Venn Pongal and Mixed Veggie Sabzi with Coconut

Normally when we have guests around it means that we hit the restaurants we love pretty hard, and when I do cook I will normally go a little richer than I do day to day. Well, after a few days of that I crave vegetables and the flavors I love.

That in mind today I whipped up some Pongal (Thanks again Andi for inspiring me to make that for the first time a little while ago!) and a mixed veggie sabzi with coconut, and it was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I was planning to use cabbage, but for the first time in months I didn't have any so I scrounged up what I had and it was great, the crunchy vegetables along side of the soft and satisfying pongal was a delight.

Venn Pongal

Serves 2

Ingredients

½ C moong dal

½ C rice (I used jasmine but whatever you have will work)

3 ½ C Water

2 TBS oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

pinch hing

½ sprig curry leaves

¼ c coarse black pepper

1 TBS chopped jalapeno

2 TBS peanuts or cashews

1 heaping TBS sugar

1 TBS oil

2 TBS chopped cilantro

Salt to taste

Method

Slightly toast rice and dal in a dry pan for a few minutes until they smell nutty then add water and salt to taste.

Bring to a boil and simmer on med/low until done to your liking, probably about 30 minutes.
Heat oil in a small pot to med/high then fry mustard seeds until they sputter, then cumin seeds for a second, then hing, then curry leaves until the crackle, then jalapenos and peanuts, fry this for 20 seconds then add to the rice/dal mix with black pepper.

Stir in sugar, salt if needed, and garnish with cilantro.

Eat it up.

Mixed vegetable sabzi with coconut

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 bell pepper very thinly sliced

1 C matchstick carrots

1 small onion thinly sliced

1 roma tomato cut into thin strips

2 TBS oil

½ tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

pinch hing

½ sprig curry leaves

1 TBS chopped jalapeno

2 tsp garlic ginger paste

¼ C coconut powder

Salt to taste

2 TBS chopped cilantro

Method

Heat oil in a frying pan to med/high then fry mustard seeds until they sputter, then cumin seeds for a second, then hing, then curry leaves until the crackle, then jalapenos for 20 seconds, then gin/gar paste for 20 seconds, then coconut until lightly brown.

Add your bell peppers and stir fry for 3 minutes, then add carrots and onions with salt to taste, stir fry for another 5 minutes until the texture is crunchy-tender, then add tomatoes and stir fry for 1 minute to heat them up or until the whole mix is whatever texture is to your liking.

Garnish with cilantro and eat while it's hot!