Tri-colour Quinoa Pongal | How to make Quinoa Ven Pongal 

Quinoa Ven Pongal is a Gluten Free, Nutritious Pongal made with Quinoa and split green gram. Served for breakfast, brunch or dinner with Chutney or sambhar

A very healthy , Joyous and blessed 2023 to all my readers !  May this coming year be awesome in terms of whatever you have wished upon ! Amen

Each year around mid December when Margazhi (holy month for Tamil Brahmins) dawns , we start experimenting with a new version of Pongal to try out as a breakfast / dinner option. Margazhi is dedicated to worshipping Lord Vishnu, and Pongal is a very auspicious offering to the Lord.

Pongal, not unlike upma, has either a fan or hate club. My kids veer between the two extremes and we find that very amusing as we don’t know if that would be a hit or a miss. As for the adults, we LOVE Pongal and one variation of this family favourite is always on rotation in the weekly menu.  

What is Pongal ?

As explained in my earlier post on the 8 healthy pongal varieties you must try, for the uninitiated Pongal is a semi thick pudding of sorts with a grain and lentil combination, made in either savoury or sweet versions. 

Pongal is a South Indian Breakfast dish made with a combination of lentils and rice -its trademark taste and consistency is gooey creaminess redolent with the mild spice and ghee (clarified butter) that’s used . Ven Pongal or Chakkara Pongal is also served as Prasadam (Prashad ) in a few South Indian temples.

Usually only Moong dal (split green gram) and short grained rice is used. Other variations that are now the rage are millets in place of rice. Furthermore, Rava / Semolina or godhuma rava (broken wheat / lapsi) are also used sometimes, with varying ratio of rice:lentils and different taste. 

Other varieties of Pongal on the blog

•  Kodo Millet Pongal
• THinai Kara Pongal
• oats Pongal

are some of the popular savoury versions that we like at home. 

In terms of sweet Pongal variants:

• Kalkandu Pongal (Rock Candy Pongal) 
•  Oats Chakkara Pongal are also on this year’s menu. 

We need to see which wins our hearts or do we revert to the Classic rice-based Chakkara Pongal .

Quinoa Ven Pongal, and how it happened. 

Quinoa is a regular in my pantry and we happen to use it in dosa, stew(soup), salads and thought why not make Pongal with this. I used Tri-colour Quinoa as I had that on hand, but you could always go with Single variant of quinoa

Recipes with Quinoa you may like on the blog

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Tips to make a great Quinoa Ven Pongal

1. Make sure to wash the Quinoa thoroughly and soak it for at least 15 mins prior to cooking
2. You may cook the quinoa and moong dal together in a pressure cooker, but I prefer the quinoa separately and then add to the cooked moong dal - that way it didn’t turn pasty and gooey.
3. Ratio of water to cook quinoa is generally 1:3 (on open stove), but I used 3.5 cups of water as I needed it to be slightly mushy yet have a slightly nutty taste.
4. Don’t skip on ghee to make this pongal. If you are vegan, try with plant based subs for ghee, and do let me know in the comments below how you liked it. 

What can I serve with Quinoa Ven Pongal

• Coconut - Coriander chutney (Thengai Kothamalli chutney) 
• Veg Peel Chutney or any of the 20+ chutney varieties
• Puli Kozhambu
• Thalagam Kuzhambu (pongal special) 
• Avial (our fav combo with any pongal) 

Quinoa Ven Pongal is a Gluten Free, Nutritious Pongal made with Quinoa and split green gram. Served for breakfast, brunch or dinner with Chutney or sambhar

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Prep time - 5 mins, Soak time - 15 mins, Cook time - 20 mins

Serves - 3 ; Cuisine - Tamil / South Indian ;  Course - Breakfast / Dinner

Ingredients you need to make Quinoa Pongal

• 1 cup Quinoa (single or tri-colour quinoa) 
• ½ cup Split green Gram (Paasi paruppu/Moong dal)
• 3 tablespoon Ghee (split use)
• ¼ teaspoon Turmeric (optional)
• 1 teaspoon Salt (or to taste)

Tempering:

• 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds (Jeera / Jeeragam)
• 1 tablespoon Cashews (skip for nut allergy)
• ½ teaspoon Asafoetida (Hing / Perungayam), skip for Gluten Free
• 1 teaspoon Black pepper (Milagu, Kaali mirch - slightly crushed)
• 1 teaspoon ginger (grated)
• 1 sprig curry leaves

How to make Quinoa Pongal

1. Wash and soak quinoa in warm water for 15 mins. 
2. Roast moong dal in 1 teaspoon of ghee and soak for 15 mins with 1 cup of hot water
3. After 15 mins, cook Moong dal with the soaked wate, 1 teaspoon Ghee and turmeric, adding ½ cup more water for 3 whistles till done.
4. Wait till the pressure drops
5. Meanwhile In an open pan, drain the soaked quinoa and cook till done but not mushy.
6. In a pan, add the cooked moong dal and quinoa, salt and mix throughly. 
7. Let it simmer for 3-4 mins till slightly mushy.
8. In another small pan, add remaining ghee, fry cashews till golden brown, set aside. 
9. In the same ghee, Splutter curry leaves, cumin, asafoetida, ginger and rest of the tempering ingredients.
10. Add this tempering along with the cashews to the pongal.
11. Switch off. 
12. Serve hot with Avial, Coconut Chutney or eat it plain. So yum!!

Nutrition information for Quinoa Pongal (per serving)

Calories: 487kcal Carbohydrates: 60g Protein: 18g Fat: 20g Saturated Fat: 10g Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g Monounsaturated Fat: 6g Cholesterol: 38mg Sodium: 790mg Potassium: 382mg Fiber: 8g Sugar: 1g Vitamin A: 117IU Vitamin C: 14mg Calcium: 60mg Iron: 5mg