Sweet Pongal Recipe

It is the tradition in India to offer sweets to God before starting any new venture.  Thus, in keeping with the tradition, I started this blog with an appreciation of my motherland followed by an article on Sun God for Rathasaptami.  Today  being Rathasaptami, following the south Indian tradition to offer pongal to Sun God, I am herein putting up my first recipe, Sweet Pongal, an offering to Sun God on Rathasaptami.

Traditionally, Pongal is cooked in the community in an earthen pot on an open fire and takes hours to cook.  I am bringing you a modernised pressure cooker version of the recipe.

Ingredients:

Fine Rice 1 cup

Moong Dal (yellow petite lentils)1/2 cup

Grated Jaggery 1 cup

Cloves  4 (optional to balance the sweetness; can use a small pinch of salt instead)

Cardamom 4 (peeled and crushed)

Dry fruits for garnishing.

Ghee 5 tablespoons (can cut down to 1 tablespoon according to taste and health preferences)

Time:

Preparation time 5 minutes, cooking time 20 min approx.  Serves 4.

Procedure in Detail:

Dry roast the rice and moong dal separately in a pan.  Wash and drain the rice and dal together.

In a pressure pan, bring to boil 5 cups of water.  Add the rice and dal mixture to the water, cover and cook on low flame for two or even three whistles of the cooker.

In the meanwhile, add half a cup of water to the grated jaggery in a saucepan and heat it till the jaggery dissolves.  Do not boil it.  Will become syrupy.

Once the cooker has cooled down, check the consistency of the rice.  It should have a thick and porridgy consistency.  If it is thicker, add hot water and bring to boil.  Then add the jaggery water and boil for another 5 minutes.  The final consistency of the Pongal should be thick and porridgy.  Transfer to a serving bowl.

For the seasoning, heat ghee in a pan, splutter the cardamom and cloves, add in the dry fruits and roast them till golden brown.  Pour sizzling hot on the cooked pongal.

Tastes best served hot.

Tips:

1.  If you are health/calorie conscious, you can substitute the fine rice with millet, brown rice, oats or quinoa.  If you are using brown rice, dry roast and soak for at least an hour before cooking.
2.  If you would rather use a microwave oven instead of a pressure cooker, set the rice, dal and water mixture in the oven at high for 10 minutes and check the consistency in the end.  Add in grated jaggery/jaggery powder after cooking and set in oven for another 5 minutes.
3.  The consistency of Pongal will largely depend on the rice used.  Basmati will not cook to a soft consistency.  Select rice that cooks to soft consistency; e.g., sona masouri or kolam.