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