Masala Pongal, Trail Version
Rice and split mung cooked soft with a ground spice mix, ghee, and cashews.
- calories
- 620
- weight
- 5.5 oz
- cal / oz
- 113
- protein
- 15 g
- serves
- 2, scales
- prep
- 10 min
- cook
- 25 min
- total time
- 35 min
- water
- 550 ml boiled
- cost
- $
Calorie and protein figures are my own estimates, good enough for planning a food bag and not meant as precise nutrition data.
- Breakfast
- Dinner
- Canister stove
- Liquid fuel
- Campfire coals
- Backpacking
- Basecamp
- Car camping
- Winter / snow
- Vegetarian
- Gluten free
- One pot
- Pre-mix at home
- Shelf stable
- Basic
Ingredients
| White rice | 1 cup | parboiled or instant cuts fuel use a lot |
|---|---|---|
| Split mung dal | 1/4 cup | dry roast at home until it smells toasted |
| Ghee | 2 tbsp | travels fine unrefrigerated in a small screw-top jar |
| Cashews | 10, broken | |
| Dried curry leaves | 2 sprigs worth | |
| Dried ginger | 1/2 tsp ground | stands in for a half inch of fresh |
| Asafoetida | 1/4 tsp | |
| Salt | 1 tsp, to taste | |
| Masala powder | 2 tsp | ground at home from 3 dried red chilies, 2 tsp coriander seed, 1 tsp cumin, a 1-inch cinnamon stick, 2 cardamom pods, a few cloves, and 2 tbsp desiccated coconut |
Method
- Melt the ghee in the pot over low flame. Fry the cashews until they go gold, then lift them out with the spoon and set them on a lid.
- Drop the curry leaves and asafoetida into the same ghee for about ten seconds. They burn fast, so keep the flame low.
- Add the rice and dal, stir once to coat, then pour in 550 ml of water along with the salt, ginger, and masala powder.
- Bring it to a boil, then hold it at the lowest flame that keeps it moving. Stir every couple of minutes so nothing welds to the bottom.
- Cook 20 to 25 minutes, until the grains break down and it goes thick like porridge. Add a splash of water if it stiffens before the dal is soft.
- Kill the heat, stir the cashews back in, and let it sit covered for five minutes.
Pongal is rice and mung dal cooked past the point where either one holds its shape. That texture is the whole point, and it is why this works on a stove with one pot: everything goes in the same water and the grains do the thickening themselves. Roasting the dal at home matters more than it sounds. Untoasted mung tastes flat and takes longer to soften, which costs fuel.
The masala powder is the part to grind before you leave. Whole spices carried loose take a real pan and a grinder to be useful; two teaspoons of premade powder does the same job at a fraction of the weight. Ghee is the one dairy product that belongs in a pack — the milk solids are cooked out, so it sits at ambient temperature for weeks without turning. It also carries the spice, which broth cannot do.
Packing
Rice, dal, salt, ginger, asafoetida, and masala powder go in one bag at home. Cashews and curry leaves in a second small bag so they stay crisp. Ghee in its own jar, bagged.
Variations
- Instant rice and quick-cooking dal drop the cook time to about ten minutes and save fuel.
- A spoonful of dried onion flakes fried in the ghee at the start adds sweetness.
- Swap the ghee for coconut oil and it becomes vegan and dairy-free.
https://www.awesomecuisine.com/recipes/4014/masala-pongal