Thinai/Foxtail Millet Pongal 5/5 (1)

Pongal is a South Indian delight. It’s a wholesome meal packed with carbohydrates and protein. Pongal generally refers to the Harvest festival of Tamilnadu, which means to seethe or to boil. It’s a kind of Thanksgiving Day to our farmers, farmer’s friend: the sun and cow which are inseparable in a farmer’s life.

Generally, Sweet Pongal which is made from jaggery or sugar is considered to be the vital food during the Pongal festival. Apart from it, savoury Pongal is also prepared. Rice and dal cooked to perfection and is then mashed to a smooth and creamy texture, tempered with pepper, ginger, drizzled with aromatic ghee, and garnished with cashews…in short, it’s a scrumptious one-pot dish. It’s known for its simplicity in preparation as well as ingredients. As a variation, I tried with Foxtail millet/thinai in place of raw rice. You can try with other millets like Varagu/Kodo millet, Kuthiraivaali/Barnyard millet, Kambu/Pearl millet, Saamai/Little millet. Preparation and rest ingredients will be the same.

Foxtail millet is a good source of Vitamin B, Iron, Calcium, antioxidants, proteins, also have a low glycemic index, lowers cholesterol due to its soluble fiber.

It’s absolutely a Vegan diet, Lactose-free diet, as I substituted the addition of milk with almond milk and ghee can be substituted with vegan butter from plant extracts. Also, it’s a Gluten-free diet as well. Added to that it’s a Healthy Breakfast as it’s made of small millets.

Click here to jump to recipe card!

Roast yellow moong dal with ¼ tsp ghee/vegan butter on medium flame.

Roast till it changes colour.

Switch off the flame, add the thinai/foxtail millet, mix it, and roast it along with dal in the switched-off pan’s heat. 

Wash it thrice with enough water, till all the dust and dirt is removed from it. Transfer to a bowl or vessel to be placed in a pressure pan.

Add 5 cups of water.

And one cup of milk or almond milk (Refer notes).

Add a pinch of turmeric powder, asafoetida powder, ½ tsp ghee, and salt.

Mix it well, close the lid, and pressure cook it for 10- 12 whistles. 

Once the steam settles down, open the lid, and mash the mixture to a creamy texture. (Don’t panic, if you see some water on top, when mixed, it’ll be absorbed, refer notes).

In a thick bottomed pan, add oil and ghee/ vegan butter.

Once melted, add cumin seeds, chopped cashews. Sauté till cashews turn golden brown.

Then add chopped curry leaves, chopped ginger, chopped green chillies, sauté for a minute.

Then immediately add the mashed Pongal mixture (thinai with dal). 

To this add salt to taste, asafoetida powder, pepper powder.

Mix well for a couple of minutes till everything gets combined well.

Your thinai/foxtail millet Pongal is ready to be served with Restaurant Tiffin Sambar/Araicchuvitta Sambar, Coconut coriander chutney, Onion/vengaya chutney, Medhu vadas.

Recipe card

Preparation time: 5 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes 

Cuisine: South Indian 

Category: Tiffin 

Serves: 4

Author: Manimala

Ingredients:

Thinai/Foxtail millet – 1 cup

Yellow Moong dal – ½ cup

Water – 5 cups

Milk/ Almond milk – 1 cup

Turmeric powder – a pinch

Asafoetida powder – a pinch

Ghee/vegan butter- ½ tsp

Salt – 1 tsp

For tempering:

Oil – 3 tbsp

Ghee/ vegan butter – 3 tbsp

Cumin seeds – 1 ½ tsp

Cashews chopped – 10-15 nos

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Chopped ginger – 1 ½ tbsp

Chopped green chilli – 2

Asafoetida powder – a pinch

Salt – to taste

Pepper powder – 1 tsp

Instructions:

1. Roast yellow moong dal with ¼ tsp ghee/vegan butter on medium flame till it changes colour.
2. Switch off the flame, add the thinai/foxtail millet, mix it, and roast it along with dal in the switched-off pan’s heat. 
3. Wash it thrice with enough water, till all the dust and dirt is removed from it.
4. Transfer to a bowl or vessel to be placed in a pressure pan, add 5 cups of water and one cup of milk or almond milk. (Refer notes).
5. Add a pinch of turmeric powder, asafoetida powder, ½ tsp ghee, and salt. Mix it well, close the lid, and pressure cook it for 10- 12 whistles. 
6. Once the steam settles down, open the lid, and mash the mixture to a creamy texture. (Don’t panic, if you see some water on top, when mixed, it’ll be absorbed, refer notes).
7. In a thick bottomed pan, add oil and ghee/ vegan butter, once melted, add cumin seeds, chopped cashews. Sauté till cashews turn golden brown.
8. Then add chopped curry leaves, chopped ginger, chopped green chillies, sauté for a minute.
9. Then immediately add the mashed Pongal mixture (thinai with dal). 
10. To this add salt to taste, asafoetida powder, pepper powder. Mix well for a couple of minutes till everything gets combined well.
11. Your thinai/foxtail millet Pongal is ready to be served with Restaurant Tiffin Sambar/Araicchuvitta Sambar, Coconut coriander chutney, Onion/vengaya chutney, Medhu vadas.

Notes:

• Generally, Pongal is made of Rice and dal. Somewhat equivalent to North Indian kichadi. In this recipe, to make a healthier version, I did with thinai/foxtail millet. 
• You can try with other millets like Varagu/Kodo millet, Kuthiraivaali/Barnyard millet, Kambu/Pearl millet, Saamai/Little millet. Preparation and rest of the ingredients will be the same.
• The water and milk ratio are 4 times to Millet and dal. It implies 6 cups of water and milk to 1 ½ cups of millet and dal.
• You can reduce 1 cup in total if you want your Pongal to be as a solid mass. I like a creamy, semisolid texture, so I added 6 cups. Also, millet tends to get harder with time. 
• I added 1 cup of milk with 5 cups of water, adding milk enhances the taste and flavour of the Pongal.
• I used almond milk in the place of milk for a lactose-free meal. You can stick to normal milk. 
• Adding ground pepper powder will help your loved ones to consume the pepper without picking it from the plate as they do with the whole pepper…😉 (it includes my hubby as well. 🤭🤭).
• You can have green chillies as optional, since you fry them in the oil, the heat of the chilli will be subdued. 
• Always consume Pongal hot, as it tastes absolutely delicious.