This is a great recipe for a nutritious, balanced meal and I often give this to my toddler. It has carbs, some protein and all the goodness of vegetables. The ginger, turmeric and pepper in this recipe are key ingredients - this combination is an amazing blend of immunity boosters and the dish is a staple in my house when someone has a cold. Even my husband who keeps a safe distance from rice will eat this because of the vegetables. It takes about 10 minutes and is often one of those meals that you can make when you are tired but want to feed your family something healthy.

Don't be alarmed by the number of ingredients. Everything goes in one pot and there's no prep involved. Recipe serves 2-3 .

Ingredients :

1. Rice - 1/2 cup

2. Moong dal - 1/2 cup

3. Curry leaves - 1 sprig

4. ginger paste - 1 tbsp (fresh ginger is better but I was too lazy to peel and chop)

5. Turmeric - 1 tsp

6. Water - 2 cups and 4 tbsp.

7. Salt - to taste

8. pepper - 1 tsp (or more if you like spice)

9. Green chilly - 1 (optional)

10. Ghee (clarified butter) - 1 tbsp

11. Vegetables of your choice - I used frozen peas and carrots

Procedure :

1. Wash the rice and dal.

2. Throw everything except the ghee together in a pressure cooker and cook till done.

- 3-4 whistles for pressure cookers (about 10 - 12 mins)

- you can use a slow cooker or insta-pot or a rice cooker (although rice cookers can make a mess) and use the appropriate setting/time for rice.

3. Mix the ghee and enjoy the melt-in-your-mouth pongal.