• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

My Cooking Journey logo

  • Home
  • Recipes
menu icon
go to homepage
  • Home
  • Recipes
search icon
Homepage link
  • Home
  • Recipes
×

Home » Entree

Published: Nov 14, 2013 · Modified: Nov 6, 2021 by Sandhya Ramakrishnan · This post may contain affiliate links

Oats Pongal – World Diabetes Day

Jump to Recipe

This Oats Pongal is an excellent healthy alternative to the traditional pongal that is made predominantly with rice. Add whole moong or the split moong with the skin on, makes the pongal so earthy and delicious that you would never go back to the regular pongal.

Oats Pongal in  bowl

Diabetes is a metabolic disease which is characterized by high sugar content in the blood. There are three major type of diabetes, type I, type II and gestational diabetes.

Type I diabetes is caused by the inability of the body to produce insulin. Hence, the person needs to regularly inject insulin into him/her or wear an insulin pump.

Type II diabetes, which is the most common one, is caused by the inability of the body to use insulin effectively. Gestational diabetes occurs in a pregnant woman who develops diabetes during her pregnancy. This could later lead to Type II in certain cases.

Sign up to my newsletter

The type II diabetes is becoming an epidemic and spreading very fast in the world. Even though the awareness has widely increased about this preventable disease, the lifestyle of the current population is causing more and more people to become diabetic. Diabetes has been around for a very long time.

My paternal grandmother was diabetic and she was under medications for it, but they had a better management of the disease because of the life they led.

The kind of food they ate and the amount (and quality) of work they did enabled them to keep the disease under control.

Today , being the WORLD DIABETES DAY, myself and a group of blogger friends are doing this special post for creating as much as awareness possible through food.

Eating the right kind of food is a very important factor in controlling this disease. In this busy world, people find it very hard to eat the right kind of food and are easily carried towards the junk food which is readily available and easily accessible.

Hopefully this little step from our side would create awareness in people and teach them that eating healthy is not very hard. All it takes is a little planning and modest lifestyle changes from individuals.

Eating right and exercising regularly are the two important steps that a doctor advises anyone who is diabetic.

My personal experience with diabetes has been through my father. My paternal grandmother was diabetic, but I was not old enough to understand what she went through dealing with the disease.

Less than 8 months back my mother had just come to visit us in US and within a week, my dad was not feeling well and was admitted in the hospital.

It was hard for us to digest the fact that my dad who is a very active person (and thank god is still very active) was in the hospital. He had cardiac symptoms and the doctors performed Angiogram to find that he needed a triple bypass surgery.

I and my mother flew back to India immediately and then my dad had a very successful surgery. But it was very scary to see the person who was the supporting pillar for me to be in the hospital bed.

My dad had high sugar levels for the past few years and he had never monitored it too well. His cardiac symptoms were caused by the fact that he was not monitoring his sugar levels like he should have been.

It was a close call and god had been extremely nice to us by saving my dad’s life. Now he is very aware of his sugar levels and has it under control. I have been passing along several diabetic friendly recipes which are also heart healthy to my mother.

My dad is extremely a picky eater and my mother is facing the same issue that I face with my 3 yr old. Though he has become far better than what he used to be, my mother still has a hard time cooking certain things for him.

Oats Pongal in a blue bowl

Whole grains are something that I have been asking my mother to use a lot. One does not have to go out of way to find whole grains. Just some basic substitutions in the regular grains can give a very visible result in one’s body.

Avoiding white rice is the biggest challenge that my father is facing. The man just loves his rice! So instead of making a drastic change and completely depriving him of his white rice, I asked my mother to start substituting the white rice in idli, dosa, adai, etc.

In fact, the adai’s made with brown rice is so soft and delicious that I have entirely stopped using regular rice for it.

Oats pongal is something that I started making recently in which along with rice I use the whole moong or the split moong with the skin on. The whole combination makes the pongal so earthy and delicious that you would never go back to the regular pongal.

Oats is very rich in soluble fiber, which slows the absorption of glucose from food in the stomach keeping the blood sugar levels in control. Because of the same reason, it also keeps one fuller for a long time.

Moong dal or whole moong is again very rich in fiber. Complex carbohydrate in moong is also effective in stabilizing blood sugar and prevents rapid rise after meal consumption.

Moong also is very rich in Vitamin A, B, C and E. It is also an excellent source of many minerals, such as calcium, iron and potassium.

Oats Pongal served

Preparation time – 10 mins
Cooking time – 30 mins
Difficulty level – easy

Ingredients to make Oats Pongal – serves 4

  • Rolled oats (quick cooking variety) – 1 cup
  • Split moong dal with skin – ½ cup
  • Peppercorns/milagu – 2 tsp
  • Cumin seeds/jeeragam – 2 tsp
  • Olive Oil – 1 tbsp
  • Asafetida – ¼ tsp
  • Curry leaves – few
  • Ginger – 1 teaspoon (grated)
  • Turmeric powder – ½ tsp
  • Salt – to taste

Procedure –

  • In a pan dry roast the oats for 4-5 minutes until aromatic. Keep it aside.
Roasting the oats
  • In the same pan roast the moong dal for few minutes until it starts to change color.
Roasting dal
  • Wash well and cook in adequate water until it is soft and mushy.
Cooking the dal with water
  • In a spice grinder, coarsely grind 1 ½ teaspoon of pepper and 1 ½ teaspoon of cumin and keep it aside.
Oats in a spoon
  • In a wide pan, add the oil and heat it. Season with the remaining pepper, cumin, asafetida, curry leaves and ginger. Fry them well. Now add the ground pepper-cumin powder and fry for a minute.
Frying the spices
  • Heat about 2 cups of water to the pan and let it come to a boil. Add the turmeric powder and salt required to the dish.
Boiling water
  • Add the cooked moong dal and the oats to the boiling water and mix well.
  • Simmer and cover with a lid. Let the Oats Pongal cook for about 5 minutes.
  • At the end of 5 minutes, you will notice that the oats has cooked. If not cook for 2 more minutes. Adjust the consistency of the pongal to your liking. I like my Oats Pongal a little bit on the runny side and hence I end up adding half a cup more water.
Adding oats in water
  • Serve the Oats Pongal hot with gothsu or sambhar!
Oats Pongal is served with sauce

My other Diabetic friendly recipe -

Godhumai Rava Upma
Quinoa Pulao

 If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | twitter

Oats Pongal

Oats Pongal – World Diabetes Day

This Oats Pongal is an excellent healthy alternative to the traditional pongal that is made predominantly with rice. Add whole moong or the split moong with the skin on, makes the pongal so earthy and delicious that you would never go back to the regular pongal.
No ratings yet
Print Pin Rate
Course: Breakfast, Lunch Box Recipes
Cuisine: Indian, South Indian
Diet: Diabetic
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Total Time: 40 minutes
Servings: 4 people
Calories: 210kcal
Author: Sandhya Ramakrishnan

Equipment

  • pan

Ingredients

  • 1 cup Rolled oats Quick-cooking variety
  • ½ cup Split moong dal With skin
  • 2 teaspoon Peppercorns/milagu
  • 2 teaspoon Cumin seeds/jeeragam
  • 1 tbsp. Olive Oil
  • ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
  • few Curry leaves
  • 1 teaspoon Ginger Grated
  • ½ teaspoon Turmeric powder
  • to taste Salt

Instructions

  • In a pan dry roast the oats for 4-5 minutes until aromatic. Keep it aside.
  • In the same pan roast the moong dal for few minutes until it starts to change color.
  • Wash well and cook in adequate water until it is soft and mushy.
  • In a spice grinder, coarsely grind 1 ½ teaspoon of pepper and 1 ½ teaspoon of cumin and keep it aside.
  • In a wide pan, add the oil and heat it. Season with the remaining pepper, cumin, asafetida, curry leaves and ginger. Fry them well. Now add the ground pepper-cumin powder and fry for a minute.
  • Heat about 2 cups of water to the pan and let it come to a boil. Add the turmeric powder and salt required to the dish.
  • Add the cooked moong dal and the oats to the boiling water and mix well.
  • Simmer and cover with a lid. Let the Oats Pongal cook for about 5 minutes.
  • At the end of 5 minutes, you will notice that the oats has cooked. If not cook for 2 more minutes. Adjust the consistency of the pongal to your liking. I like my Oats Pongal a little bit on the runny side and hence I end up adding half a cup more water.
  • Serve the Oats Pongal hot with gothsu or sambhar!

Nutrition

Calories: 210kcal | Carbohydrates: 31g | Protein: 10g | Fat: 6g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 11mg | Potassium: 120mg | Fiber: 5g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 63IU | Calcium: 40mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?Mention @Sandhya.Ramakrishnan or tag #MyCookingJourney!
« Pakoda | Pakora | Onion Pakora Recipe
Oats And Chocolate Biscotti - Eggless Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Kathy says

    November 14, 2016 at 8:13 pm

    My 14 year old son has been living with Type 1 Diabetes for 6 years now. Thank you for this post!

    Reply
    • Sandhya Ramakrishnan says

      November 14, 2016 at 10:23 pm

      I am so glad that you found the recipe useful! Good luck to you and your son.

      Reply
  2. Anonymous says

    December 07, 2013 at 5:37 am

    very useful really good information thanks for posting such a good information it will hepls the people a lot keep it up , Regards,
    chakkara pongal recipe

    Reply
  3. Shree Rao says

    November 16, 2013 at 12:30 pm

    Awesome recipe Sandya.. Both my parents and in-laws are diabetic.. I was running out of ideas this is a good addition to my collection.. 🙂

    Reply
  4. Nagashree says

    November 16, 2013 at 4:59 am

    Delicious and healthy pongal. Hope your father starts to enjoy rice substitutes.

    Reply
  5. Manjula Bharath says

    November 15, 2013 at 3:14 am

    very healthy and delicious looking pongal looks so tempting !!

    Reply
  6. Babitha costa says

    November 15, 2013 at 2:31 am

    healthy way to start the day

    Reply
  7. Anonymous says

    November 15, 2013 at 6:11 am

    Great recipe, Sandhya. Please do try rolled oats instead of rice flour when you make moar koozhu/kali. It tastes wonderful and the glycemic index is very low. Use it exactly as you would rice flour, by grinding dry roasted oats in a blender and proceeding with your favorite recipe for the dish. Enjoy! I am an insulin dependent diabetic and dishes like these help me manage my condition very well.

    Reply
  8. Avika says

    November 15, 2013 at 3:04 am

    Pongal looks yum Sandhya.. A must try recipe 🙂

    Reply
  9. Savitha Ganesan says

    November 14, 2013 at 8:19 pm

    Oats is high in fibre. thanks for the recipe.

    Reply
  10. Arthy shama says

    November 14, 2013 at 4:02 pm

    Pongal looks awesome Sandhya, it is completely new to me 🙂

    Reply
  11. sangeetha pn says

    November 14, 2013 at 2:03 pm

    pongal looks so yumm... 🙂 Lovely diabetic friendly recipe

    Reply
  12. nandoos Kitchen says

    November 14, 2013 at 10:18 am

    Oats pongal looks very delicious and healthy too. A perfect dish.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Recipe Rating




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Sandhya

I am Sandhya Ramakrishnan, author, recipe developer and photographer in this journey! 'My Cooking Journey' is all about family friendly Vegetarian and Vegan recipes from around the World with focus on Indian cuisine.

Learn More about me →

Popular Posts

  • Boulanee Katchalu | Afghani Bolani | Stuffed Flatbread
  • Xian Bing | Chinese Stuffed Pancake - Vegetarian
  • Spicy Roasted Makhana | Roasted Foxnut
  • Gur Papdi | Gol Papdi | Sukhdi
  • Saag Aloo | Vegan Spinach And Potato Curry
  • 4 Ingredients Fruit Salad With Mango Pulp
  • Ginger Chutney | Andhra Allam Pachadi
  • Kerala Style Peas Masala Curry

Street Foods

  • Spicy Schezwan Fried Rice
  • Bhutte Ka Kees | Indore Style Grated Corn Snack
  • Churumuri | Beach Style Masala Pori
  • Green Peas Kachori | Bengali Matar Kachori
  • Air Fryer Arancini | Italian Rice Balls
  • Gobi Manchurian | Cauliflower Manchurian
  • Masala Chaas | Spiced Buttermilk
  • Dry Garlic Chutney Powder Recipe

Sign Up to Newsletter

Footer

↑ back to top

About

  • Privacy Policy
  • About

Contact

  • Contact

As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Copyright © 2022 · MyCookingJourney LLC

Sign Up to Newsletter

We'll keep you in the loop with our latest news and new content that we add at MyCookingJourney.com.

Enjoy the journey with us and share it with your family and friends!