Taro is thought to be a native plant of South India and it was the poor man’s potato until the latter became very cheap. Growing up, when the taro plants sprouted amongst the paddy fields, we knew the summer was over, and soon school would be back in session and the rivers would be full.
The taro’s leaves grow as big as an elephant ear, and during the monsoon, it was almost scary to see these monstrous leaves. Even today, during Spring, it gives me so much pleasure to see similar leafy plants, like hosta, sprout up around here. I almost always stop to take pictures and remember the paddy fields with taro plants from my childhood!
In the South, the favorite way to cook this root is to deep fry it, but I wanted to figure out a healthy alternate. Taro roots contain toxic substances, and need to be cooked well. The IP provides excellent control while cooking taro root, and this recipe is a simple and a healthy way to cook it.
Taro Roast is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
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Taro Root (cheppankizangu, colocasia) Roast
In the South, the favorite way to cook this root is to deep fry it, but I wanted to figure out a healthy alternate. Taro roots contain toxic substances, and need to be cooked well. The IP provides excellent control while cooking taro root, and this recipe is a simple and a healthy way to cook it. This is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
Add 1.5 cups of water into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP). Insert a stainless-steel steamer basket. Place the taro roots in the steamer basket.
Select ‘Steam’ with vent sealed, and cook for 6 min. Once the steam cycle is done, let the IP cool down and the pressure go down naturally.
When the IP has cooled down, open the lid and wait for the taro roots to cool down for about 5 minutes.
Peel off the skin (it should come off easily) and slice the taro root into ¼” round pieces.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan).
Pour vegetable oil over the spices (need enough to wet the pan surface plus a little more).
Heat on medium high. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," spread the cooked taro roots evenly across the surface of the pan. Let them fry.
Add salt. Sprinkle turmeric powder, sambar powder, and the red chili powder uniformly over the surface of the taro roots.
Periodically flip the taro roots, each time spraying with canned aerosol vegetable oil. Continue to sprinkle red chili powder and sambar powder over the surface as needed.
Keep the heat on medium high and slowly dry roast the taro roots until desired color and crispiness are achieved.
Since the taro roots absorb nearly all moisture while they cook, sprinkling water on them occasionally may help to cook the taro roots with spices uniformly.
Once done, sprinkle a few cilantro leaves on top as garnish and serve hot.
What would a Madarasi do when cooking a Chole Masala? He naturally would add a spoon or two (or more) of sambar powder. I have been cooking this version of Chole for a long time and I would say this is a perfect blend of North and TamBram cooking traditions, resulting in a mouthwatering dish. It is the combination of sambar, chana and garam masala powders that gives this fusion its aroma and taste. For a TamBram, it is the sight of the black mustard seeds floating in the chole that makes this dish so homey. There is something in it for a Punjabi too. The alluring taste of amchoor and the masala smell is enough to make this dish at least partially Punjabi. But why add jaggery to this dish, you may ask. For a long time, this was a deliberately kept secret by the old-time wedding cooks in Madras. Their sambars were notoriously good and no one was able to figure out why. Legend has it that the master cooks wouldn’t even tell their own crews what it was. The master cook would come in at the final hour to taste the sambar, and pull out a packet of jaggery and mix it without telling anyone about it. But here is a word of caution, jaggery needs to be added in just the right amount. As they say in Tamil, beyond its limit, even the immortal nectar (amrit) becomes poisonous.
This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
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Madarasi Chole Masala
I have been cooking this version of Chole for a long time and I would say this is a perfect blend of North and TamBram cooking traditions, resulting in a mouthwatering dish. It is the combination of sambar, chana and garam masala powders that gives this fusion its aroma and taste. For a TamBram, it is the sight of the black mustard seeds floating in the chole that makes this dish so homey. This is a pure vegetarian food, and you can make it vegan by substituting vegetable oil for the butter. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
Carefully remove any small stones or bad garbanzo beans. Rinse the beans thoroughly and soak them overnight.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into the instant pot inner pot (IP) (put the spices in one small area of the pot). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Plug in the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, butter, and ginger/garlic paste into the pan. Stir until the butter melts and the chilies and garlic/ginger paste mix well together.
Add onions to the pot. Stir occasionally until the onions are cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add salt, sambar powder, masala powder, channa masala powder and the turmeric powder. Mix them well and let them cook together. Add a cup of water to the pot and bring to a boil.
Add the diced tomatoes. Ensure you stir periodically for uniform cooking and mixing of spices. Bring it to a boil.
Rinse the garbanzos and pour them into to the IP. Add Potatoes. Add about 1.0 cup of water, but ensure that the water is just enough and it is not too much.
On manual high pressure with the vent closed, cook them for 10 minutes. Once the IP has cooled down, make sure there is no pressure in the cooker and that the (pressure) pin is down. Open the cooker lid -- be careful, as the dhal will be extremely hot.
Add jaggery when the contents are still hot and stir it well.
Often, the simplest pairings make the most fabulous dishes. South Indian carrot curry (or porrial, as it is sometimes called) is the simplest Indian vegetable stir-fry that you could possibly make. Carrots are not that alien to Indian cooking. In fact, they are originally from neighboring Afghanistan and have been incorporated into Indian cooking for quite some time. However, the current variety of carrot that is widely used in Indian cooking is a domesticated version of a wild carrot originally believed to be from the Netherlands.
In this dish, the goal is to make the spicy chile taste stand out ever so slightly against the backdrop of the subtle sweetness of the coconut and the carrots. The Instant Pot provides an excellent way to steam the vegetables without losing their nutrients.
Carrot curry is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
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Carrot Curry (Porrial, Stir-fry)
Often, the simplest pairings make the most fabulous dishes. South Indian carrot curry (or porrial, as it is sometimes called) is the simplest Indian vegetable stir-fry that you could possibly make. Carrot curry is a pure vegetarian and a vegan dish. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
Peel the carrots' outer skin and dice them into small cubes. Dice the green chilies into small pieces.
Add 1.5 cups of water into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP). Insert a stainless-steel steamer basket. Place the diced carrots and the green peas in the steamer basket.
Select ‘Steam’ with vent sealed, cook for 1 min. Once the steam cycle is done, release the pressure by venting the steam out.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan).
Pour vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Heat on medium. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the curry leaves, ginger and green chilies, and stir for a few seconds.
Pour the contents of the cooked carrots and the green peas into the frying pan and spread evenly across the surface of the pan.
Add salt, and let the carrots cook on medium heat. Since the carrots are already cooked, just fold the cooked carrots in with a spatula until they are coated/mixed well with the spices.
Add the shredded coconut and stir until the coconut is mixed and blended with the rest of the curry.
Sprinkle a few cilantro leaves on top as garnish and serve hot.
Upma is the humble Indian version of a polenta or a spicy porridge. However, despite its modest beginning, it takes on multiple incarnations thanks to the many forgiving ways you can forge its recipe. For example, Floyd Cardoz, a Bombay-born New York chef, recently won the coveted Top Chef Masters contest in Los Angeles by taking this dish and upping it to an haute cuisine. Its unassuming nature starts with its name, which simply translates to ‘salty flour.’ It has always been a breakfast for sadhus, and aam aadmis and is the go-to food for train journeys and school lunches. However, by the time you are old enough to get out of your parents’ home, you, like me, had such an overdose of Rava Upma that you want to be miles away from any kitchen that serves this dish for the rest of your life. But the secret allure of this dish cannot be denied, and you eventually crave for it. This recipe goes back to the basics, and presents its classic taste by keeping it very simple. Please give it a try.
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Rava Upma, the common man’s polenta.
Upma is the humble Indian version of a polenta or a spicy porridge. However, despite its modest beginning, it takes on multiple incarnations thanks to the many forgiving ways you can forge its recipe. This recipe goes back to the basics, and presents its classic taste by keeping it very simple. Avoid butter in this recipe to make it a vegan dish. Please give it a try.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Heat on medium. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, curry leaves, butter, and ginger into the pan. Stir until the butter melts. Mix all the spices together well for a minute.
Add onions to the frying pan. Stir occasionally until the onions become translucent. They don’t need to be cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add two cups of water to the frying pan. Add green peas and salt. Bring the water to a first boil.
Add soji (rava) slowly while constantly stirring so that it does not form any lumps.
Keep stirring the mix until all the water is absorbed. It should happen fairly quickly.
Reduce the heat to low, and close the pan with its lid for a few minutes, until the soji is cooked and becomes fluffy and moist.
Koottu (meaning ‘adding’) is a quintessential Tamil vegetable lentil stew, and may have been named as such because vegetables are added to a lentil base. Even today, the TamBram version of this utilizes only native vegetables and spices, except for the use of red chilies. My speculation is that this dish may have been cooked with pepper at one time, and was replaced by red chilies only recently. The Palghat version is a very popular dish and is aptly named as ‘mulagoottal,’ which translates to ‘adding pepper.’
The recipe below is a mashup and I use ‘English’ vegetables, and red chilies. Taking a cue from the ‘arachu vitta koottu’ (meaning ‘blend and mix’ variety), I added a combination of pepper, coriander and fenugreek seeds to get some additional kick to this otherwise humble dish.
Traditionally it is cooked with a neutral base, meaning there is no acidic element to this. But I wanted to add a bit of sour taste by including a tiny bit of yogurt in the end to subdue the somewhat overpowering cumin. Finally, the consistency is deliberately kept on the solid side, but if you prefer this to be more liquid, then add an additional cup of water.
This is a very delicate dish, but very simple to cook. You can use cabbage, or spinach or any of the vegetables from the squash or gourds family.
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Potato and Carrot Koottu - Indian Vegetable Lentil Stew
Koottu is a quintessential Tamil vegetable lentil stew. This is a very delicate dish, but very simple to cook. The consistency is deliberately kept on the solid side, but if you prefer this to be more liquid, then add an additional cup of water. You can use cabbage, or spinach or any of the vegetables from the squash or gourds family. It is gluten free and is a vegan dish.
Dice the carrot and potato into small cubes and set them aside.
Add oil (1 tbsp or as needed) to a frying pan and heat the oil on medium heat. Add red red chilies, chana dhal and coriander seeds and fry until the chana dhal becomes somewhat brown.
Add cumin seeds, pepper, fenugreek seeds and fry them all for a few more seconds.
Turn the heat to ‘low,’ add coconut and fry the mixture by continuously stirring it so that it does not get burnt. Fry until the coconut becomes slightly off-white/brown.
Turn the stove off, and allow it to cool.
Using a blender, grind the fried spices into a fine paste, adding just enough (cold) water to achieve a paste consistency. Take extra caution not to heat it up too much during grinding.
Pour the paste into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP).
Add moong dhal, and the vegetables. Add salt.
Add about 2.0 cups of water.
Close the lid, and cook for 2 min at high pressure. Cool down naturally.
Add ¼ cup of water to the yogurt and mix it thoroughly to form a uniform liquid without any solids.
Open the IP lid when it is cool and when the pressure valve is down. Add the yogurt and mix gently but thoroughly.
Chutney is assimilated into local food traditions so much so that the very meaning of it varies depending on who you ask. For a Westerner, it may be a kind of a jam, somewhat sweet, and sometimes sour, but most definitely invented by a British Major named Grey! In reality, however, chutney is the oldest known pickling process that evolved in India some three thousand years ago. It literally means ‘finger licking’ and it is usually spicy hot, particularly in Southern India. It is served as a dip, or as a side dish. For me, having tomato chutney served with masala vada is heaven. Here is a recipe for a delicious spicy tomato chutney. It is inspired by the Andhra style of cooking and made deliberately on the spicy side. Its characteristic ‘bite’ is the result of using a large amount of onion. It is particularly well suited as a side dish for any afternoon tiffin varieties, but is also great as a dip. It is certainly finger licking good!
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Tomato Chutney
Here is a recipe for a delicious spicy tomato chutney. It is inspired by the Andhra style of cooking and cooked deliberately on the spicy side. It uses large amount of onion to give its characteristic 'bite'. It is particularly well suited as a side dish for any afternoon tiffin varieties, but also great as a dip. It is certainly finger licking good! It is gluten free and will be a vegan dish if you remove or substitute butter in this recipe.
Pour the contents of the dry spices into a wide non-stick frying pan (put the spices in one small area of the frying pan). Pour the vegetable oil over the spices (enough to soak the spices plus a little more).
Heat on medium. When you first hear the sound of the mustard seed "popping," add the diced green chilies, butter, and ginger/garlic paste into the pan. Stir until the butter melts and the chilies and garlic/ginger paste mix well together.
Add onions to the frying pan. Stir occasionally until the onions are cooked to a 'golden brown' color.
Add salt and sambar powder. Mix them well and let them cook together. Add a cup of water to the frying pan and bring to a boil.
Add the diced tomatoes to the frying pan right after the first boil. Ensure you stir periodically for uniform cooking and mixing of spices. Add a ½ cup of water.
Stir just enough until all the spices are mixed with the cooked tomato and the water is somewhat gone. It should still be a good moist paste, with well-cooked tomatoes.
Turn the stove off. Allow it cool.
Once cooled, use a blender to make a purée with a good thick consistency. If water is needed, add minimally.
Sundal is a signature TamBram stir-fried dish. While I love a home cooked sundal, which is usually a simple version without any fanfare, what I really crave for is the Marina Beach version with its trademark ‘thenga-manga-pattani’ (coconut, mango and garbanzos) sundal. It is a very simple dish that is high in protein and a perfect one to make it in the Instant Pot. I think it is best served as an appetizer along with some masala vada. No wonder then that this has become a famous bar food in some of the elite Chennai ‘clubs.’ So here is a recipe for a hipster’s version of this famous dish. But if you would rather prefer a simple ‘sadhu’ version, just drop the onions, ginger and mango part of the recipe.
Peanut Sundal – The Spicy Indian
This is a vegan dish. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
You can replace garbanzos with peanuts and the recipe is identical.
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Peanut Sundal
Best Appetizer for a party. Here is a recipe for a hipster’s version of this famous dish. But if you would rather prefer a simple ‘sadhu’ version, just drop the onions, ginger and mango part of the recipe.
Rinse the peanuts thoroughly and soak them for about 20 minutes.
Dice the green chilies and the onion into fine pieces. Peel the mango skin, and grate it into small pieces.
Rinse the peanuts and pour them into to the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot. Add about 3.0 cup of water. Make sure that the water level is enough and over the surface of the peanuts. Close the lid, and cook for 25 min at high pressure. Cool down naturally. Open the lid and drain the water. Set the peanuts aside.
In the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
Add oil to the Inner Pot. When it is hot, add hing, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and the red chilies. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add cumin seeds and the urd dhal. Stir for a few minutes.
Add, salt, green chilies and the ginger. Add one half of the cut onions. Continue to stir until they blend in with the rest of the spices. It is not necessary to cook the onions completely.
Add the drained peanuts and stir it constantly until the peanuts and the rest of the spices are mixed well with the spices. Add the rest of the onion and slowly fry the peanuts for one to two minutes. Add coconut and the shredded mango and mix well.
Set the Instant Pot on ‘saute’ mode with high heat. Fry them together for a minute.
Press ‘cancel’ to get out of the sauté mode. Set the Instant Pot on slow cook set on ‘normal’ (medium) heat, and put the lid on. Cook for 30 minutes.
Garnish with long cut onions, green chilies split along the length, and cilantro.
Leave the Instant Pot on slow cook on medium heat and serve the sundal hot from the dish, just the way it is done in the Marina Beach.
Sundal is a signature TamBram stir-fried dish. While I love a home cooked sundal, which is usually a simple version without any fanfare, what I really crave for is the Marina Beach version with its trademark ‘thenga-manga-pattani’ (coconut, mango and garbanzos) sundal. It is a very simple dish that is high in protein and a perfect one to make it in the Instant Pot. I think it is best served as an appetizer along with some masala vada. No wonder then that the peanut version has become a famous bar food in some of the elite Chennai ‘clubs.’ So here is a recipe for a hipster’s version of this famous dish. But if you would rather prefer a simple ‘sadhu’ version, just drop the onions, ginger and mango part of the recipe.
This is a vegan dish. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking.
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Thenga, Manga, Pattani Sundal
This is a vegan dish. It can also be prepared as a gluten free food, if you avoid the hing while garnishing/cooking. Here is a recipe for a hipster’s version of this famous dish. But if you would rather prefer a simple ‘sadhu’ version, just drop the onions, ginger and mango part of the recipe.
Rinse the garbanzos thoroughly and soak them for about 20 minutes.
Dice the green chilies and the onion into fine pieces. Peel the mango skin, and grate it into small pieces.
Rinse the garbanzos and pour them into to the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot. Add about 3.0 cup of water. Make sure that the water level is enough and over the surface of the garbanzos. Close the lid, and cook for 25 min at high pressure. Cool down naturally. Open the lid and drain the water. Set the garbanzos aside.
In the Instant Pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to ensure the digital display is on ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté.
Add oil to the Inner Pot. When it is hot, add hing, curry leaves, mustard seeds, and the red chilies. When the mustard seeds start to pop, add cumin seeds and the urd dhal. Stir for a few minutes.
Add, salt, green chilies and the ginger. Add one half of the cut onions. Continue to stir until they blend in with the rest of the spices. It is not necessary to cook the onions completely.
Add the drained garbanzos and stir it constantly until the garbanzos and the rest of the spices are mixed well with the spices. Add the rest of the onion and slowly fry the garbanzos for one to two minutes. Add coconut and the shredded mango and mix well.
Set the Instant Pot on ‘saute’ mode with high heat. Fry them together for a minute.
Press ‘cancel’ to get out of the sauté mode. Set the Instant Pot on slow cook set on ‘normal’ (medium) heat, and put the lid on. Cook for 30 minutes.
Garnish with long cut onions, green chilies split along the length, and cilantro.
Leave the Instant Pot on slow cook on medium heat and serve the sundal hot from the dish, just the way it is done in the Marina Beach.
Chole was the very first north Indian dish I started to crave. Since my mother did not cook chole at home, my taste for chole is entirely developed based on the street foods that I have eaten over the years. In my opinion, the finest chole is the bazaar food variety where the vendor typically makes the dish hot (spicy) with a tinge of sour taste. This unique taste comes from aamchur (dried mango powder). But the tricky part of chole is to cook the beans to the right texture with the correct moisture content. The best chole I ever had was from a very small shop in the main bazaar just opposite to the Golden Temple in Amritsar. The place is called “Bhai Kulwant Singh Kulchian Wale’ and it is very popular for its kulcha naan, but I found their chole was simply world class! Ever since then, I wanted to cook my own Amritsari chole and I think I finally did it.
Chole The Spicy Soul
To get the best flavor, it needs to be slow cooked. So here is a recipe for slow cooking.
You can make this as a completely vegan dish by simply substituting butter with a suitable vegetable oil. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
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Amritsari Khatte Chole
Best Chole recipe! You can make this as a completely vegan dish by simply substituting butter with a suitable vegetable oil. You can also make this dish gluten free, if you avoid the hing. Hing in its pure form is gluten free, but many vendors add wheat flour to reduce the intensity of its flavor.
Soak the garbanzos overnight. Rinse the garbanzos thoroughly and pour them into the Inner Pot of the Instant Pot (IP). Add enough water (about 1.5 cup) to cover the garbanzos (water level should be just over the surface of the garbanzos). Add salt and the tea bag to the IP. In a tea infuser, add bay leaves, cinnamon, clove, pepper and green cardamom. Drop the infuser into the IP and make sure that it is immersed completely. Turn on the IP to 'slow cook' on ‘high.’ At this setting, the IP will keep the temperature around 210°F (99°C).
Wash the potato thoroughly and start to boil it with a pinch of salt. Once cooked, remove the skin and set it aside. Mash the potato thoroughly.
On a different skillet, heat the oil on high heat and add hing and cumin seeds to it. Add the onion. Fry the onion until it becomes golden brown and very soft.
Add butter, green chilies, and tomato sauce. Bring them all to a boil.
When they are thoroughly mixed, add red chile powder, turmeric powder, chole masala, garam masala, and coriander seed powder. Cook them well until the oil starts to separate. Then add the ginger and garlic paste to the mix. Continue to stir well.
Add the mashed potato to the spice mix and stir well. Bring it to a good boil.
Once well cooked, add this cooked mix to the garbanzos (ensure that the garbonzas have cooked at least for three hours) in the crockpot and cook (at least for another one hour) until it is all mixed well.
Once done, garnish with long cut onions, green chile split along the length and cilantro.
Optional (here is the Khatte part): If the chole masala has enough amchur (mango powder) in it, then it will already be somewhat sour. But if the cooked chole is not sour enough, and/or you prefer to make it more sour, then follow this additional step:
Put two tbsp of chopped onions, ½ tsp of salt, 1 tsp of chopped green chili, some ginger and lemon juice (from one half of a lemon). Mix well. Set aside.
Add this mixture to the Chole (in the IP) during the final stages of chole. Mix it thoroughly.
When it is gloomy, cold and raining, it is time to reach for my pot. Oh shush, I am speaking of my Instant Pot!
Pongal
When I was growing up in my village, during the winter months of December/January, if we went to the temple early in the morning, the priest would serve us a hot cup of Pongal. Ever since then, I have always associated winter mornings to the taste of a good Pongal. Over the years, I have ever so slowly perfected my own homemade Pongal. Recently, I have updated my recipe to make this cooking very simple using an Instant Pot.
For my non-South Indian friends, Pongal is the South Indian equivalent to a spicy western porridge. It has become a national breakfast food in India, and a very popular dish in the South. You can make this recipe a vegan dish by simply substituting the butter with a suitable vegetable oil. It is gluten free if you avoid the hing.
Here is my recipe. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
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Pongal
Pongal is the South Indian equivalent to a spicy western porridge. It has become a national breakfast food in India, and a very popular dish in the South. You can make this recipe a vegan dish by simply substituting the butter with a suitable vegetable oil. It is gluten free if you avoid the hing.
Put moong dhal in a small pot on medium heat and dry roast until it is hot to touch. Do not over roast it. Make sure you turn the moong dhal over constantly so as to make the roasting uniform.
Plug in the Instant pot, press ‘sauté’ and ‘adjust’ to change the digital display to ‘more.’ This is the high setting for sauté. In the Instant Pot inner pot, add the butter. Once it is melted, add hing, add finely chopped ginger, sauté for 2-3 seconds, then add pepper (best if you have freshly ground pepper) and cumin seeds. Add salt. Add the green chilie. If you want to add more flavor, add a bit of ground cumin powder. Adjust the ‘sauté’ temperature down if needed. Sauté for another 1 min. You can add fresh curry leaves. Make sure nothing burns or stick to the bottom of inner pot. Add roasted moong dhal and the rice.
Add three cups of water. The amount of water you add would vary based on the rice you use. I use Thai Jasmin rice for my cooking. Adjust as needed.
On manual, under high pressure, with vent sealed, cook for 8 min. Let it cool down naturally.
Open the lid, add the Cashew nuts, and thoroughly mix.
