DISH NAME : SAKKARAI / CHAKKARAI PONGAL(SWEET PONGAL0

Preparation Time : 10 minutes

Cooking Time : 15 minutes

Description

Pongal is a harvest festival celebrated by the Tamil community in India and Srilanka. pongal means "to boil over". It is a celebration to thank nature and everything assosiated with it. Pongal is the name of the festival and also the name of the dishes. There are 2 types of pongal dishes, ven pongal & sakkarai pongal. Ven pongal is a bland savory dish served as break fast, where as sakkarai pongai is the sweet version.

Note

1) Usually pongal is made with cow's milk, but i have used plain water.
2) According to custom pongal is cooked in an open vessel, but again i have used pressure cooker to make task easier.
3) The ratio of rice to jaggery is 1:2.

Method

1) Jaggery usually has some dirt and impurities in it. To remove these, heat jagger y in a pan with about 1 cup water. When it melts, put off fire and keep without stirring for sometime. Gradually without stirring strain the jaggery syrup into another vessel. When the impurities are visible at the bottom stop pouring. Throw away impurities.
2) Add split dal and rice to 4 cups of water after washing. Pressure cook for 3 whistles
3) When pressure is released mash rice mix and pour in jaggery and boil again till it becomes thick and all the syrup is absorbed.
4) Stir in cardamom powder.
5) Heat clarified butter. Fry cashews till golden brown. Remove from ghee and keep aside.
6) In same clarified butter, fry raisins in ghee . 7) Add cashew and raisins into pongal.

Serving Suggestions

Serve as a snack or dessert . Can be served warm or at room temperature.