Instant pot Pongal recipe with step by step instructions. Pongal festival is around the corner and as we all know Pongal is incomplete without making Ven Pongal and Sakkara Pongal are. Both the ven Pongal recipe and chakkara Pongal are prepared with a combination of rice and moong dal.
Ven Pongal is a savory version and Sakkara Pongal as the name calls its a sweet version. Both the recipes of Pongal are protein-packed and wholesome. Normally we use rice to make both this Pongal recipe. If you are in the process to avoid rice you can substitute the Pongal recipe with oats, millets, or even quinoa but no compromise on the ghee 🙂
This ven pongal recipe iyengar style recipe is a very popular south Indian breakfast and Indian weddings breakfast is incomplete without Ven Pongal. Coconut chutney or a sambar goes well as a side dish for the Ven Pongal recipe. If you are looking for an instant pot sambar recipe to go well with this Pongal, idli, dosa, etc. Please check here.
If you are looking for some instant pot rice recipes check here.
This instant pot Pongal will save you so much time and very little monitoring is required. I’m sharing how to make both the ven Pongal and Sakkara Pongal recipes at the same time using an instant pot.
Instant pot Pongal step by step guide
Ven pongal and sakkara pongal in instant pot preparation
Turn on the instant pot to saute and add the moong dal and dry roast 1 cup of moong dal on normal mode till the dal turns aromatic. You need to keep stirring otherwise the dal will get burnt and the Pongal won’t turn good. So make sure you are stirring it in between to avoid burn.
Turn off the instant pot and add the rice to the same pot and wash rice and dal in the running water three to four times.
Add around 3-3.5 cups of water to the rice and dal mix. I’m not adding any salt since I’m making both the ven Pongal recipe and the chakkara Pongal recipe at the same time in the instant pot.
Place the inner pot in the instant pot and now place the trivet and add around half a cup to 1 cup of jaggery in a bowl depending on the sweetness you like and add around 1/4 cup of water for 1/2 cup jaggery and place it on top of it as shown in the below picture make sure the bowl is deep and doesn’t overflow from the bowl. Close the lid and use rice mode.
Let the pressure release naturally. Open the instant pot and carefully remove the jaggery bowl from the instapot. Take the instant pot trivet also from the inner pot and gently mash the rice and dal.
Since we are making ven Pongal and chakkara Pongal in the instant pot at the same time. Remove half the quantity of rice and dal and keep it aside.
saravana bhavan ven pongal recipe | kara pongal recipe :
This ven Pongal in instant pot tastes very closer to the Saravana Bhavan Ven Pongal recipe.
To begin with add little salt to one of the bowls to make ven Pongal and keep it ready.
Heat a pan with 2-3 tablespoon of ghee and fry the cashew nuts until it turns golden brown and set it aside.
In the same ghee pan, add 1 tbsp of finely chopped ginger,hing, around 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds,1/2 tsp of crushed black peppercorn. Saute until the cumin seeds pop up. Add 1 sprig of curry leaves and turn off the stove. Pour the mix into the cooked rice and dal with salt. In the meantime with the instant pot Pongal become thick if needed add little hot water and stir for a couple of minutes.
Enjoy instant pot Pongal recipe with instant pot ven Pongal sambar or coconut chutney.
Instant pot sakkarai pongal | Sweet Pongal :
Sakkarai Pongal also known as sweet Pongal or chakkara pongali is also a delicious Pongal recipe cooked as a part of the Pongal festival menu. This sweet Pongal with jaggery is always a traditional recipe. Sometimes people make Pongal with sugar, we traditionally make sweet Pongal with milk in a Pongal pot.
Sweet Pongal or Sakkara Pongal is also offered as naivedyam to the goddess during the Navaratri festival.
How to make sweet Pongal in instant pot |How to make sakkarai Pongal
Let us use the other half of cooked rice and dal in the instant pot and mash it well.
Now add the jaggery syrup in the rice and dal mix in the instant pot,1/2 tsp of cardamom powder. Mix it well. Turn on the saute mode to low or normal. The jaggery syrup and rice mix will start to thicken. Keep stirring to avoid an instant pot burn sign. Once instant pot sweet Pongal is ready to perfect consistency take off the inner pot from the instant pot and keep it aside.
Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee in a small pan. Like ven Pongal please add 10 cashew nuts fry until it turns golden brown. Add the raisins and wait till it fluffs up.
Add a pinch of edible camphor and pour the ghee, cashew nuts, raisin mix into the hot Pongal. The sakkarai Pongal recipe is ready to serve.
How to make Pongal in rice cooker
You can follow the same pot in pot method for the rice cooker and cook both Pongal rice recipes for 2-4 whistles depends on the rice quantity.
Pongal festival menu |Pongal festival recipes
The Pongal festival is celebrated as a thank you to the sun god, rain god, and animals like cows, etc. This is a harvest festival so most of the Pongal festival menu is with rice varieties. These are some of the menu choices you can plan as a part of the Pongal menu.
sweet Pongal recipe with sugar -Kalkandu Pongal
Sakkarai Pongal | Chakkara Pongal
Millet Pongal
Ven Pongal
Idli with coconut chutney
Vadai
Kootu like pumpkin, 7 kai kootu
Plantain fry
Instant pot Yogurt
Instant pot Pongal recipe do’s and dont’s: Ven Pongal recipe
- Be generous in adding ghee while making Pongal. This will take the Pongal taste to next level.
- You cant skip or substitute ginger, cumin seeds, ghee, black pepper in a Pongal. All these ingredients are a must when you make instant pot Pongal.
- Please use sona masoori rice or ponni raw rice to make this instant pot Pongal and not basmati rice, brown rice, etc if you want the Pongal recipe to be authentic.
- Dry roasting the moong dal also gives an aroma if you don’t have time please skip it.
- Enjoy the Venn Pongal recipe by adding one more spoon of ghee while serving.
Instant pot Pongal – Ven Pongal recipe and Sakkara Pongal recipe
Instant pot Pongal is a south Indian recipe made with salt called ven Pongal and sweet version called Sakkara pongal.
Ingredients
- 1 cup rice
- 1 cup moong dal
- 5 cup water
Ven pongal recipe
- 3 tbsp ghee
- salt to taste
- 10 numbers cashewnuts
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/2 tsp black peppercorn crushed
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 tbsp ginger shredded or paste
- 1 pinch asafoetida (Hing)
Sakkara pongal recipe
- 1/2 -1 cup jaggery
- 1/4-1/2 cup water
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 10 numbers cashew nuts
- 10 numbers raisins
- 1 pinch edible camphor is also known as pachai karpooram in Tamil optional
- 3 tbsp ghee
Instructions
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Ven pongal and sakkara pongal in instant pot preparation
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Turn on the instant pot to saute and add the moong dal and dry roast 1 cup of moong dal on normal mode till the dal turns aromatic. You need to keep stirring otherwise the dal will get burnt and the Pongal won’t turn good. So make sure you are stirring it in between to avoid burn.
-
Turn off the instant pot and add the rice to the same pot and wash rice and dal in the running water three to four times.
-
Add around 3-3.5 cups of water to the rice and dal mix. I’m not adding any salt since I’m making both the ven Pongal recipe and the chakkara Pongal recipe at the same time in the instant pot.
-
Place the inner pot in the instant pot and now place the trivet and add the jaggery in a bowl and place it on top of it as shown in the below picture make sure the bowl is deep and doesn’t overflow from the bowl. Add very little water for the jaggery to become syrup. Close the lid and use rice mode.
-
Let the pressure release naturally. Open the instant pot and carefully remove the jaggery bowl from the instapot. Take the instant pot trivet also from the inner pot and gently mash the rice and dal.
-
Since we are making ven Pongal and chakkara Pongal in the instant pot at the same time. Remove half the quantity of rice and dal and keep it aside.
-
Instant pot ven Pongal recipe | Instant pot kara pongal recipe :
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Add salt to one of the bowls to make ven Pongal and keep it ready.
-
Heat a pan with 2-3 tablespoon of ghee and fry the cashew nuts until it turns golden brown and set it aside.
-
Now add 1 tbsp of finely chopped ginger, around 1/2 tsp of cumin seeds,1/2 tsp of crushed black peppercorn. Saute until the cumin seeds pop up. Add 1 spring of curry leaves and turn off the stove. Pour the mix into the cooked rice and dal with salt. In the meantime of the instant pot Pongal become thick add little hot water and stir for a couple of minutes.
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Enjoy instant pot Ven Pongal recipe with instant pot sambar or coconut chutney.
How to make sakkarai Pongal | Sweet Pongal in instant pot
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Let us use the other half of cooked rice and dal in the instant pot and mash it well.
-
Now add the jaggery syrup in the rice and dal mix in the instant pot,1/2 tsp of cardamom powder. Mix it well.
-
Turn on the saute mode to low or normal. The jaggery syrup and rice mix will start to thicken. Keep stirring to avoid an instant pot burn sign.
-
Once instant pot sweet Pongal is ready to perfect consistency take off the inner pot from the instant pot and keep it aside.
-
Heat 3 tablespoons of ghee in a small pan. Like ven Pongal please add 10 cashew nuts fry until it turns golden brown. Add the raisins and wait till it fluffs up.
-
Add a pinch of edible camphor and pour the ghee, cashew nuts, raisin mix into the hot Pongal. The sakkarai Pongal recipe is ready to serve.
Recipe Notes
Instant pot Pongal recipe do’s and dont’s: Ven Pongal recipe
- Be generous in adding ghee while making Pongal. This will take the Pongal taste to next level.
- You cant skip or substitute ginger, cumin seeds, ghee, black pepper in a Pongal. All these ingredients are a must when you make instant pot Pongal.
- Please use sona masoori rice or ponni raw rice to make this instant pot Pongal and not basmati rice, brown rice, etc if you want the Pongal recipe to be authentic.
- Dry roasting the moong dal also gives an aroma if you don’t have time please skip it.
- Enjoy the Venn Pongal recipe by adding one more spoon of ghee while serving.
Tried this recipe mention @instantpotindianmom or tag #instantpotindianmom