🍲 Rava Pongal

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Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Total Time: 30 minutes

Rava Pongal is a delicious South Indian breakfast dish made with rava (sooji) and moong dal, tempered with ghee, cumin, pepper, ginger, curry leaves, and cashews. It is lighter than rice pongal and very easy to digest.

🧂 Ingredients

For cooking moong dal

  • 3 tbsp moong dal (yellow lentils)

  • ¾ cup water (use ½ to ⅔ cup if dal cooks quickly)

Other ingredients

  • ½ cup rava (sooji / cream of wheat) – about 90 g

  • 3 tbsp ghee

  • 1 tsp cumin seeds (whole or slightly crushed)

  • ½ tsp crushed black pepper (or 1 tsp lightly crushed)

  • 1 inch ginger, finely chopped (or 1 tsp chopped ginger)

  • ⅛ tsp asafoetida (hing)

  • 12 to 15 cashews

  • 1 sprig curry leaves (10–12 leaves)

  • 1.5 cups water

  • Salt to taste

👩‍🍳 Instructions

1. Roast moong dal

  • Pick and clean the moong dal.

  • Heat a small pan and dry roast moong dal on low heat, stirring often, until aromatic.

  • Do not brown.

2. Cook moong dal

  • Rinse the roasted dal and add to a pressure cooker.

  • Add ¾ cup water and pressure cook for:

    • 6–7 whistles (10–12 minutes) for regular dal

    • 2–3 whistles if dal cooks quickly

  • Let pressure release naturally.

  • Open lid, mash dal, and keep aside.

(You can roast rava and prep other ingredients while dal cooks.)

3. Roast rava

  • Heat a pan and add rava.

  • Roast on low flame, stirring often, until fragrant.

  • Do not brown.

  • Remove and keep aside.

4. Make rava pongal

  • Heat the same pan and add ghee.

  • Add cumin seeds and let them splutter.

  • Add cashews and sauté till light golden.

  • Add curry leaves, ginger, hing, and crushed black pepper. Mix well.

  • Pour in 1.5 cups water and bring to a rolling boil.

  • Lower heat and add roasted rava in parts, stirring continuously to avoid lumps.

  • Add cooked moong dal and mix well.

  • Add salt to taste and stir.

  • Simmer on low heat till rava is fully cooked and mixture thickens.

🍽️ Serve with

  • Coconut chutney

  • Mango pickle

  • Fresh curd

  • Sambar

Best served hot or warm 🌿

📝 Notes & Tips

  • Roast both moong dal and rava well for best aroma and texture.

  • Add rava slowly and stir continuously to avoid lumps.

  • Adjust ghee as per taste (more ghee = richer flavor).

  • For pan-cooked dal:

    • Soak moong dal for 30 minutes, then cook in ¾ cup water until soft and mash.

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