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Sweet Pongal || Sakkarai Pongal

Sweet pongal is a delicious south Indian dish made with rice, moong lentils, ghee, jaggery or sugar, cardamoms an d nuts. It is a traditional dish mostly made to offer the God on special occasions & festivals. 
Prep Time45 minutes
Active Time10 minutes
Total Time55 minutes
Course: Dessert, prasad
Cuisine: Indian, South-Indian
Keyword: Indian pudding, jaggary, moongdal, pongal, rice, sweet pongal
Yield: 6 people
Calories:
Author: Minal Sharma
Cost: 45

Equipment

  • pressure cooker
  • Tadka pan

Materials

  • ½ cup rice
  • ½ cup moong dal
  • 2 piece cardamom
  • 1 inch cinamom
  • ¼ tsp sauf
  • 1 tsp ghee for tempering
  • 3 cups water for pressure cooking
  • 120 grams jaggery or ½ cup tightly packed grated or chopped jaggery or ½ cup tightly packed jaggery powder
  • ½ cup water for the jaggery solution
  • a small pinch of edible camphor optional
  • 5 green cardamoms optional - crushed in mortar-pestle or ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
  • **For Frying Dry Fruits**
  • 4 to 5 tablespoon ghee
  • 15 to 18 cashews and almonds
  • 1 tablespoon golden raisins
  • 2 tablespoon coconut sliced

Instructions

  • Roasting Rice & Moong Dal
  • Pick ½ cup rice and ½ cup moong dal first to get rid of stones if any. Rinse both the roasted rice and moong dal a couple of times with water. Drain well
  • Then heat a small pan or a small kadai and add both the rice and moong lentils. with 1tbsp of ghee.
  • On a low flame stirring often roast both the rice and moong lentils, till they become aromatic.
  • You only need to roast till the moong lentils become aromatic. No need to brown them.
  • in a small pan heat ghee and add cinnamon, cardemom, and sauf, stir and add to rice and daal.
  • Now put them in presure cooker and add water.
  • Cooking Rice & Moong Dal
  • Pour 3 cups water. The amount of water to be added depends on the consistency you want and also on the quality of moong dal.
  • Pressure cook on medium flame for 12 to 14 minutes or for 4 to 5 whistles.
  • Let the pressure settle down on its own and then you remove the lid to check the doneness and consistency. If the pongal has a consistency like that of a pulao, then add ½ to 1 cup hot water and mix very well.
  • Both the rice and the moong dal should be cooked very well. With a spoon, slightly mash the cooked rice and moong lentils. If cooked well, then cover with the lid and keep aside. The consistency of a pongal is like khichdi.
  • Preparing Jaggery Syrup:
  • Meanwhile when the rice is cooking, crush seeds of 5 green cardamoms in a mortar-pestle. If using cardamom powder alone, then you can add ½ teaspoon of it.
  • Also chop 115 to 120 grams jaggery. You should get about½ cup tightly packed, chopped or grated jaggery. This much amount of jaggery makes the pongal just sweet.
  • Now take ½ cup water in a pan. Add the jaggery.
  • On a low to medium flame, heat this jaggery solution till the jaggery melts completely.
  • Do stir and break the jaggery chunks or pieces with a spatula so that they melt easily.
  • You will get an amber colored syrup when all the jaggery is melted, if you have used dark jaggery. If you have light colored jaggery, then the color will be pale yellow to yellow.
  • Making Sweet Pongal:
  • Straining the jaggery syrup through a seive, directly add it in the cooked rice+lentils mixture. If using jaggery powder, you can add directly.
  • Now add the crushed cardamom powder and a pinch of edible camphor.
  • Mix everything very well. Pongal will thicken as it cools down. So if the mixture looks thick, then you can add ¼ to ⅓ cup hot water.
  • Frying Dry Fruits:
  • Heat 5 tablespoons ghee. You can add less ghee if you want.
  • Add the 12 to 15 cashews. Saute the cashews till they become light golden.
  • Then add 1 tablespoons raisins. Begin to stir & fry.
  • Stirring often fry till the raisins swell and become plump.
  • Then immediately remove the pan from the stovetop and add the fried cashews,almonds and coconut, raisins and ghee to the pongal mixture. Mix very well.
  • Offer to the goddess or you can serve sweet pongal hot or warm to your family members

Video

Notes

Tips for making sweet Pongal
  • Usually, I cook the moong lentils for 4 to 5 whistles. So I add 3 cups of water. If you get moong dal, which cooks quickly in 2 to 3 whistles, then add 2 to 2.5 cups water.
  • For more sweetness, you can add ¼ cup more. At times I also use jaggery powder and add it directly to the cooked rice+moong lentils.
  • This sweet Pongal recipe can be doubled or tripled.
  • You can add less or more ghee as required.
  • Also, clove and edible camphor can be skipped.