Oats Pongal Recipe is a healthy wholesome breakfast option made with oats, moong dal, ginger, pepper and cumin seeds. This pongal made with oats is great alternative for oats porridge | oatmeal. Oats is high in fibre which makes a filling breakfast option or even for lunch. Enjoy this oats pongal with peanut chutney, coconut chutney or sambar. Learn how to make delicious oats pongal with step by step pictures and video.
Oats pongal Recipe
I enjoy oats once in a while for breakfast or dinner, since it is packed with fibre and nutrients which keeps me fuller longer. The recipe for making oats pongal is easy and can be made under 30 minutes from start to finish and definitely healthy and lighter than ven pongal.
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This is an awesome dish which is made with a mixture of dal and oats which it makes it even more healthier. You can have it for breakfast, lunch or dinner, any way it is good. I served it with tomato chutney and it tasted so good.
About Oats Pongal
Pongal is one of the popular breakfast dish from South India. Traditional pongal is made with raw rice, moong dal, cashews, black pepper, cumin seeds, chillies, curry leaves and lots of ghee. Pongal is similar to khichdi but it has more South Indian spices.
Even though ven pongal, sweet pongal is the most authentic versions of this humble dish. There are many versions you can make with moong dal and spices like my rava pongal, poha pongal & millet pongal.
This pongal is a great way to include oats in your diet. Making pongal with oats is healthy and flavour packed. You can enjoy oats pongal on its own or with any chutney of your choice. It taste great with sambar as well.
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Watch Oats Pongal Recipe Video
Oats Pongal Ingredients
Oats - I used instant or quick cooking oats in this recipe. But you can use rolled oats which provides better texture and taste. Make sure you dry roast oats for 2 to 3 minutes until fragrant.
Moong Dal - Split yellow moong dal is preferred. It is important to dry roast moong dal for flavourful taste. Moong dal cooks in 15 minutes once it is dry roasted.
Ghee - I used 1 to 2 tbsp of ghee for flavour. If you are making this for kids, you can add generous amount of ghee in your pongal. More ghee is more taste.
Ginger, Chilli, Curry leaves - like all pongal, these three are the main flavourings. Make sure to chop them fine before sautéing.
Whole Spices - as far as the spices, I always use cumin seeds, asafoetida and whole black pepper.
Optional - ingredients like onions, peanuts, cashews, turmeric powder, add flavour and colour to the pongal.
Which Oats is Best for Making Pongal
There are wide variety of oats available in the market. Some of the most popular ones are rolled oats (old fashioned oats), quick oats (instant oats) and steel cut oats. For making pongal it is recommended to use quick oats or rolled oats.
I prefer using rolled oats or quick cooking oats in my pongal. Rolled oats is much healthier but and it takes more time to cook than regular quick cooking oats.
If you prefer to use steel cut oats, you have to cook it in a pressure cooker. I have shared the recipe for steel cut oats pongal in the variations.
How to Make Oats Pongal in 5 Easy Steps
Roasting Dal & Oats - Dry roast oats for 2 to 3 minutes till toasted and aromatic. Remove to a plate and set aside. Dry roast moong dal in the same pan till aromatic.
Cooking Dal - Now cover moong dal with 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 mins until the dal is cooked. At this point the water must be dried in the dal as well.
Cooking Dal & Oats - Once dal is cooked, add in 4 cups of boiling water, season with salt, turmeric powder and mix well. Once it starts to boil again, add in the roasted oats and mix well. It will start to thicken. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until oats cooked. Now turn off the heat.
Tempering - Heat ghee in a separate pan and add peanuts, pepper, cumin, asafoetida, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and let them sizzle and get golden.
Oats Pongal - Pour this over the oats pongal and mix well. Serve with any chutney.
How to Make Oats Pongal (Stepwise Pictures)
Roasting Oats & Moong Dal
1)Dry roast oats for 2 to 3 minutes till toasted and aromatic. Remove to a plate and set aside.
2)Dry roast moong dal in the same pan till aromatic. It will take around 2 to 3 minutes. The dal will change slight golden in colour.
3)Rinse the dal in multiple changes of water. Once the dal is rinsed, bring it back to the stove.
Cooking Dal
4)Now add 2 cups of water into the moong dal. This water is to cook the dal. We will be adding more water later for cooking oats.
5)Cover and simmer for 15 mins until the dal is cooked.
6)Now the dal is cooked, At this point the water must be dried in the dal as well.
Cooking Oats
7)Once dal is cooked, add in 4 cups of boiling water. Add in turmeric powder into the water. For every 1 cup of instant oats you have to add 2 cups of water.
8)season with salt, and mix well.
9) Once it starts to boil again, add in the roasted oats and mix well. It will start to thicken.
10)Mix well and cook till thickened.
10)Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until oats cooked. Now turn off the heat.
11)Now turn off the heat. Oats pongal has thickened and cooked.
Tempering for Oats Pongal
12)Heat ghee in a pan.
13)Add in peanuts and fry till golden brown.
14)Add in pepper, cumin, asafoetida, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and let them sizzle and get golden.
15)Fry the ingredients till golden.
Making Oats Pongal
16)Pour this over the oats pongal and mix well.
17)Mix the tempering into the pongal and mix well.
18)Serve with any chutney.
Variations
Steel Cut Oats Pongal
1)Heat 1 tbsp ghee in a pan. Add in 1 tsp crushed cumin seeds and 1 tsp crushed black pepper. Saute for 30seconds. Now add in ¼ cup moong dal and roast for 2 minutes. Now add in 1 cup of steel cut oats and toast for 2 to 3 minutes till aromatic
2)Now add in 2 ½ cup to 3 cups of water depending on the consistency you prefer. Season with salt. Bring this to a full boil.
3)Cover and pressure cook for 3 whistle. Now let the pressure release by itself. Open the cooker and give a good mix.
4)Now make tempering. Heat ghee, add in cumin seeds, pepper, green chilli, ginger, curry leaves and let them sizzle. Pour this over the pongal and mix well.
5)Serve steel cut oats pongal with sambar or chutney.
Pongal with Onion Tempering
In this version, I added cashews, raisins, onions, lentils in the tempering which elevated this dish to a different level. Even though it is not traditional to make this kind of tempering for pongal, it adds super flavour which I love.
Ingredients Used for Tempering
- Ghee -2 tblspn
- Onion- 1 chopped finely
- Green Chilli -1 sliced
- Ginger – 1 tblspn minced
- Mustard Seeds – 1tsp
- Split Urad Dal -1 tsp
- Split Channa Dal -1 tsp
- Whole pepper -1 tsp
- Cumin Seeds -1 tsp
- Cashews -1 tblspn
- Sultanas -1 tblspn
1)Make pongal as mentioned above. For Tempering, heat ghee and add all the ingredients in ghee and fry till golden brown.
2)Add cooked oats pongal into the tempering and mix well.
3)Serve.
Expert Tips
- Dry roasting moong dal and oats is important for the flavour and aroma. It adds a nutty aroma and also removes the gooey texture from oats.
- Be generous with the ghee for flavour.
- You can use rolled oats instead of instant oats.
- Dry roasted oats can be cooled and stored in a container for easy access.
- You can add more water, if pongal looks dry. Coconut milk can be used along with water while cooking pongal for rich taste.
Serving & Storage
Leftover oats pongal can be stored in fridge for upto 2 to 3 days. It may get thick as it sits in the fridge. But once it is heated in microwave or stove top it gets soft again. You may need to add ¼ cup of water to adjust the consistency of the pongal when heating.
Serve oats pongal hot with peanut chutney, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, onion tomato gojju and sambar.
More Oats Recipes to Try
📖 Recipe Card
Oats Pongal | Oats Pongal Recipe | Oats Kara Pongal Recipe
Equipment
- Cooking pot
- Frying Pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups Instant Quick Cooking Oats
- ½ cup Yellow Split Moong Dal
- 2 + 4 cups Water
- 1 tsp Turmeric Powder
- Salt to taste
For Tempering
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- 2 tbsp Peanuts or Cashews
- 3 no Green chillies chopped finely
- 1 tbsp Ginger peeled, chopped finely
- 2 tsp Whole black pepper
- 2 tsp Cumin Seeds
- ½ tsp Asafoetida
- 3 sprig Curry leaves
Instructions
- In a cooking pot. Add in instant oats and roast them for 2 to 3 minutes until toasted. Remove it to a bowl. Dry roast moong dal for 2 to 3 minutes in the same pan till aromatic.
- Now cover moong dal with 2 cups of water and bring it to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 mins until the dal is cooked. At this point the water must be dried in the dal as well.
- Once dal is cooked, add in 4 cups of boiling water, season with salt, turmeric powder and mix well. Once it starts to boil again, add in the roasted oats and mix well. It will start to thicken. Cover and cook for 4 to 5 minutes until oats cooked. Now turn off the heat.
- Heat ghee in a separate pan and add peanuts, pepper, cumin, asafoetida, green chillies, ginger, curry leaves and let them sizzle and get golden.
- Heat remaining ghee in the kadai and add mustard, channa dal, urad dal, cashews, raisans, pepper, cumin and mix well.
- Pour this over the oats pongal and mix well. Serve with any chutney.
Video
Notes
- Dry roasting moong dal and oats is important for the flavour and aroma. It adds a nutty aroma and also removes the gooey texture from oats.
- Be generous with the ghee for flavour.
- You can use rolled oats instead of instant oats.
- Dry roasted oats can be cooled and stored in a container for easy access.
- You can add more water, if pongal looks dry. Coconut milk can be used along with water while cooking pongal for rich taste.
Serving & Storage
Leftover oats pongal can be stored in fridge for upto 2 to 3 days. It may get thick as it sits in the fridge. But once it is heated in microwave or stove top it gets soft again. You may need to add ¼ cup of water to adjust the consistency of the pongal when heating. Serve oats pongal hot with peanut chutney, coconut chutney, tomato chutney, onion tomato gojju and sambar.Nutrition
If you have any questions not covered in this post and if you need help, leave me a comment or mail me @[email protected] and I’ll help as soon as I can.
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Prabhamani
Never think about Oats Pongal!!Sounds really interesting..Thanks for sharing dear..Healthy choice 🙂
Santosh Bangar
fantastic and healthy idea of using oats for pongal
maha
very healthy one..looks wonderfuland delicious...
faseela
innovZtive recipe with oats....loved the combo
Archana
looks so yummy. muust try some
sangee vijay
super healthy breakfast...lovely preparation...looks so yummy!!
Nuts about food
How interesting to use oats and lentils together. I never would have thought of it without reading this recipe: it sounds very flavorful and healthy too. I love oats.
Food, Fun and Life in the Charente
A great way to make changes to oats, but I am very lazy when it comes to breakfast and a banana is all I have! Diane
Srivalli
Very lovely presentation Aarthi..with oats that's really good..
zareena
This looks yummm and delicious. Very healthy and nutritious..
Carolina
Looks delicious
Kisses
Suja
Healthy and delicious Pongal..yum
Indulge
This one healthy powerhouse post. Will try this tonight and update you.
Love Ash.
Jennifurla
Wow, what a gorgeous colored dish. I could dive in.
Ramya
very healthy for breakfast...nice recipe..will give it a try
Crunchy Creamy Sweet
Looks great!
Harini
very healthy indeed! I love oats pongal as well!
LoLy
WOW, Girl, I love your recipes, it really looks soo yummy 😀
Katherine Aucoin
This looks like so warm and cozy comfort food. I am particularly interested in three ingredient that you used that I am no familiar with: moong dal, channa dal and urad dal. I am goinf to see if I can find them and learn more about them
Priya
Wat a healthy and super tempting oats pongal,simply makes me hungry.
S.Menaga
Never add onion in pongal,such a healthy BF looks very tempting me!!
Sayantani
thats real delicous and real healthy. bookmarked.
Judy
Great idea to mix it up so you don't get bored eating oat porridge.
Tina
This gets a thumbs up from me, delicious, hearty and healthy! Great post, enjoy the day.
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ரொம்ப ஹெல்டியான பொங்கல்//
VineelaSiva
Wow healthy and tasty simple yummy recipe.I really love this.When ever i feel little lazy i used to prepare this recipe.
Torviewtoronto
delicious looking pongal
@lekshmi
wow....oats pongal .....nice recipe
Nalini's Kitchen
Wow!!!such a delicious and healthy pongal with oats...looks tempting.
khushi
such a healthy recipe....but it does not compromise with taste at all..nice version
Roshu
Wow nice combo....xcellent recipeeee
Roshni
never tried it this way. will surely give it a shot
Christy Gerald
This is truly a tasty n healthy BF snack.Is in my do list.fabulous recipe.YUmmy!
Claudia
Yes, we happily do our oats here also - but never in such a delicious fashion.
Sobha Shyam
very healthy and delicious pongal..i too make this..
Hema
Very healthy Pongal recipe Aarthi, for people who don't like plain oats..
CaySera
that looks healthy and yummy aarthi....thanks for sharing!
Neha
Very nice and healthy option for breakfast...
Sushma Mallya
This looks absolutely yummy...lovely and healthy recipe:)
kankana
That is a very interesting twist to pongal and I bet tasty too!
Catherine
Dear Aarthi, I love your step by step instructions. This is something that I love all the flavors. Very delicious. Blessings, Catherine xo
Kalyani's Platter
looks yummy and healthy too .....
Now Serving
That looks healthy and delicious - have made it like this before too and loved it!
Now Serving
That looks healthy and delicious - have made it like this before too and loved it!
Sreevalli
Delicious pongal... I love it when it's healthy..
Chatty Crone
Okay - what type of cooking is this would you say - very unusual. Looks good though. sandie
Junia
oats and dahl sound amazing!! i've never heard of anyone using oats in their indian food before. they add such great texture too. 🙂
divya
wow...look fabulous... beautiful presentation...
Chef Mireille
I never would have thought of mixing oats in dal. This looks delicious...have to try it!
Smitha
looks delicious!...healthy breakfast!
Urmi
Absolutely mouth watering, yummy and delicious dish.
Blackswan
This is great for people who likes oatmeal. Another alternative method than to eat it plain 🙂
rekhas kitchen
Thats a real healthy one looks yumm..
rekhas kitchen
Thats a real healthy one looks yumm..
Deeps @ Naughty Curry
wow, oats is such a nice & healthy alternative to rice! really like this recipe 🙂
Ganga Sreekanth
Delicious and inviting recipe....
Kalpana Sareesh
Beautiful love it..
Ann
Delicious! Here in the US, oats are always sweet - even in baked goods....I think this is the first savory oat dish I've ever seen- but it sure does look good1
foodiliciousnan
Oats is such a healthy addition and a lighter variation to the usual rice in pongal!
Sharmilee! :)
Healthy n yummy pongal
Giovanna
complimenti un blog carinissimo mi sono aggiunta se ti va passa mi farebbe piacere
Ramya
Oats pongal! what a lovely idea:-) Wud love to try it!
veena krishnakumar
This version Of pongal is so good
jeyashrisuresh
healthy and yummy pongal. Adding onions sounds interesting
Suma Gandlur
Healthy n yummy one!
Cool Lassi(e)
Lovely healthy pongal!
Princy Vinoth
wow amazing healthy idea!
vaishali sabnani
grt...looks too good.like the idea of oats.
FigsandOlives
Hi Aarthi, you are v creative, admire your recipes, you inspire me to cook. One day will try each and every recipe you have posted. I am new to the blogging world and stumbled upon your blog. Great work and keep it going. God bless, today i am trying your eggless and butterless chocolate cake. Go through my blog when you find time.
morri
I've never cooked oats with dal before. At first I only wanted to make a half-portion - one cup of oats, half a cup of dal - because I wasn't sure if everyone would like this combination. But then I thought "Hey, it's a Yummy Tummy recipe - of course everyone will like it!". And so I added more ingredients and made the full portion. And, yes, we did love it.
Anonymous
I tried this today. My hubby loved this dish so much. He asked to prepare this dish often... thanks for yummy dish
Anonymous
Wow this looks yummy ! I always have oats porridge for breakfast as part of my diet and its so boring! Oats pongal looks yum!
Aarthi can i request you to post more of healthy and less calories recipes for ppl like me who are trying to lose weight? Varieties while dieting will make us stick to the diet 🙂 And instead of ghee here can we add oil? or will it spoil the taste?
Aarthi
@Anonymousyes u can add oil too
Rajalakshmi Velayutham
I tried this recipe for dinner. I came out delicious. I am someone who ll starve but not have oats but i loved this dish. Now it is added to my fav food. Thanks aarthi for detailed instructions and pictures.