Pongal & Sambar ( Delicious breakfast of Chennai )

3/4 cup Silky raw rice ( pacharisi )
1/4 cup moong dal
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
1 pinch turmeric powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 3/4 cup water

1 tablespoon ghee
2 teaspoon jeera ( cumin seeds )
1 spring curry leaves
1 green chilli, slit lengthwise
1/2 - inch ginger, finely chopped
1 teaspoon peppercorns
2 teaspoon cashew nut, splits
2 pinches hing ( asafoetida ), optional

Wash and clean dal and rice. Do not soak rice and dal in water.

Mix rice, moong dal, turmeric powder, oil and salt and cook in a pressure cooker. Reduce heat after 3 rd whistle to low and cook again for 5 minutes.

Allow the cooker to cool naturally. Open the lid. Rice and dal mixture will be thick and there won?t be any trace of water ( see the photo below ).

In a pan, heat ghee. Add cumin seeds ( jeera ) and saute for few seconds or till fragrant and light golden color.

Add slit green chillies, chopped ginger, curry leaves, peppercorns, split cashew nuts and hing ( optional ). Fry on a low heat for 5 - 8 minutes or till cashew nut turns golden color and fragrant. Pour this seasoning over pongal and mix well. Serve hot with sambar, vada and filter coffee.

1 cup ( 100 g ) tur dal
2 1/2 cups water
1 teaspoon oil
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 onion, roughly chopped
2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

Wash and clean tur dal.

In a steel bowl, mix tur dal, water, oil and turmeric powder. Pressure cook tur dal along with water, turmeric powder, oil, onion and tomatoes for 20 minutes ( reduce heat after 2nd whistle and cook cook on a low heat for 15 minutes. Allow the pressure cooker to cool naturally.

Open the lid. Blend / mix cooked dal- tomato - onion mixture well.

Other ingredients for sambar:

15 sambar onions (small onion / shallots / chuvannulli in Malayalam / Piyyavu in Konkani / sambar venkayam in Tamil )
2 drumsticks, cut into 4 cm pieces
3/4 teaspoon salt ( or to taste
2 1/4 teaspoon 777 brand Madras Sambar Powder/ Eastern / Melam / MTR Sambar powder

2 teaspoon cooking oil
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 spring curry leaves
1 red chilli, broken
2 pinches hing ( asafoetida ), optional
1 teaspoon chopped coriander leaves

Boil small onions and drumstick with cooked dal mixture. Adjust with 1/4 cup water if required ( also you can add 1 - 2 teaspoon tamarind paste if you required ). Add salt to taste. Cover with lid and cook on a medium heat for 5 minutes. Stir occasionally.

Add sambar powder and boil again for 15 minutes on a low heat till done ( drumsticks are soft ). You can find slight reduction in the quantity of the sambar and nice aroma of sambar powder / sambar thickens.

Heat oil in a pan . Add mustard seeds. When they start crackle add curry leaves and broken red chilli. Saute for 2 - 3 minutes and pour this seasoning over sambar. Sprinkle asafoetida and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Serve with Idli / Dosa / Pongal / Rice ....