Sweet pongal is a sweet and pudding-like dish that is traditionally prepared in South India for the harvest festival of Makar Sankranti festival celebrated on January 14th.In the rural villages people gather in front of their homes and cook the ‘sweet pongal’ in earthen clay pots.The courtyards are decorated with long shalks of sugarcane and under it this sweet dish is prepared.
This sweet is also prepared as ‘naivedyam’ or ‘prasadam’ as an offering to God during various festivals of India.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup raw rice
- 1/4 cup moong dhal (green gram lentil)
- 1 1/4 cup grated or powdered jaggery
- 5-6 cardamoms (powdered)
- 10-12 cashewnuts
- 8-10 raisins
- 2 tbsp ghee
- Dry roast whole green gram dal till light brown in colour.Remove from fire.
- Wash rice.Pressure cook the rice and dal till it becomes very soft and mushy.Alternately you can cook the rice and green gram dal with 3 1/4 cups of water in the microwave and set aside.
- Heat jaggery in half cup of water till it dissolves completely.
- Add the cooked rice and dal to the jaggery and cook on low flame for few minutes.Turn off heat.
- Heat ghee and add the cashewnuts and raisins and fry till brown and add these along with the ghee to the sweet pongal. Now add the cardamom powder and mix well.
- It can be served hot or cold.
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