FATHIMA ANAS: sweet pongal recipe | sakkarai pongal recipe

sweet pongal recipe | sakkarai pongal recipe | chakkara pongal

sweet pongal recipe - sweet festive dish made with rice and mung lentils, flavored with cardamoms, dry fruits & ghee.

author: dassana

recipe type: sweets

cuisine: south indian, tamil

serves: 3 to 4

ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

main ingredients:

½ cup regular rice, 100 grams
⅓ cup moong dal/husked & split mung lentils, 85 grams (you can also add ¼ cup mung dal)
3 cups water for pressure cooking
100 to 105 grams jaggery or ½ cup tightly packed grated or chopped jaggery or ½ cup tightly packed jaggery powder
½ cup water for the jaggery solution
a small pinch of edible camphor, optional
5 green cardamoms + 1 clove (optional), crushed in mortar-pestle or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder

for frying dry fruits:

how to make the recipe:

cooking rice and lentils:

pick ½ cup rice and ⅓ cup moong dal first to get rid of stones if any. then heat a small pan or a small kadai and add both the rice and moong lentils.
on a low flame stirring often roast both the rice and moong lentils, till they become aromatic.
you only need to roast till the moong lentils become aromatic. no need to brown them.
now take them in another bowl.
rinse both the roasted rice and moong dal a couple of times with water.
drain well and then add them in a pressure cooker.
pour 3 cups water. the amount of water to be added depends on the consistency you want and also on the quality of moong dal. i get moong dal which takes a long time to cook. usually i cook the moong lentils for 8 to 10 whistles. so i add 3 or 3.25 cups water. if you get moong dal, which cooks quickly in 2 to 3 whistles, then add 2 to 2.5 cups water.
pressure cook on medium flame for 12 to 14 minutes or for 8 to 10 whistles.
let the pressure settle down on its own and then you remove the lid to check the doneness and consistency. if the pongal has a consistency like that of a pulao, then add ½ to 1 cup hot water and mix very well. both the rice and the moong dal should be cooked very well. with a spoon, slightly mash the cooked rice and moong lentils. if cooked well, then cover with the lid and keep aside. the consistency of a pongal is like khichdi.

some prepping and mixing:

meanwhile when the rice is cooking, crush seeds of 5 green cardamoms + 1 clove in a mortar-pestle. if using cardamom powder alone, then you can add ½ teaspoon of it.
also chop 100 to 105 grams jaggery. you should get about ½ cup tightly packed, chopped or grated jaggery. this much amount of jaggery makes the pongal just sweet. for more sweetness, you can add ¼ cup more. at times i also use jaggery powder and add it directly to the cooked rice+moong lentils.
now take ½ cup water in a pan. add the jaggery.
on a low to medium flame, heat this jaggery solution till the jaggery melts completely.
do stir and break the jaggery chunks or pieces with a spatula so that they melt easily.
you will get an amber colored syrup when all the jaggery is melted, if you have used dark jaggery. if you have light colored jaggery, then the color will be pale yellow to yellow.
straining the jaggery syrup through a seive, directly add it in the cooked rice+lentils mixture. if using jaggery powder, you can add directly.
now add the crushed cardamom+clove powder and a pinch of edible camphor.
mix everything very well. pongal will thicken as it cools down. so if the mixture looks thick, then you can add ¼ to ⅓ cup hot water.

frying dry fruits:

heat 5 tablespoons ghee. you can add less ghee if you want.
add the 12 to 15 cashews.
saute the cashews till they become light golden.
then add 1 tablespoons raisins.
begin to stir & fry.
stirring often fry till the raisins swell and become plump.
then immediately remove the pan from the stove top and add the fried cashews, raisins and ghee to the pongal mixture.
mix very well.
offer to the goddess or you can serve sweet pongal hot or warm to your family members.

FATHIMA ANAS