• In a pan, dry roast the moong dal. Keep the flame in medium and roast. Take care not to burn the dal. It should turn golden brown. Take it off heat and let it sit for 5 minutes.
• In the same pan, dry roast the sooji. Keep the flame in medium and roast. Even though i m using roasted rava, i roast the rava/sooji for a few minutes for it to become nicely warm and toasty. Remove the roasted sooji/rava to another plate.
• Add twice amount of water, that is ⅔ cups of water to the moong dal and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles or until soft. Let the pressure drop on its own.

Let us make the pongal

• In a kadai, add ghee and oil given under tempering, do not skimp on the oil and ghee quantities, this ensures a soft and fluffy pongal.
• When the oil is heated, add cumin seeds, chopped chili, ginger and curry leaves. To this add cashew nuts and saute.
• When the nuts are about to turn golden brown, add freshly pounded pepper powder and the pressure cooked dal to this and mix well. Add 1.5 cups of water to this. Add salt and mix well.
• When the dal mix comes to a boil , reduce the flame, add the roasted rava to this slowly and mix. I used a whisk finally to whisk it all together without any lumps.
• Add the remaining ½ cup water, cover and cook in a medium flame, for 5 minutes. The rava will absorb all the liquid and will cook soft.
• Remove the cover, add the ghee and oil given under ingredients, mix well. Serve it warm with chutney and sambar.