Instapot Ven Pongal. South Indian Rice and Lentil Risotto

Happy New Year! I hope you had a great December! If you’ve been entertaining a lot this holiday season or went to a few dinners and gatherings and are looking for a simple low key dinner in the new year, this one is for you. It’s a recipe for South Indian lentil and rice dish called Ven Pongal.

Ever so lightly seasoned, healthy, vegan, and delicious, ven pongal is made with lentils and rice that are cooked until tender and served with melted ghee. Truly comfort food after all the heavy holiday eating, it will be the most comforting dish you’ll make this January. Give it a try!

Perfect rainy day meal

My sister from Philly sent me this recipe with a text that read…

“I made ven pongal and Gotsu for lunch. Perfect for a rainy day. Comfort food. Tried this recipe for the first time. I made it with 1/2 rice and 1/2 quinoa.“

https://www.indianveggiedelight.com/instant-pot-ven-pongal/

Coincidentally it was raining when I got her text and promptly made the ven pongal for dinner that same evening!

About the recipe

Folks, this is the easiest recipe especially when you make it in the instapot. All the ingredients are simple and good for you like rice, quinoa, lentils, curry leaves, ginger, asafetida, cumin seeds, black pepper and ghee. These are cooked together in the instapot for a deliciously comforting risotto like dish.

Easy as 1, 2, 3

It’s such an easy recipe! Just saute black pepper and cumin in ghee until the fragrance comes through. Then add the asafetida, fresh ginger and curry leaves and warm in the ghee. Add the lentils and toast for a minute or two. Then add all the rice and quinoa, salt plus water. Close the instapot and pressure cook for 8 minutes. That’s it! A delicious ven pongal in minutes!

The recipe is from food blogger Bhavna Patil of Indianveggiedelight.com https://www.indianveggiedelight.com/instant-pot-ven-pongal/ The only modification I made is make ven pongal with 1/2 quinoa and 1/2 rice. This is a perfect recipe folks! Just follow the instructions for a delicious comforting dish called Ven Pongal.

Ven Pongal – South Indian Rice and Lentil “Risotto”
recipe from Bhavna Patil of Indianveggiedelight.com
https://www.indianveggiedelight.com/instant-pot-ven-pongal/

Ingredients:

3 tablespoons ghee (clarified butter) (Vegans can replace ghee with oil)
1 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
½ teaspoon black pepper corn (whole or lightly crushed)
2 green chilies slit lengthwise (optional)
1 teaspoon ginger finely chopped or grated
1 stalk curry leaves about 6-8 leaves
10-12 cashew nuts optional
1 tsp asafoetida
½ cup split yellow moong dal
½ cup white rice short grain rice preferable (or quinoa, millets, rice combo)
4 cups water
Salt adjust to taste

Directions:

Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Heat ghee, and add cumin seeds, black pepper (whole or lightly crushed), and cashews. Saute till cashew nuts turn light golden in color. Then add green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, and asafetida. Saute for another few seconds.

Next, add the rinsed lentils and saute for 1-2 minutes until the dal turns aromatic. Then add rinsed rice and quinoa along with water and salt. Mix everything well.

Close the lid securely, and turn the vent to “SEALING”. Select the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL (High Pressure) setting and set the cooking time to 8 minutes.
When the instant pot beeps, allow the pressure to release naturally for 10 minutes, then release any remaining pressure before removing the lid. Lightly fluff the ven pongal.