Pongal with Gotsu
 
Prep time
Cook time
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This quinoa pongal with gotsu is a slightly healthier version of the classic dish pongal that is made on this festival with rice.
Author:
Recipe type: Breakfast
Cuisine: South Indian
Serves: 4
Ingredients
  • PONGAL WITH GOTSU
PONGAL
  • 1 cup of white quinoa
  • ½ cup of split yellow moong daal
  • 4 cups of water
  • 1 tbsp salt or according to your taste
Tempering for Pongal
  • 3 tbsp ghee
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 1 tbsp of coarsely crushed black pepper(important that it has to be coarse, half or quarters)
  • pinch of asafoetida (important)
  • 10-15 curry leaves ( important)
  • 1 inch ginger, thinly sliced to tiny pieces
  • 15 cashews, broken
TOMATO GOTSU
  • ⅓ cup yellow split moong daal
  • 1 carrot, diced
Powder
  • 5-8 red byadagi chilies
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • ½ tsp cumin seeds
  • pinch meethi(optional)
  • 1 tbsp channa daal
  • 1 tsp urad daal
Masala
  • 2 tbsp flavorless oil
  • ½ tsp mustard seeds
  • ½ tbsp cumin seeds
  • 10 curry leaves
  • 2 byadagi red chilies
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 1 tomato diced
  • one mini lemon size tamarind, soaked in 1 cup hot water, and strain the juice.
  • 1 tsp or more salt
  • 1 cup of water
  • small piece of jaggery or 1 tspsugar
Instructions
  1. You can use the pressure cooker or instant pot to cook the quinoa and split moong daal.
  2. First light roast the quinoa and yellow moong daal on medium to low heat for couple of minutes, a very important step. It should not get any color. Make sure to keep tossing it. Turn off the heat and add water and wash very well. Then add 4 cups of water and let it pressure cook for 1 whistle and simmer it and let sit for 20 minutes.
  3. In a separate pan, add ghee, let it get hot. Add the cumin seeds, black pepper, asafoetida, curry leaves, ginger and cashew and toss them until the cashews are golden brown. Turn off the heat.
  4. Open the lid of the pressure cooker, add salt to the pongal and add the tempering to it and mix well. If your pongal is thicker in consistency, add another cup of water. Mix and serve hot.
TOMATO GOTSU
  1. Wash the moong daal and in a sauce pan add it with 2 cups of water and let it cook an boil on medium heat. After about 7 minutes, add the carrots and cook it until the carrots are cooked and the moong daal is cooked, but not mushy. It will take another 5-8 minutes. Turn off the heat and set aside.
  2. In a pan, toast the byadagi chilies, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, meethi, channa daal, urad daal on low heat. Toast it until you smell the spices and you see some color on the urad daal. For about 2 minutes. DO NOT LET IT BROWN TOO MUCH. Take it out and let cool. Grind it to a fine powder. Set aside.
  3. In a pan, add the oil and let it get hot. Add the mustard seeds, cumin, curry leaves, red chilies and once that pops, add the onion and saute. Saute for a minute, add the tomatoes. Add little salt and toss and cook. Once the tomatoes have broken down a bit, add the tamarind juice and let it boil for 4-5 minutes. It will boil and condense. After about 5 minutes, add the cooked urad and carrots, 1 cup of water. Sprinkle the masala powder that you made. At this point, it's up to you to use as much or little as you want. I use about 3 tbsp. Sprinkle, mix and simmer for 5 minutes. Add the jaggery and turn off the heat.
  4. SERVE hot with the Pongal.
Notes
You can use rice instead of quinoa and follow the exact same method.
There are few ingredient for this and it's key to use everything.
For the Gotsu, you can add eggplant, the long ones, when you are sauteeing the onions and cook well before add the tamarind juice. It's very very flavorful and it's quite traditional to use eggplant.
Recipe by Food Fashion Party at https://www.foodfashionparty.com/2018/01/12/pongal-with-gotsu/