Sabakki/Sabudana/Tapioca Pongal

Its a beautiful morning and I can, for the first time this year, hear birds chirping outside our balcony. Had a satisfied Friday yesterday. Spoke to my parents and in-laws on Skype and it was quiet exciting. My husband came home late and we had very light dinner.

Today both of us are ready for a good breakfast, so I made pongal. Pongal is traditional rice recipe having moong dal, symbolizing harvest season in India, made on the festival of Pongal. We actually go by festival called Ugadi and our version of pongal dish is called Huggi. Anyways, we have 2 types of pongal dishes. The sweet one and the savory one. This is the recipe for savory pongal. My dad loves pongal and can eat it everyday. My mother-in-law is a pongal expert.

I usually make pongal with rice, poha and oats. So this was totally new for me. Idea for this came from the sabudana khichdi which has a totally different taste and different ingredients.

Serves: 2

Preparation time: 20 mins + 5 hrs Soaking time.

Ingredients:

• 1 and 1/2 cups Tapioca/Sabudana/Sagoo
• 1/2 cup moong dal (split green gram)
• 1 tbsp ghee
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• A pinch of hing (Asafetida)
• A pinch of turmeric
• 1/2 tsp grated ginger
• 1 tsp crushed cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp crushed black pepper
• 2 green chilies
• 1-2 tbsp raw cashew nuts
• Salt as needed

Method:

• Soak the tapioca either the previous night or for 5 hours and drain all the starch washing it 3-4 times.
• Cook the moong dal in pressure cooker for 3 whistles with a pinch of turmeric, salt and few drops of oil.
• In a pan add ghee, let it heat.
• Once hot add mustard seeds and let it crackle.
• Now add hing and cashew nuts and fry till golden color.
• Add in chillies, pepper, cumin and grated ginger. and fry for a few seconds.
• Mix the moong dal to this and make sure to add water so that its not dry.
• Add in the soaked Tapioca and about 1-1.5 cups of water and close the lid for 5 mins to let it cook.
• After cooking, tapioca turns translucent, then add salt and check for taste and serve hot.