Pongal (Ven Pongal)

Pongal is a common break fast item, made quicker and simpler..

Ingredients ( Serves for 3 )
Moong dhal - 1/2 cup
Rice - 1/2 cup
Curry leaves - some
Green chilies - 3
Ginger - 1/2 inch
Ghee - 1 tea spoon
Oil - 6 tea spoon
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tea spoon
Pepper - 1/4 tea spoon (Roughly Crushed)
Mustard seeds - some
Salt to taste

1. Mix rice and dhal and wash thoroughly.

2. In a cooker, add 3 cups of water, salt , 5 tea spoons of oil, 1 tea spoon of ghee.
Add rice and dhal to it and pressure cook until 5 whistles.

Note: Taste the water and add salt

Tip : Water measure is 1: 2 [+1], if you have 4 cups of rice and dhal, add (4*2) + 1 = 9 cups of water.

3. Meantime, cut green chilies length wise, crush the pepper roughly. And keep ready other ingredients for seasoning. The tea spoon, I use to measure is depicted..

Note : Pepper can be crushed or added as a whole..

4. Heat 2 tea spoons of oil in a kadai and add mustard seeds, once it splutters, add cumin seeds, pepper, chilies and fry them. Add ginger and curry leaves at end and remove from flame.

5. Add this seasoning to the cooked rice and dhal and mix well, add some ghee if required.

6. As value addition, fry cashew nuts and add them to the pongal.

The above measure serves for 3 people.

Curry leaves Vermicelli (Semiya)

Here is another method of preparing vermicelli..

Ingredients
Vermicelli - 200 gm
Curry leaves - 25 strands
Red chilies - 4
Green chilies - 2
Urud dhal (broken) - 1 teaspoon
Tamarind - little (optional)
Onions - 2 medium sized
Tomato - 1
Channa dhal - 1 teaspoon
Ghee - 1/2 tea spoon


1. Fry the Vermicelli with some ghee until it becomes light brown. If you have roasted vermicelli, still fry in ghee for 3 minutes.

2. Heat 2 tea spoon of oil and fry 1 green chilly , 4 red chilies, urud dhal and curry leaves.

3. Fine grind the above fried items to make a smooth paste.You can add small piece of tamarind, for sour taste.

4. Add 4 times of water as vermicelli, add enough salt to it and let it boil.

5. Once water is boiled, add the roasted vermicelli and cover with the lid.

6. After the vermicelli is cooked, drain and allow it to cool. No over cooking. Semiya should not be sticky with each other.

7. Place a kadai on stove and add 5 teaspoon of oil.

8. Cut onions into thinly sliced pieces and tomato into small pieces.

8. Add mustard seed, once it cracks, add channa dhal and fry until golden brown in low flame.
    Add 1 green chilly, curry leaves, onions and fry until onions turn slightly brown.

9. Add tomato to it and fry for 3 minutes.

10. Add the ground paste and fry for a minute.

11. Add the cooked vermicelli to this and mix well in low flame.

13. Garnish with Coriander Curry leaves this time :)

TIP: If you want green color, do not fry the ground paste in oil instead just mix it with boiled vermicelli.
TIP: If you add tamarind, do not add tomato and vice versa.Adding both will increase sourness.