Thinai Ven Pongal made with foxtail millet is a wonderful variation to the Kara Pongal or Savory Pongal. Perfect recipe for Breakfast or lunch.
Ven Pongal and Gothsu are one of my favorite comfort meals! It is sort of a regular at our house and lucky for me that my boys love it as well. It is one of the easiest one-pot meals and since my theme for this week is One pot Meal, I thought I will try a different version of Ven pongal using millet.
Thinai Ven Pongal is absolutely a similar recipe to Ven Pongal / Khara Pongal, except it is made using millet instead of rice. Pongal is a very popular South Indian Breakfast recipe, that is typically made using Rice and Dal (lentil). It has the essential protein and the carbohydrate required to keep one full until lunch.
It is typically a one-pot meal made in a pressure cooker. I used Instant Pot to make this pongal and it pretty much does the whole thing without me having to baby sit it. This makes it a quick recipe to make in the mornings. The first time I tried using Thinai / foxtail millet was when making Thinai Sweet Paniyaram.
It was absolutely loved by all in our house, especially my paniyaram-loving son. Millet is a wonderful sneaky ingredient that can be swapped for rice without much change in the flavor. The Ven pongal especially had no difference in flavor and we loved the smooth texture of the millet.
If you are looking to make a sweet version of pongal, then definitely check out the Chakkara Pongal / Sweet Pongal recipe and also Quinoa Chakkara Pongal if you are looking to use whole grains.
After the 2 rice recipes, Cabbage biriyani and Sambhar Sadham that I made for this week's One Pot Meal theme, my third recipe is with millet. If you are someone who is hesitant to try millet, then I would highly suggest that you try this recipe.
Preparation time - 10 minutes
Cooking time - 15 minutes
Difficulty level - Easy
Ingredients to make Thinai Ven Pongal - Serves 4
- Thinai / Foxtail Millet - 1 cup
- Payatham paruppu / Moong Dal - ½ cup
- Coconut oil - 2 TBSP
- Peppercorn - 2 tsp
- Cumin seeds - 2 tsp
- Curry leaves - few
- Ginger - 1 inch piece (finely grated)
- Asafetida - ¼ tsp
- Salt - to taste
Procedure to make Thinai Ven Pongal
- Leaving about ½ teaspoon of black pepper and cumin seeds aside, combine the rest and grind it into a smooth powder.
- Dry roast the moong dal until lightly golden brown and aromatic, about 5 to 7 minutes on low-medium flame. Add the measured millet into the same pan and give a quick stir. Turn off the heat.
- Transfer this into the instant pot container or a container that goes inside the pressure cooker. I made mine in the Instant pot.
- Rinse it well and add about 5 cups of water to the pot.
- Set the IP on manual mode and set the cooking time to 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally after done.
- When the millet/moong dal mixture is done cooking, heat a small pan and add coconut oil to it. If you are not looking for a vegan version, then you can use ghee.
- Add the reserved ½ teaspoon of pepper corn and cumin along with asafteida, salt, curry leaves, ginger and the powdered pepper/cumin mixture. Fry them well until aromatic (about 1 to 2 minutes).
- Slightly mash the cooked millet/lentil mixture and add the fried seasonings. Mix well to combine and adjust the consistency. Add a splash of water if the Pongal appears too thick.
- Check for salt and adjust if needed. Serve hot with Coconut chutney, Sambhar, or Gothsu.
Other One-Pot Meals
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Thinai Ven Pongal Recipe | Foxtail Millet Savory Pongal
Ingredients
- 1 cup Thinai / Foxtail Millet
- ½ cup Payatham paruppu / Moong Dal
- 2 tablespoon Coconut oil
- 2 teaspoon Peppercorn
- 2 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- Curry leaves few
- 1 inch Ginger finely grated
- ¼ teaspoon Asafetida
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Leaving about ½ teaspoon of black pepper and cumin seeds aside, combine the rest and grind it into a smooth powder.
- Fry the moong dal until lightly golden brown and aromatic, about 5 to 7 minutes in low-medium flame. Add the measured millet into the same pan and give a quick stir. Turn off the heat.
- Transfer this into the instant pot container or a container that goes inside the pressure cooker. I made mine in the Instant pot.
- Rinse it well and add about 5 cups of water to the pot.
- Set the IP on manual mode and set the cook time to 12 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally after done.
- When the millet/moong dal mixture is done cooking, heat a small pan and add coconut oil to it. If you are not looking for a vegan version, then you can use ghee.
- Add the reserved ½ teaspoon of pepper corn and cumin along with asafteida, salt, curry leaves, ginger and the powdered pepper/cumin mixture. Fry them well until aromatic (about 1 to 2 minutes).
- Slightly mash the cooked millet/lentil mixture and add the fried seasonings. Mix well to combine and adjust the consistency. Add a splash of water if the Pongal appears too thick.
- Check for salt and adjust if needed. Serve hot with chutney, Sambhar or Gothsu.
Grace says
Do we need to cook this in instant pot in “low” pressure mode or “high” pressure mode for 12 minutes
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
Grace, High pressure mode. My older IP does not have the pressure adjustment and hence I didn't mention it in the post.
preeti garg says
This pongal recipe looks so creamy and tasty.
Padmajha PJ says
Thinai ven pongal looks so cramy Sandhya. I would love to have this with a slightly spicy vathakuzhambu! Yum!!
Suja Ram says
I love to use millets for Pongal and the consistency turns out very nice. Your recipe is similar to mine and Iam tempted to do this Pongal soon.
Renu says
This looks delicious and healthy. A warm bowl of this along with the sambar pictured , awesome.
Chef Mireille says
I love ven pongal and this super creamy conistency with the millet version looks so good
Ritu Tangri says
This seems to me like khichdi that we make with moong dal...very light and healthy but a healthier version with millets.
Gayathri Kumar says
Millets are really easy to cook and easily substituted for rice with out any change in taste. Thinai pongal looks so tasty with gotsu. What a classical combo and a healthy treat..
Mayuri Patel says
Have been making lots of pulao style meals using millets but still have to try out a savory pongal. Yours looks so creamy and delicious. Bookmarking it. Is it ok if I add haldi to it?
harini says
I can have this pongal for breakfast, lunch and dinner and still not get bored. Love it to bits.
Srivalli says
I have made thinai pongal couple of times and enjoyed the taste it gives to the pongal..Good choice!
kalyani says
I love thinai Ven Pongal & Oats Pongal more than the rice variety ! this is so creamy and a bowl of comfort food for me.. I love both Avial and gothsu in equal proportion as a side to any savoury pongal !
Varada says
Millet are such a nutritious and easy substitute. Don't you just love it when you find variations to family favorite recipes?
Priya Suresh says
Give me that delicious pongal, i can happily have it without any fuss. My kind of meal, even i love to make ven pongal often with millets than with rice. Inviting dish.