Thinai Pongal with Onion Gojju

     An innovation on a South Indian favourite, this dish proves the versatility of millets. My mother-in-Law, Geetha Venkataraman is listed as the co-author since we cooked these recipe ideas up in our kitchen together. The credit for the onion gojju recipe goes to my mother, Mamatha Suresh.

INGREDIENTS FOR PONGAL:

Thinai (foxtail millet) – 1  cup

Split moong dal with skin – ½  cup

Ginger (chopped finely) – 1 tbsp

Pepper corns - 1 tsp

Turmeric powder – ½ tsp

Salt – to taste

Seasoning – Oil / ghee – 1 tsp, mustard, jeera and pepper corns, curry leaves, cashews (5 – 10 nos.)

METHOD

1] Millets as a rule need less water to cook but use a 1:2 ratio to ensure it is sufficiently soft. Thinai with moong dal, turmeric powder and chopped ginger should be placed in a pressure cooker and cooked till done.

2] After the pressure is released, remove the mixture and add salt.

3] Heat the oil / ghee in a small pan, add in the mustard and once it splutters, add the rest of the ingredients. Pour this seasoning onto the pongal and mix well.

4] Serve hot with the onion gojju.

Serves:                 4                              Cooking Time:  40 mins

INGREDIENTS FOR ONION GOJJU:

Onions (finely chopped) – 3, medium

Rasam powder – 2 tsp

Coconut (grated) – 2 tbsp

Tamarind -1 lemon size ball

Jaggery – 1 tbsp

Salt – to taste

Seasoning – Oil- 1tsp, mustard seeds and jeera.

METHOD

1] Extract the tamarind water as given in the rasam recipe.

2] Grind the coconut, rasam powder, salt and jaggery with 2 tbsp of water.

3] Pour this mixture onto the chopped onions, add in the tamarind water and stir till the liquid portion is homogeneous. If the consistency is too thick, add a little more water to make it light. There should be enough liquid to cover three quarters of the volume of the onion.

4] Pour the seasoning onto the gojju and mix well.

5] This makes a good side dish in any meal.

Preparation Time: 15 – 20 mins

Nutrition tips:

• Add plenty of vegetables to the thinai –dal mixture before pressure cooking – this enhances the taste and colour of the dish.
• If you want a more flowy texture (some people like it watery), add a little more water before pressure cooking.
• If you want to increase the viscosity and add a traditional flavour - use finely grated fresh coconut after the cooking is done - this adds some calories from fat however.
• This gojju recipe can be used with any raw or lightly steamed veggies or even sprouts – try it with cucumber as well.
• Other millets such as varagu (kodo millet), Kamb (bajra), samai (little millet), kudiravaali (barnyard millet) can be used instead of rice as well as thinai.

This recipe was published in Parent Circle, September, 2012