Puli Pongal andhra style

Ingredients 

1. Raw rice - 1 cup
2. Green gram (Moong) dal - 3/4 cup
3. Asaefoetida - a pinch
4. Salt - to taste
5. Ginger - 1" piece (grated)
6. Tamarind - a little piece (marble sized, soaked in water)
7. Water - 5 cups

 

For tempering

• Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
• Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
• Whole black pepper - 1 tsp
• Curry leaves - 6-7
• Ghee/ Sesame oil - 2-3 tblsp 
• Cashew nuts - 6-7

 

To Powder

• Dry red Chillies - 2-3
• Corriander Seeds - 1 tsp

Method

• In a pressure cooker, take the rice, moong dal, water, required salt, grated ginger, asaefoetida and cook for 3-4 whistles.
• Wait till the pressure is released. The rice should be little overdone.
• Heat ghee in a small pan, splutter the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black pepper, curry leaves.
• Add this to the cooked rice dal mixture after the pressure is released.
• Fry the cashews in some ghee and add that too.
• In the mean time, make a powder of the ingredients under 'to powder' and add that to the pongal too.
• Add the tamarind juice also to the pongal.
• Mix everything together and cook the rice for another 5-7 minutes for the tamarind to get cooked.
• Add a spoon of sesame oil/ ghee and Serve piping hot with sambhar, coconut chutney