Pongal invokes in me some fond childhood memories. As a kid, I would look forward to this dish, which was offered as prasad (a devotional offering made to God) at our neighborhood temple. In fact, that was a big draw for me. It was probably the priest’s way of incenting kids to visit the temple. He would make a variety of offerings for different days of the week, all of them equally delicious!
Harvest Festival
Besides the dish, a harvest festival celebrated in South India, is also referred to as pongal. Yes, it can be confusing! This festival usually happens around mid-January and is also called Sankranti. I used to have so much fun during this time! We would have kite flying competitions that were both organized and impromptu (happens to this day!). Folks of all ages flying kites from roof tops, yelling, loud music and what not. It was a blast!
Harvest Festival
Sweet & Savory Versions
Not only is pongal made as a savory dish, it also has a sweet version. The sweet version is referred to as ‘Chakkarai Pongal’ or ‘Huggi’ (check out our Huggi recipe here). I’m personally not a big fan of sweet dishes (the exact opposite of my dad!), so I would opt for the savory version any day.
Khichdi
Undoubtedly, there are some clear similarities between savory pongal and Khichdi. Khichdi, a popular detox recipe is also made from lentils and rice, though the other ingredients may vary. Khichdi is one of my comfort foods. I have several versions of this dish that I churn out, depending on my mood.
Savory Brown Rice Pongal
While this is traditionally made with white rice, I wanted to make it healthier by replacing with brown rice. I also plan on trying it with quinoa soon. The challenge with brown rice is that it takes much longer to cook than white rice. You will need to soak it for at least a couple of hours before cooking. It turned out great for me – well worth the extra time!
Accompaniments
For the most part, any good South Indian restaurant typically serves this dish with vada (savory fried lentil donut). It is called Pongal-Vada. The sides include sambar (savory lentil and veggie soup) and 2 to 3 chutneys. A complete meal in itself! My personal favorite is a restaurant called Saravana Bhavan, located on Lexington Ave in New York (they have other locations globally). I never miss an opportunity to eat here whenever I happen to be in NY. So good!
My favorite is to eat pongal with this delicious Hunase (Tamarind) Gojju.
Pongal-Vada at Saravana Bhavan
While you’re here, check out some of our delicious brown rice recipes:
- Brown Rice Vegetable Pulao
- Brown Rice Khichdi
- Egg Tomato Spicy Rice
- Vegetable Multigrain Khichdi
- Mexican Rice
- Brown Jeera Rice
- Bisi Bele Baath
Consisting mostly of brown rice and yellow mung beans, this recipe is rich in fiber and protein, making for a great breakfast, snack or your main dish at a meal.
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Savory Brown Rice Pongal
Ingredients
- 1/2 Cup Yellow Mung - Split
- 1 Cup Brown Rice
- 1 Tablespoon Ginger - Chopped fine
- 1 Tablespoon Black Pepper - Whole corns
- 15 Curry Leaves
- 1 Teaspoon Cumin Seeds
- 1 Chili Green Chili Pepper - Slit in half
- 8 Cashew nuts - Whole
- 2 Tablespoons Ghee - Clarified butter
- 1/2 Teaspoon Sea Salt - or to taste
Instructions
- Wash brown rice well and soak in water for 2-3 hours. Make sure you have all your ingredients in one place for easy access.
- Set Instant Pot on 'sauté' mode and add 1 tablespoon ghee. Once the 'hot' sign comes up, add soaked brown rice, mung lentils and sauté for 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add 3 cups of water, mix well, put the lid on and turn IP to pressure cook mode on manual for 35 minutes. Once done open the lid and let it sit for a couple of minutes.
- Set a pan on medium flame, add a half tablespoon of ghee, wait until it is heated and add chopped ginger, peppercorns, curry leaves, cashew nuts and cumin seeds. Roast till cashews are slightly brown and turn off the flame.
- Add sauteed ingredients to the pressure cooked lentils/rice and mix well and serve hot.
Cannot wait to try it.
Its absolutely delicious, you must try it!
Could you please share the recipe for pulichaad? Thanks.
Certainly! Heat oil in a pan, splutter mustard seeds (1/4 tsp), 1 tsp toor dal (pigeon peas), and a few grains of fenugreek seeds. Add finely cut onions, chili pepper (optional), and fry until onions are translucent. Add freshly squeezed tamarind juice, salt and curry leaves and serve with pongal. You can also look up our delicious Raita recipes to go with this Pongal. Thank you for visiting our website, Bettina. Let us know if you have other questions.
I made this and it was really bad. Regular Pongal takes 6 min in IP but this brown rice takes 35min even after soaking for 2-3 hours the raw rice and moong dal.
Hello Van Tran, we are sorry that you did not enjoy the dish. Brown rice is certainly an acquired taste. It has way more fiber (because of the outer hull) than white rice and has more nutrients as well, since it is not as highly polished and processed as its white counterpart. I always soak my brown rice for 3 hours and cook it with 3 cups water to 1 cup brown rice. We encourage you to try half white and half brown rice for this recipe, until your taste buds start to enjoy the nutty taste of brown rice. Over the years, we have joyfully transitioned from white to brown rice. Thanks for your comments.