Quinoa and Foxtail Millet Pongal | Instant Pot Ven Pongal

Vegans can now enjoy the savory pongal, aka ven pongal too! Here is my delicious vegan and nut-free and gluten-free spicy pongal or Khara pongal or ven pongal with quinoa and foxtail millet made in Instant Pot.

Ven Pongal

Before getting into the nitty-gritty details, let me say what ven pongal or khara pongal is. Traditionally pongal is a savory dish prepared with rice and yellow moong dal, and it is quite popular across South India.  

It’s a mild dish where we cook the rice and dal together and then temper it with cumin seeds, whole pepper, cashews, ginger in ghee. You can find this version of ven pongal on my blog as well. You can read about the pongal festival and the sweet pongal on my sakkarai pongal post. 

Ven pongal is one of the popular tiffin items that you will find on most of the restaurant menus. Restaurants serve it with sambar and chutney. Pongal and vada (urad dal fritters) is a popular tiffin combo in South India. But at home, we either serve it with sambar, or chutney or gojju or any dals.

Ven Pongal without Ghee and Cashews

Ghee and cashews are two key ingredients that we use in pongal, and in fact, those two ingredients define the savory pongal. Guess what; I am skipping those two ingredients in this recipe of mine. I know, purists might not agree that this is ven pongal. But there has to be a way for folks with dairy and nut restrictions to enjoy this dish, right?

I am trying to avoid dairy products for health reasons, and I was missing my pongal very much. Last week made it with coconut oil, and as I ran out of cashews, I skipped it as well. (I am NOT allergic to nuts) It came out so good, and I thought of documenting it here right away!

Quinoa and Foxtail Millet Pongal

Gone are the days where millets were considered as bird food. These days you can find different varieties of millet here in the US.

Millets are one of the oldest food known to humans and very popular in villages. In recent days because of high nutrition, they are gaining popularity. 

I went with a combination of millet and quinoa. IMO, just adding quinoa might make the dish a bit bitter. So for this pongal, I skipped the rice totally and made it with an equal measure of quinoa, foxtail millet, and yellow moong dal.

You can either use quinoa or foxtail millet or substitute foxtail millet with any other available millet. 

Making Pongal in Instant Pot | True One-Pot Meal | Instant Pot Pongal

My previous ven pongal recipe with rice is made in the stove-top pressure cooker, so this one is in Instant Pot. And it’s an actual one-pot meal. I did not temper it in the end in a separate pan. I made this pongal in my 6-quart DUO model.

• Burn Signal in the latest Instant Pot Models – First, I did the tempering in saute mode. Then turned the Instant Pot off. I notice that the burn indication is more prevalent in the newer IP models. So after tempering or sauteing, please turn off the IP and add the remaining ingredients. It prevents the food from sticking to the bottom. 
• Then I added the washed quinoa, millet, and lentils, followed by salt, pepper, and water.
• Pressure cooked it and released the pressure naturally and done.

Now let me explain how I made the pongal with detailed step-wise pictures.

How to Make Quinoa Foxtail Millet Pongal in Instant Pot-

Rinse the quinoa, millet, and moong dal together for atleast three times. Soak it for about 15 to 20 minutes. While soaking, few millet and quinoa grains may float on top. Discard and drain the water.

Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the coconut oil. After 30 seconds, add the cumin seeds, whole pepper, curry leaves, and ginger. 3) Mix and saute for 30 to 45 seconds or until the cumin seeds sizzle. Do not let it brown. Now turn off the IP.

Add the quinoa, millet, and moong dal mix. Add salt and pepper powder.

Next, add water and mix it.

Now close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is in place and set the vent to the sealing position. Cook the pongal at high-pressure manual/pressure cook mode for 12 minutes, and after the cooking is done, allow the pressure to release naturally. Here is how it looks.

Now mix it. Ven pongal has to soft and mushy. That’s the right consistency.

That’s it. Serve it hot with sambar or chutney. I served it with onion-tomato relish or gojju. 

Recipe Notes-

• There is no set ratio of grains to moong dal. You can adjust according to your preference.
• I went with quinoa and foxtail millet combination. You can either use quinoa or foxtail millet or substitute foxtail millet with any other available millet.
• If you are not allergic to nuts or asafoetida or diary products, replace coconut oil with ghee and add about 1 to 2 tbsp of cashews while tempering. Also, you can add ¼ tsp of asafoetida.
• I tried this pongal with both cold-pressed peanut oil and coconut oil. But I personally liked the flavor of coconut oil. 
• Ground pepper is not mandatory. If you are not fond of whole peppercorns, you can reduce it and add extra ground pepper. 
• As always, adjust salt and spice to your taste preference.

Other Millet, Quinoa and Pongal Recipes from my blog-

• Kootanchoru
• Arisi paruppu sadam
• Kalkandu pongal
• Sakkarai pongal
• Quinoa murukku
• Quinoa flour cookies

Also, don’t miss to check out the Collection of Instant Pot South Indian Recipes.

PS: Follow me on Instagram or join my Facebook Group for more gardening and recipe updates. If you try this quinoa and millet pongal recipe, please don’t forget to comment and rate this recipe. If you have any questions, please leave a comment, and I will get to it asap.  Make sure to follow me on my Pinterest for more healthy and delicious ideas!

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Quinoa and Foxtail Millet Pongal | Instant Pot Ven Pongal

Delicious vegan and nut-free and gluten-free spicy pongal or Khara pongal or ven pongal with quinoa and foxtail millet made in Instant Pot.

Prep Time10 minutes mins

Cook Time20 minutes mins

Soaking Time20 minutes mins

Total Time50 minutes mins

Course: Breakfast

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 4

Calories: 312kcal

Author: Srividhya G

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tbsp coconut oil
• ▢ 2 tbsp cumin seeds
• ▢ 1 tbsp whole pepper
• ▢ 1 sprig curry leaves approx 15 leaves torn into small pieces
• ▢ ½ tbsp ginger finely chopped
• ▢ ½ cup yellow moong dal
• ▢ ½ cup quinoa
• ▢ ½ cup foxtail millet
• ▢ ¼ tsp ground pepper
• ▢ 1.25 tsp salt
• ▢ 4 cups of water

Instructions

• Rinse the quinoa, millet, and moong dal together for atleast three times. Soak it for about 15 to 20 minutes. While soaking, few millet and quinoa grains may float on top. Discard and drain the water.
• Set the Instant Pot in saute mode and add the coconut oil. After 30 seconds, add the cumin seeds, whole pepper, curry leaves, and ginger. 3) Mix and saute for 30 to 45 seconds or until the cumin seeds sizzle. Do not let it brown. Now turn off the IP.
• Add the quinoa, millet, and moong dal mix. Add salt and pepper powder.
• Next, add water and mix it. Now close the Instant Pot. Make sure the sealing ring is in place and set the vent to the sealing position. Cook the pongal at high-pressure manual/pressure cook mode for 12 minutes, and after the cooking is done, allow the pressure to release naturally. Here is how it looks.
• Now mix it. Ven pongal has to soft and mushy. That's the right consistency.
• That's it. Serve it hot with sambar or chutney. I served it with onion-tomato relish or gojju.

Notes

• There is no set ratio of grains to moong dal. You can adjust according to your preference.
• I went with quinoa and foxtail millet combination. You can either use quinoa or foxtail millet or substitute foxtail millet with any other available millet.
• If you are not allergic to nuts or asafoetida or diary products, replace coconut oil with ghee and add about 1 to 2 tbsp of cashews while tempering. Also, you can add ¼ tsp of asafoetida.
• I tried this pongal with both cold-pressed peanut oil and coconut oil. But I personally liked the flavor of coconut oil.
• Ground pepper is not mandatory. If you are not fond of whole peppercorns, you can reduce it and add extra ground pepper.
• As always, adjust salt and spice to your taste preference.

Nutrition

Calories: 312kcal | Carbohydrates: 51g | Protein: 13g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 3g | Sodium: 755mg | Potassium: 255mg | Fiber: 7g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 102IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 66mg | Iron: 5mg

I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.

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Update Notes: Earlier posted this recipe in 2015. I have updated the recipe with new pictures.