Brown rice chakkara pongal

My two pennies on the matter of brown-rice chakkara pongal: It takes longer to cook but tastes chewier and better than regular chakkara pongal.

Other points to note:

1. It might not take YOU as long as it did me to cook the brown rice, even in a pressure cooker, if you know:
a) how long it takes to cook brown rice, and
b) how much liquid to add per measure of brown rice so that it is not just perfectly cooked, but perfectly overcooked (as required for pongal).

2. Following on from 1(b) above - and if 1(a) and (b) don’t apply to you, the way they didn’t to me - your pressure-cooked brown rice+dal might be slightly swimming in milk. This will not matter if:
a) You boil the heck out of the pongal to reduce down the excess milk to the consistency you like, and
b) You like your chakkara pongal to be slightly runny even when cold, rather than so thick that you can slice it.

3. I substituted flaked almonds for the more traditional cashewnuts because I didn’t have the more traditional cashewnuts. You don’t have to do what I did. Especially if you DO have cashewnuts.

With these facts and caveats to hand, you may now go on to the

Recipe for: Brown rice chakkara pongal


Ingredients:

1 tbsp moong dal
3 tbsp brown basmati rice
1/4 cup jaggery
Seeds from 3 cardamom pods
1-1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp flaked almonds
2 tbsp raisins
1 htsp ghee
About 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Toast the moong dal in a pan, shaking it frequently so that the dal doesnt burn, until the dal changes to a darker colour.


2. Pressure cook the dal, rice and milk for at least 5 whistles, preferably turning down the heat after 3 whistles and letting it simmer for 10 minutes before turning up the heat again.

3. Let the pressure reduce on its own before opening the cooker. Mash the rice and dal a bit - it's ok if there's some milk left in the container.


4. Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a pan and fry the raisins and almond flakes until toasted light brown. Remove from the heat and pour onto the milk-dal mixture.

5. Now place the jaggery and water in a pan and let the jaggery dissolve.
Once it is dissolved and the water is bubbling,
pour the milk-dal mixture into it and stir well.

If the chakkara pongal is runny, let it simmer for 5-10 minutes or till the pongal thickens. (It will thicken a bit more on cooling.)

Serve warm.

RECIPE: BROWN RICE CHAKKARA PONGAL

Ingredients:

1 tbsp moong dal
3 tbsp brown basmati rice
1/4 cup jaggery
Seeds from 3 cardamom pods
1-1/2 cups milk
2 tbsp flaked almonds
2 tbsp raisins
1 htsp ghee
About 1/4 cup water

Method:

1. Toast the moong dal in a pan, shaking it frequently so that the dal doesnt burn, until the dal changes to a darker colour.
2. Pressure cook the dal, rice and milk for at least 5 whistles, preferably turning down the heat after 3 whistles and letting it simmer for 10 minutes before turning up the heat again.
3. Let the pressure reduce on its own before opening the cooker. Mash the rice and dal a bit - it's ok if there's some milk left in the container.
4. Meanwhile, heat the ghee in a pan and fry the raisins and almond flakes until toasted light brown. Remove from the heat and pour onto the milk-dal mixture.
5. Now place the jaggery and water in a pan and let the jaggery dissolve. Once it is dissolved and the water is bubbling, pour the milk-dal mixture into it and stir well. If the chakkara pongal is runny, let it simmer for 5-10 minutes or till the pongal thickens. (It will thicken a bit more on cooling.) Serve warm.

JFI Tur Dal - Tur dal chutney

There's a classic accompaniment to vattha kuzhambu that my mother used to make for my dad, years and years ago, when we lived in Tanzania. It's called "paruppu thogayal", a bland (in the sense of no chillies being added) chutney made of roasted tur dal. Since vattha kuzhambu isnt made with the addition of cooked tur dal, this chutney was a way of adding protein to the meal. I dont remember if I loved the chutney as much as my dad, but since my mother hasnt made it in years (since Tanzania, if memory serves me right), we kids cant have been that fond of it.

Anyway, I've never made it before nor seen how it was made, so I didnt quite know the method. I was looking for recipes using tur dal for Linda's JFI Tur Dal event when I came across a "tur dal thuvayal" recipe on the Net - I think it was on the ForumHub site, but for the life of me I cant find that chat link again!


Top: Moong dal; Bottom: Tur Dal

Anyway, apart from the main item, Tur Dal, it called for red chillies, raw garlic and some moong dal - these three ingredients completely threw me off the scent, as it were. I didnt think it was a variation of the paruppu thogayal my mother used to make... until it came to grinding the roasted dal. Then the aroma instantly made itself the familiar yet long-forgotten one of paruppu thogayal.

Since I used raw garlic, red chillies and moong dal to make this chutney, it wasnt quite my mother's version. Call it a grown-up version, if you will. I cant say that I fell in love with this version any more than I did with the original... but it wasnt bad either. It's just that the roasted tur dal flavour is VERY intense. Of course this is only my personal opinion of the chutney... chances are there are people who slaver just at the thought of it! So here it is, my entry for JFI - Tur Dal.

Recipe for: Tur dal chutney

1 tsp payatham paruppu (moong dal)
1/4 cup thuvaram paruppu (tur dal)
5-6 dried red chillies (or to taste)
3 garlic pearls
1/2 tsp oil
salt to taste
Water as required

Method:

1. Heat the oil and fry the dals and red chillies separately over a medium flame, stirring constantly.



The dals should be golden brown (take care not to burn them) and the red chillies should turn darker in colour. Let cool completely.

2. Grind the fried dals, chillies, garlic with 4-5 tablespoons of water to a smooth paste.



Dont worry about adding more water - the chutney solidifies quite a bit after grinding as it absorbs the water.

3. Add salt to taste and mix well. This can be served with rice and ghee or as a side with dosas or idlis.