It’s festivity all around, which means celebrations. Maa Durga visits us in different Avatars during these nine days.  People from different parts of the country celebrate it in differnet ways, prepare various dishes for the deity to please the Maa, the Shakti.

Today’s Naivedyam is “Khara Pongal” or the “Ven Pongal”. A famous dish from the South Indian Temples and households, prepared during the “Navratris” as the prasad or Naivedyam. It is a southern twist to the regular dal khichdi of other states, the main ingredients being Moong dal and rice.

With a small variation of Southern spices Ven Pongal is a wholesome meal, which can be cooked easily within 30 minutes without any prior preparations and with a whole lot of nutrion and health benefits. Though it is a stand-alone dish because of its ingredients, people serve it with coconut chutney, sambhar etc.

The Showstoppers in this mouth-watering delicacy is the pure homemade ghee, peppers, hing and curry leaves.

Ingredients and Preparation :
Moong dal            1/2 cup
Rice                       1/2 cup
Ghee                      1/2cup
Cashewnuts          10 to 12
Pepper corns        6 to 8
Jeera                      1/2 tbs
Hing                        a pinch
Curry leaves          6 to 8 leaves
Turmeric                a pinch
Salt to taste.

Dry roast the moong dal till the aroma fills the air. Now mix with rice and wash it well atleast 3 to 4 times. Cook them with turmeric and salt in cooker or any other vessel till it becomes soft, now mash with a spatula to bring a creamy consistency.

In a kadhai, take half a cup of ghee and add cashews, crushed peper, jeera, curry leaves, finely chopped green chillies and hing and roast till the cashews become golden brown and aromatic. Pour over the cooked pongal, give a good mix. Serve hot with anything. It goes well all alone.