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.
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