Pongal is no knew for any South Indian. Its one of the most famous breakfast item especially in Tamilnadu. Normally pongal is made from rice but in my home no one likes rice for breakfast. So as an alternative i usually make pongal from other healthy substitutes. I have already shared Broken wheat sweet pongal , Pongal made from thick beaten rice and today it is ” Cracked Wheat Pongal / Dalia Pongal “- definitely a healthy and tasty alternate to the traditional ven pongal made from rice.
In south india , for makara sankranthi , other than dishes made from sesame (Til ) , we make spicy and sweet versions of pongal. Since the festival is just a couple of days away , i thought of sharing this spicy version of dalia pongal today and definitely wil share the sweet version too before the festival .Broken wheat is something i buy everymonth during my grocery shopping as Its an excellent source of fiber and low in fat.I usually make dalia upma, dalia idli, dalia dosa and dalia pongal from it.Today’s dish ,Dalia pongal is a great one pot meal that is filling and comforting. Enoy this festive season with this traditional dish that is full of flavours infused by ginger ,pepper ,cumin and hing…. I know you are going to love it …
Check Out the Video recipe here :
SPICY CRACKED WHEAT PONGAL
Ingredients
- 1 cup Broken wheat/ Dalia
- 1/2 cup Green gram / split moong dal
- 4.5 - 5 cups Water
- Salt, as needed
To temper
- 2 tblsp Ghee
- 1 tsp Oil
- 1 tsp Mustard
- 1 tsp Cumin Seeds /Jeera
- 1 - 2 Red Chillies, broken
- 2 tsps Pepper, crushed lightly
- 1 pinch Asafoetida/ hing
- 1/2 tsp Turmeric /Haldi
- Curry Leaves, - few
- 1 tblsp Ginger, chopped
- 2 - 3 Green Chillies, slit
- Cashews, few to garnish ( optional )
Instructions
- Wash moong dal and dalia. Drain water.
- In a pressure cooker heat ghee , add mustard seeds, cumin seeds .When it crackles , add red chilli,crushed pepper,hing and curry leaves. Add ginger, green chilli and haldi. Saute for 1-2 mins.
- Add moong dal and dalia to the tempering. Fry for 3-4 mins till moong dal is aromatic.
- Add water and salt.Mix well and close the cooker lid.Let it cook for 3-4 whistles .Switch off the flame and wait till the pressure releases.
- Once the pressure releases, open the lid and mix well. Finally garnish with fried cashews and a tsp of ghee. Relish healthy and tasty Spicy cracked wheat pongal with coconut chutney or tamaring gojju ( a kind of dip or sauce ).
- I always love my khara pongal with the spicy ,tangy little sweet tamarind gojju. The thick tamarind sauce enhances the flavor of khara pongal and gives it a totally new taste dimension. If you haven't tried it before ...you have really missed something..Here you go..
- Soak a big lemon sized tamarind ball in water for about 30 mins. extract its pulp.
- Take a kadai or pan. Add a tsp of oil .Temper it with mustard seeds and curry leaves. Add 2 slit green chillies. If you want you can add some finely chopped onions too.
- Add tamarind extract , salt and little jaggery. Add some water and keep the flame on sim .Bring it to boil .
- Add a tsp of rasam powder and a pinch of haldi . Mix well. TAste test .If required add some salt or jaggery. if ts strong add some water .
- Dilute a tsp of riceflour in water . Finally add it to the tamarind gojju and bring a boil. Switch off. Addition of rice flour mix gives a nice consistency to the gojju .
- That's it spicy tangy tamarind pongal gojju is ready .
Notes
- Pongal made from ghee tastes awesome. So as far as possible make it with ghee or add 50:50 mixture of ghee+oil.
- If you want you can add avarekalu ( field beans) to it.
- Usually pongal tastes best when served hot. Also it has to be little liquidy when its hot, wen cold again it will become a mass.
8 Comments
Sathya Priya
January 13, 2015 at 4:42 pmYummy pongal..So creamy ..
Viki's Kitchen
January 14, 2015 at 12:39 amPongal looks delicious. Happy Pongal dear.
Manjula Bharath
January 14, 2015 at 5:40 amwow dalia pongal looks so very tempting dear 🙂 wonderfully presented !! Happy pongal to you !!
Rafeeda AR
January 14, 2015 at 6:02 amI really wonder how it tastes… awesome flavors…
Smitha Kalluraya
January 14, 2015 at 10:07 ami tell you rafee.. do try.. they taste great !!!
Gloria
January 17, 2015 at 9:44 amBeautifully presented.. Delicious Pongal
Avantika
June 20, 2018 at 4:32 pmIt turned out amazing! Instead of making the gojju, I simmered around a cup of the tamarind pulp+water, added a tsp of brown sugar to it, and then when it was slightly viscous I added it to the pongal itself and mixed it. It had a slight tang, and it tasted great 🙂
Dr.Charles S Narasi
August 10, 2024 at 11:50 pmDid this without changing the recipe 😋
Came out great
Your recipes are very tasty and easy to follow