Savory Pongal (Ven Pongal)
By: Southern Fried Curry
Published: Thursday, February 3, 2011 - 7:20am

Ingredients




2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup cooked moong dal (other lentils that break down when cooked would be OK)
salt
4 tablespoons ghee, divided
1 small a dozen curry leaves, or six large
1 tablespoon scant ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

1 In a large bowl mix together the rice and dal, adding salt to taste. 2 Add a little water if the mixture is too dry and stiff to mix. 3 In a small saucepan on medium high heat, melt two tablespoons of the ghee, then add the curry leaves and fry them until they begin to give off their fragrance. 4 Take the saucepan off the heat and add the cumin and pepper, and let it sizzle for five or six seconds. 5 Then quickly pour the contents of the saucepan onto the rice and lentils and mix everything together, along with two additional tablespoons of ghee. 6 Add more salt if needed. 7 This serves a family of four, meaning two kids and two adults. If you're really hungry or are serving all grown-ups, I'd double the recipe. 8 Leftovers keep well and taste even better the next day.