the lentil proportion, others might prefer more rice than lentils. Some might choose to do tempering at the beginning, but others might prefer to make at the end in a separate small pan and mix it with the cooked rice and lentil. Not everybody loves the smooth and thin consistency; they might prefer a texture. Few people use green chilies as well. Ultimately, it’s all personal preference to makes this an extremely delightful dish.
Ingredients
- Rice and Lentils: I use sona masoori but feel free to use other rice varieties. Moong dal (yellow split lentils/pasi paruppu).
- Spices and nuts: Black peppercorn, cumin, cashew nuts, salt and asafoetida.
- Vegetables & Herbs: Fresh ginger and curry leaves.
- Liquids: Oil and ghee to cook pongal.
Find the measurements and a short video in the recipe card at the bottom of the post.
Instructions
Rinse and wash the rice and soak for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, plug in an instant pot and turn the sauté mode ON.
Dry roast the moong dal for 5-8 minutes until it is fragrant and starts to turn golden brown.
Press the CANCEL button and transfer the lentils to a bowl. Wash the roasted lentils and keep them aside to use later.
Press the SAUTE button again and add the oil and ghee.
Once the oil is hot, fry cashews just until they start turning light brown.
Now add the peppercorns, cumin and fry for half a minute, stirring regularly and letting the cumin splutter.
Add ginger followed by curry leaves and the asafoetida.
Press CANCEL.
Drain the water from the soaked rice and add it to the pot along with the washed lentils.
Now add water and salt and stir well. Do the taste test and add more salt if needed.
Close the pot with its lid, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position.
Press the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL button and set the timer for 8 minutes at high pressure.
The instant pot displays ON initially and the timer countdown starts once the pressure has been built up.
Press the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL button and set the timer for 10 minutes at high pressure.
The instant pot displays ON initially and the timer countdown starts once the pressure has been built up.
Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 mins.
After 10 minutes, turn the pressure valve to the VENT position, wait until the pressure is released completely and the small knob next to the pressure valve drops down.
Take the lid off the pot, and stir the pongal well as the spices and oil would have settled on the top layer.
Serve this delectable instant pot ven pongal with chutney and sambar or any side dish of your choice.
More Instant Pot Recipes
Substitutions and Variations
Use equal quantities of ghee and oil. Omit the oil and use ghee alone to achieve an authentic restaurant taste.
Use crushed peppercorns instead of whole black pepper if you are cooking for young kids to prevent them from biting whole pepper.
Roasting moong dal is an essential step as it imparts extra flavour to the pongal. Do not skip this step. Roast it ahead of time and store it to save time on the day you plan to prepare the ven pongal.
Try this instant pot ven pongal recipe with brown rice or millets for a healthy version. Brown rice takes a lot of time and extra water to cook compared to regular rice.
For a vegan version, skip the ghee and use extra oil instead. Alternatively, use vegan butter.
Tips and Tricks
The amount of water required to make this ven pongal recipe differs depending on the type of rice you use. In this recipe, I have used sona masoori rice.
The rice and lentil ratio is absolutely a personal choice. I use 2:1 - 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of moong dal (1 cup of rice and ½ cup of moong dal).
Pongal thickens as it cools. So do not worry if the pongal looks overly thin and runny once you open the pot. Eventually, you will get the right consistency as it cools.
Deglaze the pot to avoid the BURN message before closing the lid.
The cooking time varies depending on the volume you cook and the type of water you use. Extremely hard water takes a long time to cook.
If you feel the pongal is not cooked soft enough to your liking, add a little hot water, stir well, close the pot with a lid and pressure cook for another 3-4 minutes.
The time set on an instant pot is not the total time taken to cook ven pongal. The Instant pot takes its time to build the pressure depending on the quantity in the pot before the timer starts the countdown. So, the total time would be time to build pressure + timer countdown + natural pressure release time.
Serving Suggestions
Ven pongal tastes best with peanut chutney and sambar, this is a classic combination.
On lazy weekdays, serve this quick one-pot south Indian dish with simple side dishes such as mango thokku, vankaya pachadi, tomato kurma or even any pickle that you have on hand.
Storage
Fridge: Leftover ghee pongal could be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3-4 days.
Defrost: To thaw, take a portion out of the freezer and keep it in the fridge overnight.
Reheat: Place the pongal in a bowl and heat it in the microwave until piping hot, stirring at regular intervals for uniform heating. If pongal is really thick, use water to loosen it up. Add a little hot water and stir until well combined. Put the bowl back in the microwave and heat for a couple of minutes.
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FAQ
The term Pongal refers to a South Indian festival and a dish. The harvest is a festival celebrated throughout India in the middle of January, generally between the 13 - 16th.
In the south Indian state of Tamil Nadu, this festival is called “Thai Pongal” and is celebrated for 4 days. The four days of the festival are called Bhogi Pongal, Surya Pongal, Mattu Pongal and Kanuma Pongal.
The interesting fact is that the pongal festival, named after the dish as the main part of the celebration is cooking sweet pongal with freshly harvested rice.
There are two varieties of pongal dish - The sweet version sakkarai pongal (chakkarai pongal) and savoury version ven pongal.
Any short or medium-grain Indian regular rice varieties such as ponni, seeraga samba rice can be used in a traditional recipe.
You will get the best ven pongal with a porridge-like consistency with both parboiled and raw rice. You will find these white rice varieties in any south Indian grocery store. If you don’t have access to these, use basmati rice or long-grained rice.
Obtaining the desired consistency is tricky, specifically for beginners. However, there’s an easy procedure to resolve it. So do not panic if the pongal turns out thick.
Add hot water steadily and keep stirring until you get the right consistency. Check the taste and add salt to balance the taste. Have hot water ready in the kettle before you open the pot just in case!
There are 2 main methods of cooking ven pongal - the first method is to temper the spices and then cook the rice and lentils in the same pot. It’s a kind of one-pot process.
The second method is to first cook the rice and lentils. Later, the spices are tempered in the hot ghee and/or oil separately and mixed with the cooked rice and lentil mixture. For the second method, a stovetop pressure cooker is usually used to cook a small quantity of rice and lentils. A big pot for large quantities.
With the first method, the chances of aroma diminishing are higher. A small amount of aroma might escape when the pressure is released. So some people may feel the aroma retained is not sufficient.
To overcome this issue, either temper a little more spices in extra ghee/oil at the beginning; or temper the key ingredients separately and mix them with the cooked pongal to get that nice aroma.
Not at all. Both are entirely different dishes. Although both dishes are made with rice and lentils, the rest of the ingredients are totally different. Khichdi has many variations and is made with different lentils, spices, and vegetables. Whereas to make pongal, no other lentils are used except moong dal.
Cumin, black pepper and ghee are the primary ingredients of pongal. Unlike khichdi, there is no significant variation to the traditional pongal recipe except for 1-2 ingredients. However, there are a couple of different ways of cooking it. Check dal khichdi recipe on the blog.
It depends on a number of factors - quantity and the number of food items and the type of food you placed inside the pot. For fresh food, it ideally takes around 10-15 minutes to build pressure. It takes a longer time for unthawed frozen food items.
KEEP IN TOUCH
Do let me know if you make this instant pot ven pongal recipe. If you like this recipe kindly consider rating it using stars in the comment section or on the recipe card to help more people find this recipe online. You can stay up to date by following me on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram or subscribing to my Youtube channel. Or why not subscribe to my blog and get simple recipes straight to your inbox?
📖 Recipe Card
Ven Pongal Recipe Instant Pot
Equipment
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 1.5 (1½) Tablespoons Oil
- 1.5 (1½) Tablespoons Ghee (Clarified Butter)
- 12 Cashew nuts each split in half
- 1 Tablespoon Cumin
- ¾ Tablespoon Black Peppercorn
- 1 inch (or) ½ Tablespoon Ginger washed, peeled and grated
- handful Curry leaves
- big pinch Asafoetida
- Salt as required
- 2 Cups (or) 500 gms Rice
- 1 Cup (or) 250 gms Moong dal
- 9 Cups Water adjust to get your desired consistency
Instructions
- Rinse and wash the rice and soak for 10 minutes.2 Cups (or) 500 gms Rice
- Meanwhile, plug in an instant pot and turn the sauté mode ON.
- Dry roast the moong dal for 5-8 minutes until it is fragrant and starts to turn golden brown.1 Cup (or) 250 gms Moong dal
- Press the CANCEL button and transfer the lentils to a bowl. Wash the roasted lentils and keep them aside to use later.
- Press the SAUTE button again and add the oil and ghee.1.5 (1½) Tablespoons Oil, 1.5 (1½) Tablespoons Ghee (Clarified Butter)
- Once the oil is hot, fry cashews just until they start turning light brown.12 Cashew nuts
- Now add the peppercorns, cumin and fry for half a minute, stirring regularly and letting the cumin splutter.1 Tablespoon Cumin, ¾ Tablespoon Black Peppercorn
- Add ginger followed by curry leaves and the asafoetida.1 inch (or) ½ Tablespoon Ginger, handful Curry leaves, big pinch Asafoetida
- Press CANCEL button.
- Drain the water from the soaked rice and add it to the pot along with the washed lentils.2 Cups (or) 500 gms Rice, 1 Cup (or) 250 gms Moong dal
- Now add water and salt and stir well. Do the taste test and add more salt if needed.Salt, 9 Cups Water
- Close the pot with its lid, and turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position.
- Press the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL button and set the timer for 10 minutes at high pressure.
- The instant pot displays ON initially and the timer countdown starts once the pressure has been built up.
- Press the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL button and set the timer for 10 minutes at high pressure.
- The instant pot displays ON initially and the timer countdown starts once the pressure has been built up.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 mins.
- After 10 minutes, turn the pressure valve to the VENT position, wait until the pressure is released completely and the small knob next to the pressure valve drops down.
- Take the lid off the pot, and stir the pongal well as the spices and oil would have settled on the top layer.
Meenakshi
Pongal turned out great and my family loved it. Never knew making pongal in IP is so easy. Thank you so much for this recipe.
Geetha Priyanka
Meenakshi, so glad you all liked pongal. Appreciate for taking time to leave your feedback!