If you are looking for a healthy breakfast try this millet pongal recipe, to satisfy your taste buds and nutritional needs.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
- What is Ven Pongal?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How To Make Millet Pongal
- My Tried and True Tips
- Millet Pongal Recipe
What is Ven Pongal?
Ven Pongal, a popular South Indian dish typically served for breakfast, is a comfort food made with rice and moong dal (yellow lentils). It is savoury, spiced, and often served with coconut chutney or sambar.
However, as more people turn towards low-carb alternatives, the traditional pongal recipe gets a healthier makeover with barnyard millet. By substituting rice with barnyard millet, you can make pongal not only healthier but also packed with all the good nutrients.
- Low Glycemic Index : Unlike rice, which has a high glycemic index, barnyard millet has a low GI, making it suitable for regulating blood sugar levels.
- Rich in Fiber : Barnyard millet is an excellent source of dietary fibre, which helps improve digestion, prevents constipation, and aids in maintaining a healthy weight.
- High in Protein : Barnyard millet is a good source of plant-based protein, making it an ideal choice for vegetarians and vegans.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Barnyard Millet also known as sama ke chawal. It is a small, nutrient-dense grain that belongs to the millet family.
- Yellow Moong (split yellow lentils)
- Fresh Ginger finely chopped to flavour the pongal.
- Hing (asafoetida) adds a delicious aroma and helps in digestion.
- Whole Black Peppercorns instead of powder are the highlight of pongal.
- Ghee to prepare the tadka. Vegans can use coconut or peanut oil.
- Cumin Seeds and Black Mustard Seeds for tempering and crunch.
- Cashew Nuts or peanuts for protein and nuttiness.
- Curry Leaves and Fresh Coriander Leaves.
How To Make Millet Pongal
Step 1: Roasting Moong Dal
- Start by dry roasting the yellow moong separately in a pan over low heat for 2-3 minutes until a pleasant aroma is released.
Step 2: Soak Millets and Lentil
- Rinse and soak barnyard millet in clean water for at least 4 – 5 hours.
- Rinse and soak roasted moong for 15 – 20 minutes.
Step 3: Pressure Cook
- Add the soaked millet, moong, ginger, asafoetida, salt, and black peppercorns in a pressure cooker.
- Add water, close the lid, and pressure cook over medium heat for 2 – 3 whistles or until both ingredients are soft and fully cooked. If you prefer a porridge-like consistency, add more water to achieve the desired texture.
- Allow the steam to release naturally from the pressure cooker.
Step 4: Tempering Pongal
- Heat the ghee in a small pan over medium heat.
- Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and cashews. Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds, releasing their fragrant oils. If you’re using cashews, fry until golden brown.
- Pour the tempering over the cooked pongal, and gently stir to combine. Let the flavours meld for a couple of minutes on low heat.
Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves. Serve millet pongal with coconut chutney or sambar for a complete South Indian meal.
My Tried and True Tips
- Adjust Water Based on Consistency : Barnyard millet tends to absorb more water than rice, so keep an eye on the consistency while cooking. For a softer texture, add more water.
- Add Vegetables : If you prefer a more wholesome pongal, add chopped vegetables like carrots, peas, or beans while pressure cooking.
- Vegan Option : If you prefer a vegan pongal, replace ghee with coconut or peanut oil.
- Add More Spices : Feel free to experiment with other spices like cardamom, cinnamon, or cloves for a unique twist on the flavour.
More Millet Recipes
- Vegetable Millet Khichdi
- Ragi Dosa Batter
- Millet Kheer
- Ragi Cake
- Ragi Roti
Ingredients
- ▢ ⅓ Cup barnyard millet (sama rice)
- ▢ ¼ Cup yellow moong dal
- ▢ 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- ▢ 1 inch ginger, chopped
- ▢ 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- ▢ 2 Cup water
Ingredients For Tadka:
- ▢ 2 tablespoon ghee
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ▢ 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
- ▢ 2 tablespoon chopped cashews
- ▢ 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- Start by dry roasting the yellow moong separately in a pan over low heat for 2-3 minutes until a pleasant aroma is released.
- Rinse and soak barnyard millet in clean water for at least 4 – 5 hours.
- Rinse and soak roasted moong for 15 – 20 minutes.
- After the soaking time, add the millet, moong, ginger, asafoetida, salt, and black peppercorns in a pressure cooker.
- Add water, close the lid, and pressure cook over medium heat for 2 – 3 whistles or until both ingredients are soft and fully cooked. If you prefer a porridge-like consistency, add more water to achieve the desired texture.
- Allow the steam to release naturally from the pressure cooker.
- Heat the ghee in a small pan over medium heat.
- Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and cashews. Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds, releasing their fragrant oils. If you’re using cashews, fry until golden brown.
- Pour the tempering over the cooked pongal, and gently stir to combine. Let the flavours meld for a couple of minutes on low heat.
- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve millet pongal with coconut chutney or sambar for a complete South Indian meal.
Recipe Notes:
- Roasting moong is an optional step. Without roasting also you can make the pongal.
- Substitute barnyard millet with quinoa or any other variety of millet.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
Millet Pongal Recipe
Equipment
- Pressure Cooker
- Tadka Pan
Ingredients
- ⅓ Cup barnyard millet (sama rice)
- ¼ Cup yellow moong dal
- 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
- ¼ teaspoon hing (asafoetida)
- 1 inch ginger, chopped
- 1 teaspoon salt or to taste
- 2 Cup water
Ingredients For Tadka:
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (rai)
- 2 tablespoon chopped cashews
- 1 sprig curry leaves
Instructions
- Start by dry roasting the yellow moong separately in a pan over low heat for 2-3 minutes until a pleasant aroma is released.
- Rinse and soak barnyard millet in clean water for at least 4 – 5 hours.
- Rinse and soak roasted moong for 15 – 20 minutes.
- After the soaking time, add the millet, moong, ginger, asafoetida, salt, and black peppercorns in a pressure cooker.
- Add water, close the lid, and pressure cook over medium heat for 2 – 3 whistles or until both ingredients are soft and fully cooked. If you prefer a porridge-like consistency, add more water to achieve the desired texture.
- Allow the steam to release naturally from the pressure cooker.
- Heat the ghee in a small pan over medium heat.
- Add the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, curry leaves, and cashews. Let the spices sizzle for a few seconds, releasing their fragrant oils. If you’re using cashews, fry until golden brown.
- Pour the tempering over the cooked pongal, and gently stir to combine. Let the flavours meld for a couple of minutes on low heat.
- Garnish with freshly chopped coriander leaves.
- Serve millet pongal with coconut chutney or sambar for a complete South Indian meal.
Video
Notes
- Roasting moong is an optional step. Without roasting also you can make the pongal.
- Substitute barnyard millet with quinoa or any other variety of millet.
Nutrition
Here is a tried and tested moong dal cheela recipe. It is an easy, tasty, and healthy Indian breakfast. Be sure to watch the video!
Estimated reading time: 4 minutes
- What is ‘Chilla’?
- The Chilla Batter
- The Chilla Filling
- My Tried and True Tips
- Watch Dal Chilla Video
- Serving Suggestion
- Moong Dal Cheela Recipe
What is ‘Chilla’?
Cheela or chilla is an Indian-style savoury crepe filled with tasty gluten-free, vegetarian potato or paneer stuffing. There are hundreds of cheela recipes available on the internet. There is besan chilla or oats chilla , the possibilities are endless once you get the basics right.
Moong Dal Cheela is a vegetarian Indian breakfast recipe. You can call it dal dosa as well. It is one of our family’s favourite Indian breakfasts .
Why You’ll Love Dal Chilla
- wholesome and fulfilling
- plant-based batter
- customizable filling
- meal-prep friendly
- gluten and nut free
- zero added sugar
- easy to digest
- kid-friendly
The Chilla Batter
The batter of moong dal chilla is made with yellow moong dal . No flour or eggs are added to the batter.
Moong Dal is soaked for 4 – 5 hours , then ground with green chilli and ginger to a smooth paste of spoon-dropping consistency. Later, the dal batter is seasoned with spices to deal with the bland taste.
The Chilla Filling
In this chilla recipe video, I use a spicy, easy mashed potato filling to stuff inside the chilla. This potato filling is versatile and meal-friendly. You can use it for sandwiches, aloo paratha, bread rolls, chilli bajji , or to make cheese aloo bonda .
Here are a few more stuffing ideas for the dal cheela:
- Paneer: Make simple paneer bhurji (scramble) and stuff it inside the chilla.
- Vegan: Use tofu bhurji (scramble) or my potato filling.
- Egg Lovers : Whisk the egg and layer it inside the chilla. Cook, and smear it with a sauce of your choice.
- Cheese: Grated parmesan or feta is also an excellent idea for chilla stuffing.
My Tried and True Tips
- Dal Batter : Soak moong dal for at least 3 – 4 hours. I prefer soaking it overnight. Do not add too much water while grinding the dal. The best way to achieve that consistency is to stir and scrap dal while grinding. With the leftover dal, you can make my favourite moong dal chaat .
- Batter Consistency: The batter should have a smooth, spoon-dropping consistency. After adding spices, salt and water, whisk the batter for 5 – 6 minutes to make it light and airy. This step always helps in getting the perfect consistency of the batter.
- Pan: Use a thick heavy-bottomed dosa pan or good-quality cast iron or non-stick pan for making the chilla. A lightweight pan might not yield a crisp textured cheela.
- Ensure the pan is piping hot before spreading the moong dal cheela batter. Finally, avoid adding too much oil to the pan. Instead drizzle oil, on the sides and top of moong dal cheela.
- Do not flip the chilla again and again while cooking. Let it get crisp and perfectly cooked from one side; flip and cook from another side.
Watch Dal Chilla Video
Serving Suggestion
I like dal chilla with mint chutney or roasted tomato chutney . For a South Indian-style breakfast, you can serve dal chilla with sambar and coconut chutney .
A dal cheela is best enjoyed fresh, crisp, and piping hot. Therefore, I do not recommend making it in advance and storing it.
However, you can keep the batter and potato filling separately for 2 – 3 days in the refrigerator.
More Indian Breakfast Recipes
- Rava Upma
- Millet Pongal
- Maddur Vada
- Methi Paratha
- Matar Paratha
- Vermicelli Upma
- Cheese Chutney Sandwich
Ingredients
Ingredients For Batter:
- ▢ 1 Cup Yellow Moong Dal
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon fenugreek seeds (methi dana)
- ▢ 1 green chilli chopped
- ▢ 1 inch ginger, peeled
- ▢ Salt to taste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ a pinch of asafoetida (hing)
- ▢ ½ Cup water
Ingredients For Potato Stuffing:
- ▢ 4 potato potato, boiled and peeled
- ▢ 2 tablespoon cooking oil
- ▢ 1 teaspoon mustard seeds (rai)
- ▢ 5 – 6 curry leaves
- ▢ 1 tablespoon grated ginger
- ▢ 1 Cup fine chopped onion
- ▢ Salt to taste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon red chili powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon Chaat Masala
- ▢ 1 teaspoon cumin powder (jeera powder)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped coriander
Instructions
How To Prepare Cheela Batter:
- Wash and soak the moong dal along with fenugreek seeds in water for 3 – 4 hours.
- Drain water from the soaked dal. Grind it to a smooth paste along with green chili, and ginger. The batter should be smooth dosa batter like consistency.
- Transfer the batter to a mixing bowl. Add spices, salt and whisk for next 5 – 10 minutes using a hand mixer or wire whisk. Set aside till required.
How To Prepare Cheela Stuffing:
- Heat oil in a frying pan or kadhai.
- Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, and grated ginger. Fry for 1 – 2 seconds or till seeds start spluttering.
- Add chopped onion and fry the onion for 1 – 2 minute.
- Next, add the boiled potatoes and mash them nicely to avoid any lumps.
- Add salt, spices, coriander and mix nicely. Turn off the heat. Transfer potato stuffing to a bowl.
How To Make Cheela:
- Heat a heavy bottom non-stick pan. Once pan is hot enough sprinkle water to cool it down (watch video) and grease it with a teaspoon of oil/ghee.
- Pour a ladle full of batter in the centre of the pan. Using the back of the ladle, spread the batter in circular motion into a thin round.
- Drizzle a teaspoon of oil on the sides of the cheela and cook on medium heat till the underside is done. Once the edges start to brown then insert the spatula under the edges of the cheela to loosen. Carefully flip over, and cook for a minute or so from the other side.
- Once again flip the cheela, spread ¼ Cup of of potato stuffing on one side of the cheela.
- Cover the stuffing with the other half of the cheela. Transfer to a plate.
- Serve Moong Dal Cheela with green chutney .
Recipe Notes:
- You will need a heavy-duty blender to grind moong dal. A basic smoothie blender will not do the task properly.
- Adjust the amount of spices in batter and potato filling according to your taste preference.
- If the pan is not hot enough, the dosa batter will not spread evenly and will end up sticking to the pan.
Nutrition
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