Restaurant Style Venpongal and Tomato Gotsu..

There are lot of things which make us feel nostalgic and and one such thing for me is having hot steaming venpongal and coconut chutney for breakfast in Hotel Annapoorna Gowrishankar in Coimbatore, a city in South India.
And for all ya coimbatoreans out here, im sure you'll are missing the Annapoorna Vengpongal like i do too!!
This is a South Indian breakfast delicacy eaten with coconut chutney, tomato gotsu or puli gotsu.
A small addition to the recipe makes a big diference in the dish and thus makes it restaurant style.
Last but not the least, my recipe would be incomplete if i fail to credit my brother-in-law for his expertise in making this particular combo.Cannot forgot our Phili trip and the Venpongal Tomato Gotsu you had made for us!!
Here is the recipe:

Ingredients:

Raw Rice-1 Cup

Paasi Paruppu/Moong Dhall-1 and 1/4 Cups

Milk-1 Cup

Water to cook-2 Cups(can be adjusted accordingly)

Salt to taste

For Tempering:

Ghee-2 Tbsp

Whole or broken cashews-10 Pieces

Melagu/Whole black pepper-2 Tbsp

Jeeragam/Cumin seeds-2 Tbsp

Pepper powder-1 Tsp (optnl)

Green chillies-2 Nos.(optnl)

Ginger-1 Tbsp (crushed or grated)

Asafoetida/Peringayam-1 Tsp

Curry leaves-a sprig

Procedure:

1.Wash the rice and dhall, drain it and spread on a paper towel or cloth for all the water to get absorbed.

2.Dry roast the above for a few mins till the  rice becomes white in color and aromatic,but not brown, and pressure cook the same for two whistles along with the milk and water, adding salt.

3.And now for the tadka, heat ghee in a pan and add all the items under tempering and saute for a few mins and pour it on top of the pongal.

4.Mix well and serve it hot with ghee on top.

Note:The pongal can also be cooked with only water,but adding milk gives it a very rich taste and makes it the Restaurant Style Pongal!!
To save time,the tempering can also be done in the beginning and then cooked along with the rice and dhall.This yields the same result.

Ingredients for Tomato/Gotsu:

1.Tomatoes-5 medium finely chopped
( i use a combination of whole tomatoes and tomato paste for the red colour)

2.Onions-2 medium finely chopped(optional)

3.Mustard seeds-1 Tsp

4.Urad dhall-1 Tsp

5.Channa dhall-1 Tsp

6.Green chillies-5 small

7.Dry red Chilly-1 no.

8.Curry leaves-a sprig

9.Ginger-an inch finely chopped or grated

10.Red Chilly Powder-1Tsp

11.Rasam Powder-1 Tsp

12.Turmeric-a pinch

13.Asafoetida/Peringayam-a pinch

14.Oil-1 Tbsp

15.Salt to taste

Procedure:

1.Heat oil in a sauce pan and add the mustard seeds, urad dhall, channa dhall, dry red chilly, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves, asafoetida and turmeric powder.

2.Now add  the chopped onions, fry them untill transparent and then add the tomatoes and tomato paste if using.

3.Let it cook for a few minutes till the raw smell goes and then add salt, chilly powder, rasam powder and little water.

4.Cook covered on medium flame for a five minutes till the onions and tomatoes absorb the flavour from the spice powders.

5.The Gotsu has to be watery and not thick so do not overcook it.

6.Yummy tomato gotsu is ready to be eaten with hot venpongal!!