Skip to content
India in Nutshell
Sign in
Suggest a correction

Sakkarai pongal

AI-drafted · awaiting admin review

Rice and moong dal cooked with jaggery, ghee, cardamom and cashews, the sweet pongal offered to the Sun on Thai Pongal.

Region: Tamil NaduOccasion: Thai Pongal (mid-January); temple offeringTime: 45 minServes: 4Vegetarian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup raw rice
  • ¼ cup split yellow moong dal
  • 4 cups water
  • ½ cup milk (optional)
  • 1½ cups grated jaggery
  • ¼ cup water for the jaggery
  • 4 tbsp ghee
  • 12 cashews
  • 1 tbsp raisins
  • ½ tsp cardamom powder
  • A pinch of edible camphor (pachai karpooram), optional

Method

  1. Dry-roast the moong dal for 2–3 minutes until it smells nutty.
  2. Wash the rice and dal and cook them with the water (and milk, if using) until very soft and mushy.
  3. Melt the jaggery in ¼ cup water, strain out any grit and boil for 2 minutes.
  4. Pour the jaggery syrup into the cooked rice and dal and stir on low heat for 5 minutes until thick.
  5. Fry the cashews and raisins in ghee and pour them, with the ghee, over the pongal.
  6. Stir in the cardamom and camphor and serve warm.

History

Pongal means 'boiling over'. Sweet pongal made with new-harvest rice and jaggery has long been part of the Tamil harvest festival and of temple offerings.

Significance

On Thai Pongal, families cook it in a new pot outdoors, often in the courtyard, and call out 'Pongalo Pongal' when the milk boils over, a sign of plenty. It is first offered to the Sun God.

Sources