Vegetable Pongal

When I was a kid I loved to to have Raw veggies like cabbage , long beans , french beans, even ladies finger but My kid is totally opposite she never likes veggies only cheese . Am sure many mom’s might be worrying about it and trying something different to attract kids and indulge them in having more veggies in their diet. So when I was thinking about how I can give her the veggies she doesn’t like to have them in raw form  I made this delicious pongal for her lunch and she liked it a lot with some color peeping there and she had no clue what they were and enjoyed them . For my BM 3 day of pongal series I made this yummy kid friendly pongal. Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 36.

Vegetable pongal is mainly made with rice and moong dal as we make ven pongal but adding veggies to it increases the nutrients and makes it more healthy. I used ghee to make this pongal as kids love the flavor of  ghee and tastes yummy. Pressure cooker makes it easy but if you don’t want the veggies to mash up then you can cook the rice and lentils separately in pressure cooker and then saute the veggies separately till they are turn , then transfer the veggies to the cooked and mashed rice and lentil . I served this with the Tri color capsicum thogayal but any chutney and sambhar can go with this.  Any method you do it will taste good. So with any ado lets move the recipe.. 

Ingredients

 Rice – 1 cup
Green Gram Dhal / Moong dal ( yellow one) –1/2 cup
Chopped vegetables – 2 cups (I used carrot and frozen peas)
Curry leaves – few
Green chillies – 2 No
Fresh ginger – a small piece
Asafotida – A pinch
Black Pepper pd – 1/4  tsp
Urad dal / Black gram dal – 1 tsp
Cumin seeds – 1/4 tsp
Mustard seeds – 1/4 tsp
Cashew nuts – few
Ghee – 2 tbsp
Water – 4 1/2 cups
Salt to taste

Method 

• In a pressure cooker heat ghee add mustard seeds, cumin seeds and then curry leaves.
• Wait till they splutter and then add  urad dal and saute till they turn light brown.
• Add green chillies,ginger,Asafoetida, chopped vegetables and saute for a while.
• Then add washed and drained rice and moong dal .
• Mix well and then add water, pepper pd, salt.
• Close the pressure cooker lid and cook them for 3-4 whistles .
• Mean while heat 1 tsp ghee and Roast the cashews till light brown. Keep them aside.
• After 3-4 whitles switch off the flame and wait till the pressure subsides.
• Open the lid and give the pongal a quick mix .
• Add the roasted cashew to the pongal and mix them.
• Serve them warm with any chutney and sambhar.