Ven Pongal with Beans-Coconut Poriyal
One-pot rice + split urad pongal finished with ghee tempering, served with a crisp beans poriyal on the side.
Ingredients
Pongal: - 1/2 cup rice - 1/4 cup split urad dal (with skin) - 3 cups water - 1/2 tsp salt - 1/4 tsp turmeric - 2 tbsp ghee - 1 tsp jeera - 1/2 tsp crushed pepper - 1 tsp grated ginger - 8 cashews - Pinch of hing - Coriander to garnish Beans-coconut poriyal: - 150 g beans, chopped small (~1/2 cm) - 3 tbsp grated coconut - 1 tsp ghee - 1/2 tsp mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp split urad dal (with skin) - 1 dry red chilli, broken in half - Pinch of hing - 1/4 tsp salt
Steps
1. Rinse rice and dal together, soak 15 min. 2. Cooker: rice, dal, water, salt, turmeric. 4 whistles on medium, then low flame 5 min. Switch off, let pressure drop. 3. While it cooks, heat ghee in a kadai for the poriyal. Splutter mustard, then urad, red chilli, hing. 4. Add beans, salt, 3 tbsp water. Cover, low flame 6-7 min till tender-crisp. 5. Stir in coconut. 1 min. Switch off. 6. Pongal tempering: heat ghee, fry cashews till golden, add jeera, pepper, ginger, hing. 20 sec. 7. Open cooker, mash pongal lightly, pour tempering in, stir once. 8. Top with coriander. Serve hot with the poriyal.
Notes
RSI-friendly: one pot plus one pan. No fine knife work past chopping beans and ginger. Swap split urad with skin for yellow split urad if you want a smoother, classic pongal. Add a drizzle of extra ghee on top before serving; it makes the dal feel richer without more stirring.