Pongal Recipe | Foxtail Millet Ven Pongal Recipe

Vegan Pongal Recipe

Pongal is a much loved dish. Perhaps because of the flavours from warm aromatic spices and feeling of comfort with every mouthful.

It is popular in many parts of India and known by different names. Khichdi in North India, Ven Pongal in Tamil Nadu, Khara Pongal in Karnataka and Katte Pongali in Andhra Pradesh. For all its different avatars, the same set of basic ingredients are used—rice and split yellow lentil or moong dal.

We show you how to make this popular dish healthier and tastier! We use foxtail millet with lentil since millets are healthier than white rice.

Needless to say, khara or ven pongal is a staple during Makar Sankranti or ‘Pongal’, as the festival as called in Tamil Nadu.

Try out this one-pot super healthy dish with some tangy coconut chutney!

Whole Food Plant Based Ven Pongal Recipe

Course: Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals; Pongal Recipe; Millet Recipe
Cuisine: Tamil Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Passive Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people

INGREDIENTS

1 cup Foxtail Millet
1/2 cup Moong dal split yellow lentil
1 inch piece Ginger
1 tsp Turmeric Powder
4 cups Water

Garnishing

1/4 tsp Cashew
2 tsp Coriander Stems & Leaves chopped
1/4 cup Coconut paste
1/2 tsp Black Pepper
1 pinch Asafoetida / Hing / Perunkaayam
4 tsp Miso Paste (Healthy Salt Alternative. See Nutrition Science Highlights below)
1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds / Jeera
1 strand Curry Leaves

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Wash and Soak millet and lentil for at least 30 minutes. Use the water for your garden.
2. Peel and chop ginger into small pieces. Mix foxtail millet, moong dal, ginger and turmeric powder with water and cook with a partially closed lid. Check the water once in a while and add more if required. Ensure to not let is boil over or get burnt. This is easiest when using a mud pot.
3. Dry roast jeera mildly. Crush jeera and black pepper coarsely.
4. Once foxtail millet ven pongal is cooked, add crushed black pepper, crushed jeera, miso paste, perunkaayam / asafoetida, chopped coriander leaves, curry leaves, coconut paste and cashews.
5. Allow to cool completely and serve fresh with avial.

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Ven Pongal Recipe

1. "Pongal is only pongal when you add copious amounts of ghee", you may hear your relatives saying. Don't worry, though, because copious amounts of freshly ground coconut paste will make your pongal recipe taste divine!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Ven Pongal Recipe

1. Why Miso Paste? Miso paste is fermented & salted soya bean paste. American Heart Association Maximum recommended maximum daily salt intake of 3.75 grams per person to minimise risk of high blood pressure, stomach cancer and chronic kidney disease. In addition to helping us restrict salt intake, replacing salt with miso paste also helps by neutralising the negative effects of salt by soya phytonutrients. You can easily make fresh miso paste at home by mixing 100 grams of cooked soya paste with 10 grams of salt, or 10 tablespoons of cooked soya paste with 1 tablespoon of salt. If making at home, ensure to use immediately, or freeze in batches to use later. Or, simply use 3.75 grams of salt or less per day per person and add 18 to 20 grams (dry weight) of soya beans in any dishes, spread through the day!
2. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
3. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, the starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
4. Why not tadka? Tadka, thaaLippu, oggaraNe. Tempering spices in oil is quintessential to Indian cuisine. This practice may have started as a compromise when whole nuts were unavailable, and indeed, is more common in inland, drier areas where nuts do not grow easily, all year round. You can enjoy the taste and fragrance, though, by just dry roasting the spices you require, without the oil, or even better, mixing spice powders directly into your dish!