About:

This is a south indian dish, which is similar to Pongal or Kichadi. Huggi is a dish prepared on the day of Makara Sankranthi, which can be served with peanut chutney. This is made similar to Pongal with few variations. Usually Avarekayi or Indian bean is used to this dish and in this recipe have used Soya bean.

I used brown rice and low oil hence the rice tends to dry faster. So feel free to add oil or butter or ghee or coconut milk for an added creamy texture.

Health benefits:
Brown rice nutrients are retained and it is a healthy alternative for white rice. Brown rice when consumed in adequate proportion suffice the nutrient requirement of your body to a large extent. It’s also a great meal idea for those being on a weight loss diet, and for diabetics and heart patients.

Serves: 2
Cooking time: 25-30 minutes
Soaking time: 1 hour

Ingredients:
• Raw brown rice- 1 cup
• Soya bean – handful
• Moong dal-1/2 cup
• Cumin seeds-2tsp
• Turmeric-1/4tsp
• Salt-as per taste
• Mustard seeds-1/2tsp
• Asafoetida – pinch
• Curry leaves – few
• Oil-1tbsp+1tbsp

For grinding:

• Dessicated coconut/ chopped dry coconut- ¼ cup
• Chopped onion-1num (optional)
• Green chilli-2num
• Pepper corns-4-5
• Ginger-1/2inch
• Coriander – handful
• Turmeric – ½ tsp

For Garnish:

• Roasted Cashews-2tbsp
• Fresh Coriander leaves

Procedure:

• Dry roast brown rice, Soya bean and moong dal.  Then soak them for at least an hour
• Coarsely blend green chilli, ginger, pepper corns, coriander, coconut, turmeric in a blender/mixer
• Now in a pressure cooker heat 1 tbsp oil and splutter mustard seeds, curry leaves and add soaked and drained brown rice, Soya bean, moong dal, Salt and blended mixture;  Mix well and pressure cook with 3 cups water. (You can even cook oats with this but oats would become too mushy) so I prefer to cook separate
• Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds and asafoetida;  Saute until translucent and then add cooked rice, moong dal and soyabean with 1cup of water and cook on a medium high flame for 7-10 minutes (Coconut milk can be used instead of water at this stage)
• Finally stir in cashews and garnish with coriander

Serve hot with Peanut Chutney (For recipe click here)

Note:
• Using butter/ghee while roasting and for tempering adds taste to the dish
• If you feel the rice is dry can add warm water and cook for few more minutes. Some prefer dry and some well mashed, so make it according to your preference