Brown Rice Ven Pongal – Knowing to cook a pot of brown rice is one daunting task! Every brand, every variety needs TLC and the degree varies, hehehe……. Sometimes you end up with chewy hard rice or totally a mushy stuff which you never expected. Today we are making pongal with brown basmati rice which is one variety of long grain brown rice, definitely a healthy option for white rice. Lets get into the tricks and tips to handle this tough one!
Ingredients
- Brown Basmati Rice 1 cup * Refer notes
- Split Yellow Moong dal 1/2 cup
- Water 4 cups
- Ginger 2 teaspoons (minced)
- Oil 1 teaspoon
- Salt 1 & 1/2 teaspoon (approx)
Ingredients for tempering
- Ghee 1 tablespoon
- Oil 1 tablespoon
- Cashews 10
- Black peppercorns 1 & 1/2 teaspoon
- Cumin seeds 1 teaspoon
- Asafoetida powder / hing/ perungayam 1/2 teaspoon
- Curry leaves 10 leaves
- More Ghee (only if preferred) optional 1 tablespoon
Lets see howt o make this brown rice ven pongal….
I have used Brown basmati rice for this recipe. This is Kohinoor Brand Brown Basmati (Long Grain Basmati Rice), many Indian stores carry this variety. This type is more flavorful, nutty and less sticky compared to short grain brown rice. For Pongal you may use either long or short grain as it going turn mushy anyways… but water proportion slightly varies. (Refer notes) If cooking for regular variety rice like lemon, tamarind, fried rice or biryani always stick to this long grain basmati, which is much more palatable.
Soak brown rice and split moong dal in regular room temperature water for 1 hour! Yes its an hour, no compromise on that. If you are cooking any brown rice, soaking long is going to help you yield nice and fluffy rice, which will be soft to eat + you are going to get the maximum health nutrients.
After soaking give it a few rinse and then drain all the water. Add the rice and dal to the pressure pan. (Moong when cooked in pressure cooker has the tendency to stick to the bottom of the pan, use the pressure cooker safe bowls to cook, if you have one ortherwise proceed as shown) Yes, a light layer do stick to the bottom but its ok!
Add a teaspoon of oil it and gently mix.
Add salt to the rice and dal.
Add water – for this recipe of 1 cup brown basmati rice + 1/2 cup moong dal needs total of 4 cups of water. (Long grain rice cooks longer and needs more water – Short grain cooks faster and needs less water. If using regular short grain brown rice, then use only 3 & 1/2 cups of water)
Add minced ginger to it. You may either add here or temper later….its your choice!
For Long grain /Brown Basmati Rice – cook upto 4 whistles and switch off.
For Short grain Brown rice – cook upto 3 whistles and switch off.
When done it going to look like this, all pale and mushy. Gently mix and keep it ready for tempering.
Heat half ghee & half oil, fry the cashews to golden, then add black pepper corns, cumin and curry leaves. Sprinkle asafoetida powder over it and immediately add it the cooked rice and dal mixture.
Give it a stir and add more ghee if preferred.
This is how its going to look when its done. But as time goes, the rice will absorb all the water and get very thick and will look plump. Serve it right away or sprinkle some water when microwaving. Enjoy with chutney , sambar or gothsu 😛
Notes
- Cooked brown rice is very filling and yields more too. This recipe here can feed 3-4 adults.
- Long grain Brown Rice – Brown Basmati is a long grain variety. This type is not that sticky and looks little slender. Needs 1 hour soaking time. Normally needs more water and more cooking time. I have used Kohinoor Brown basmati rice for this recipe. This type is more flavorful, nutty and less sticky compared to short grain brown rice. It suits well for any variety rice like lemon, tamarind, pulav or biryani dishes. For Pongal you may either use long or short grain as it going turn mushy anyways… but water proportion & cooking time varies.
- Short Grain Brown Rice – This type is bulk & sticky. Needs 1 hour soaking time. Needs less water and less cooking time. If using short grain brown rice for this recipe then use 3 cups water and cook upto 3 whistles.
- You either cook the whole thing in a pressure cooker OR cook dal and rice separately and mix.
- Moong dal can be either dry roasted or soaked. I prefer to soak along with rice.
- Adding more ghee does have a positive effect tot he taste, do try when introducing brown rice for the first time to your little ones.
- If you have a different method of cooking brown rice, we would love to hear about it. Please do share with us!
Some pongal recipes to try..
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