Traditional South Indian sweet rice prepared during the harvest festival called Pongal / Sankranthi. In villages freshly harvested rice is cooked with jaggery and dal in clay earthenware pots and offered to God along with vegetables, lentils, sugarcane and fruits. This is also prepared as neivedyam or prasadam during other auspicious occasions and festivals.
Sweet Pongal / Sarkkarai Pongal / Pongal Recipes / Chakkarai Pongal / சக்கரைப் பொங்கல் / Festive recipes / Pongal festival recipes / Tamizhar thirunal recipes
| Ingredients | |
|---|---|
| 1 cup | Rice |
| ¼ cup | Split green gram |
| 1 & ½ cup | Jaggery (powdered) |
| ¼ cup | Ghee |
| 15 nos | Cashews |
| 8 | Raisins |
| 4 | Cardamon |
| 4 & ½ cup | Water |
| ½ cup | Water for melting Jaggery |
| a pinch (optional) | Edible camphor & Nutmeg powder |
Heat 2 teaspoons of ghee and roast green gram / moong dal until they turn light pink, should not take more than 4 minutes. Remove them and spread it on a plate.(OR) Alternatively you may soak moong dal in water for 20 minutes. In the same pan heat 3 teaspoons of ghee and fry the cashews and raisins until they turn golden, remove from fire and keep them aside.
I always like to soak dal and rice before cooking. I did soak them for 20 minutes.
Wash rice and add roasted moong dal / green gram and pressure cook with 4 1/2 cups of water until soft. (Takes 3 hiss)
Now melt jaggery with 1/2 cup of water over the stove top, should take about 5 minutes, just wait for the jaggery to dissolve completely without any lumps. No syrup consistency required.
Add thoroughly cooked rice and dal mixture to the jaggery syrup and mix well. A filter is used to get off all the impurities in the melted jaggery.
Add the powdered cardamon, fried cashews, raisins and leftover ghee(if any) to it and stir. (Add edible camphor and nutmeg at this stage if you like) Cook everything on medium flame until it thickens and becomes sticky. (about 5 minutes over low flame)
Switch off and serve.
Notes
- Sona masoori or ponni raw rice can be used.
- Alternatively same dish can be prepared with equal potion of milk and water instead of just water. Coconut milk can also be used.
- You can also add roasted grated coconut if you wish.
- Yields about 3- 3 1/2 cups (approx) of cooked Pongal. About 5 adult servings.
20 Comments
Hi Mullai, should we need to wash the moong dal or directly roast in ghee?
Reeta, you don’t have to wash just roast directly. Thanks.
hi mullai
my hubby like sweet pongal very much.itried this and it came out very well.he just loves it.
thx
jothi
Hi Mullai
Can I use long grain rice or idli rice to make sarkkarai pongal?
Thx
Valli
Valli, long grain would be perfect… any variety Pachai Arisi, Sona Masoori will suit too. Thanks.
Mullai, i prepared yesterday & it came out excellent….Thank u so much.
Mullai , In Saravana Bhavan Sakkarai pongal , Small pieces of koparai thengai are added and it gives a very good taste. R.Salai Varumpadham
hey mullai,
i tried this sakarai pongal, Oh man its awesome. I didn’t share with any one.
Mam, in sri lanka we do add milk. And we use that dark brown jaggery…Anyway as you said you have to have it when its warm. Have you heard pal pongal or kiri bath in sinhalese… We boil red raw rice in coconut milk and have with dry sambol. How you managed to get it like you added coconut milk. We also add milk sometimes.
btw, Nice green saree or table mat. My favourite green too. You know what I must observe you well as my creative mind suthama gone after I came here…. Take care…. Finished exams. So Now iam allowed to browse no…Warm pongal wishes mam…
hai mullai,it came out very welll we enjoyed ……..i love to prepare ur dishes ..plz help in changin the password…
hi…….just a quick doubt…you have asked to use green gram dhal, which is green in colour.but the dhal shown in the pic is thoordal, rt? can we use any of these?
Hi sapna, First for pongal u can't use green color moong dhal(with skin). You have to use split moong dal(Paasi paruppu in tamil) which is in yellow colour(without skin) & the picture shows moongdhal.
Sapna, its split green gram and not toor. Anyhow edited the recipe and thanks to Kavi.
hi mullai,
do u know the kuzhambu prepared during pongal with lots of vegs
Abish, Here you go… just follow this recipe and include these veggies. Brinjal,Sweet Potato,Pumpkin,Mochai,Raw Banana, Karunai Kizhangu and Avarakkai(Broad beans). http://spiceindiaonline.com/pitlai
Hiii Abish,
We make fried brinjal curry. Its similar to the lady's finger curry posted by me. But we make bit watery. Not that thick. Also we fry vatral millakai, vadakam (made with neem flower & ulunthu) and papad. I dont kno how ppl can eat it. I cant. But, I know its very common with SL tamils. Pongal wishes anyways
Hello Mullai,
I think we can also add a milk with this pongal.
Could you please let me know which is a good stage
to add the milk?
thanks,
-karthi
Hi ,
This is Nisha. I was browsing thru this website and found ur sarkarai pongal very attractive.
But i have a doubt in that, for the water amount , in ingredients u have mentioned as 3 1/2 cups but in preparation , u have mentioned to cook the rice and dhal mixture in 5 cups of water , so which is the right one.
Please reply.
Hi Nisha,
Good that you let me know. Sometimes while typing, these mistakes happen and I apologize for that. Actually it has to be 4 1/2 cups of water. I've made the correction.
Mullai,
I was just browsing the net for some recipes. I found your recipe with pictures. Awesome. Good job. Keep it up.
I am going to try your vada curry tomorrow.
I am also from Tamilnadu and live in Philadelphia. Where do you live? If in US we can talk. This is Abhirami.