Pongal: The Original Indian Food

Sometimes, pongal is all we need.  Rice and lentils, minimally gussied up with ghee, black pepper, cumin, and curry leaves (if you've got them). My husband's uncle calls pongal the original Indian food, as it predates the introduction of chili peppers to India by way of Christopher Columbus. Black pepper is the original Indian spice, and the original "black gold." (Cue Beverly Hillbillies music now and start saying "cee-ment pond.")  Much like today's black gold, wars were fought over it, and people were colonized over it. Now, of course, we can go into any fast food joint and get a little white packet of pepper for free, and then throw it away without ever using it. Crazy, huh? (Oh yeah, unless you're my husband – he saves the little pepper packets. And the salt and ketchup too. One of the reasons I love him so much.)

The version of pongal you're about to receive is my version. I like my cumin and black pepper to be ground up, though many people simply add whole cumin seeds and peppercorns. Curry leaves add a flavor I can only describe as herbal, citrusy nuttiness, and will take your pongal from just "awesome" to "blissfully awesome," but if you don't have them, don't sweat it. Your pongal will be good.

However, if you really want curry leaves, the Indian store is your best bet. Unfortunately, the Indian stores don't always have them, so if you do see them, grab a bunch. You can keep the extras in your freezer for months. Your other option is to find a good friend, most likely South Indian, who will fly to Boston and nab a few shoots off her mother's curry leaf plant, put them in a dirt-filled yogurt container, and carry them back on the airplane for you. As you can see below, the half of the plant that did not get smooshed is sprouting new growth! I had to cut the smooshed half, and ended up using the curry leaves in my pongal.

Just don't leave out the ghee (Indian clarified butter). That is simply not an option. If you don't have ghee, you can make some (the cheapest option and the topic of my very first post), you can buy some for a lot of money at Whole Foods or your local natural foods store, or you can buy some for much less money at the Indian grocery. I like to describe ghee's flavor as buttery, sweet nuttiness. Gotta love the nuttiness!

My last instruction: While you're eating, enjoy the camaraderie of the millions upon billions of Indians who've consumed pongal on a regular, perhaps even daily, basis for thousands of years. Quite the dinner party.

Ven Pongal (Savory Pongal)
2 ½ cups cooked brown rice
1 ½ cups cooked moong dal (other lentils that break down when cooked would be OK)
salt
4 tablespoons ghee, divided
about a dozen small curry leaves, or six large ones
1 scant tablespoon ground cumin
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

In a large bowl mix together the rice and dal, adding salt to taste. Add a little water if the mixture is too dry and stiff to mix. 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. Take the saucepan off the heat and add the cumin and pepper, and let it sizzle for five or six seconds. Then quickly pour the contents of the saucepan onto the rice and lentils and mix everything together, along with two additional tablespoons of ghee. Add more salt if needed. 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. Leftovers keep well and taste even better the next day.