Indian cooking
Indian cooking / Dishes / Pongal
Pongal (Pepper-flavoured Porridge)

Pongal

Pepper-flavoured Porridge
Vegetarian●●●Origin Tamil NaduPrep 15 minutesCook 20 minutes

A comforting South Indian savoury porridge of coarse-ground rice and tender moong dal enriched with a spiced ghee tempering. It is rich, nutty, and warming, punctuated by the bite of black pepper and a sharp touch of lime.

Tempering spices

10 gFried in the hot ghee (step 4)
01
Asafoetida · Hing
~0.3 gpinch
spice
02
Mustard seed · Rai
3.3 g1 teaspoon
spice
03
Dried red chilli · Sukhi Lal Mirch
3 g3 chillies
spice
04
Black peppercorn · Kali Mirch
2.9 g1 teaspoon
spice
Keep whole; they will sizzle together in the ghee.

Everything else

01
Basmati rice · Basmati Chawalrinsed and drained
400 g
grain
02
Split mung beans · Moong Daldry-roasted
200 g
legume
03
Ghee
53 g4 tablespoons
oil/fat
04
Curry leaf · Kadi Patta
2–2.5 g8–10 leaves
herb
05
Cashew nut · Kaju
15–22 g10–15 cashews
nut/seed
06
Lime juice · Nimbu Ka Ras
30 g1 lime
souring agent
07
Salt · Namak
to taste
salt

Method

  1. Pulse 400 g basmati rice in a food processor until broken into coarse granules resembling semolina. Transfer to a dry skillet over medium heat and toast for 2–3 minutes until lightly golden, then set aside off the heat.
  2. Put 200 g moong dal into a saucepan, cover with water, and bring to the boil. Cook for 10–12 minutes until tender, then drain and mash thoroughly with a fork or potato masher directly in the pan.
  3. Stir the toasted rice, salt to taste, and 1 litre of water into the mashed lentils. Simmer over medium heat for approximately 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed and the porridge is thick.
  4. Melt 52.8 g ghee in a frying pan over medium heat. Tip in the tempering spices and 2–2.5 g curry leaf, frying for 1 minute until fragrant. Add 10 cashew nuts and fry for another 2 minutes until golden brown.
  5. Pour the hot spiced ghee and nuts over the porridge. Stir in the juice of 1 lime and serve immediately.

Don't have something?

Basmati rice
  • Plain boiled rice

    Use 2.5 times the weight if substituting pre-cooked rice. Fold in gently at the end of the recipe; grains will be shorter and less fragrant.

Moong dal
  • Red lentils

    Use equal weight. It cooks in about the same time and breaks down to a similar soft, creamy consistency, though the colour will be slightly pinkish-orange.

  • Pigeon peas

    Use equal weight. Requires longer soaking and cooking time, and produces a slightly earthier, denser dal.

Ghee
  • Unsalted butter

    Use 120% of the weight; melt gently over low heat to avoid burning the milk solids, which will yield a softer, creamier richness rather than a nutty aroma.

  • Vegetable oil

    Use 85% of the weight; holds high cooking temperatures without smoking, but the final dish will lack traditional dairy depth.

  • Mustard oil

    Use equal weight; heat to smoking point and cool slightly before cooking, bearing in mind it introduces an assertive, pungent edge.

Asafoetida
  • Garlic powder

    Use double the weight. Stir into hot oil just before adding wet ingredients; mimics the allium savoury background without the sulphurous edge.

  • Garlic paste

    Use 2 g for every 0.5 g of asafoetida. Sauté in oil until the raw smell clears; adds moisture and sweet allium depth.

Mustard seed
  • Black mustard seed

    Use the same weight. The seeds are smaller and hotter; fry in hot oil until they pop, about 20–30 seconds, and reduce the heat if they darken too fast. The dish will be a little sharper.

  • Yellow mustard seeds

    Use the same weight. They are milder and larger; fry a few seconds longer until they pop. The finished dish will have less pungency.

  • Ground mustard seed

    Use 70% of the weight of whole seed, added with the other ground spices rather than fried whole. You lose the popping texture and the heat comes through more evenly.

Dried red chilli
  • Dried kashmiri chilli

    Use equal weight whole. Fry in hot oil or ghee as tempered spice; gives a richer red colour with slightly milder heat.

  • Red chilli powder

    Use 50% to 70% of the weight. Stir into the oil with ground spices; distributes heat evenly throughout the dish without whole chilli skins.

Curry leaf
  • Bay leaf

    Fry 1 bay leaf for every 5 curry leaves in hot oil; imparts a warm, woodsy background note, but misses the citrus-sulphury punch entirely.

  • Lime juice

    Add a small squeeze (about 5 ml per sprig of curry leaves) right before serving; provides sharp citrus top notes without the toasty, herbal aroma.

Cashew nut
  • Almond

    Use 100% of the weight. Soak in boiling water and slip off skins before frying or grinding; gives a lighter, slightly less sweet richness to curries.

  • Poppy seed

    Use 60% of the weight for gravies. Soak in warm water and grind into a fine paste to thicken royal kormas without adding heavy oiliness.

  • Shelled peanut

    Use 100% of the weight. Roast, skin, and grind; creates a thicker, earthier texture typical of Maharashtrian and western Indian curries.

Black peppercorn
  • Coarsely ground black pepper

    Use 75% of the weight. Add midway through simmering; spreads heat evenly through the dish instead of delivering isolated bursts.

  • Ground black pepper

    Use 50% of the weight. Stir in near the end of cooking; significantly darkens light gravies and provides an immediate, sharp bite.

Lime juice
  • Lemon juice

    Use equal volume or weight; slightly sweeter and less pungent, but otherwise an imperceptible swap.

  • Dried mango powder

    Use 25% of the weight; imparts dry, fruity sourness, best stirred in right at the end of cooking.

  • Tamarind extract

    Use 50% of the weight; delivers pleasant fruity tang but turns pale sauces considerably darker.

Similar dishes

Venu Pongal
Rice with Moong Dal
It tastes earthier and less spicy, lacking the sharp chilli heat and heavy, rich buttery depth of this dish.
  • Same: Venu Pongal is also a South Indian moong dal porridge tempered with ghee, black peppercorns, curry leaves, and asafoetida.
  • Different: It incorporates cumin seeds and ground turmeric, but omits the mustard seeds, dried red chillies, and high proportion of ghee used in this dish.
Puli Bongaralu
Rice Flour & Lentil Snacks
It is crisp, dense, and savoury with fresh ginger and green chillies rather than soft, buttery, and spiced with black pepper.
  • Same: Puli Bongaralu also combines rice and lentils with a tempering of mustard seeds, dried red chillies, curry leaves, and asafoetida.
  • Different: Instead of boiling rice and moong dal into a porridge with ghee and black peppercorns, it mixes urad dal, chana dal, onions, ginger, and green chillies into patties fried in vegetable oil.
Masala Siyam
Fried Rice & Black Lentil Dumplings
Masala Siyam is crispy and fried with coconut, onion, and herb notes, while this dish is creamy, nutty, peppery, and sour from lime.
  • Same: Masala Siyam shares rice, mustard seed, curry leaf, and salt with this dish, and both are South Indian.
  • Different: Masala Siyam uses urad dal, onion, coconut, coriander, and vegetable oil and is deep-fried, while this dish uses moong dal, ghee, asafoetida, red chilli, cashew, black peppercorn, and lime juice and is cooked as a porridge.
Tapala Chakku Athi
Rice & Lentil Pancakes
It tastes sweet and nutty from coconut with earthy cumin notes rather than buttery and sharply spiced with black pepper like this dish.
  • Same: Tapala Chakku Athi shares a basmati rice and lentil foundation seasoned with mustard seeds, dried red chilli, curry leaves, and asafoetida with this dish.
  • Different: Tapala Chakku Athi is pan-fried as flat pancakes using chana dal, desiccated coconut, and vegetable oil, whereas this dish is boiled into a porridge with moong dal, ghee, and black peppercorn.