Sweet Pongal

- Submitted by Dahlia

(Chakkarai Pongal, Gud ka Chaawal, Sweet Rice Porridge)

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Sweet pongal or sarkkarai pongal is a simple dessert which is usually made during the harvest festival 'Pongal'. It is also prepared very often as a quick snack, dessert or a meal.

Recipe For Sweet Pongal

Ingredients

• Raw Rice - 1 cup
• Moong Dal - 1/2 cup
• Jaggery (crushed) - 1.5 cups
• Ghee - 1/4 cup
• Water - 4 cups (to cook the rice and dal) (Tip :- You can substitute 4 cups of water with 2 cups water + 2 cups milk or 2 cups).
• water + 2 cups coconut milk.
• Water - 1 cup (to melt the jaggery)
• Cardamon Powder - 1/2 tsp
• Cashews, Almonds, Raisins or Coconut Pieces - about 1/4 cup (Use as per your preference or whatever you have on hand)
• Saffron Strands - a pinch (optional)

Method

1. Take a pressure cooker and dry roast the moong dal for about 5 minutes.
2. Add the rice to this. Now add the 4 cups of water (with milk if adding) and 1 tsp ghee.
3. Pressure cook for 3-4 whistles till the rice and dal is cooked soft. You can also cook the mixture in a rice cooker or an open pot.
4. In the meantime, heat 1 tblsp of ghee and fry the nuts and raisins. Keep this aside.
5. Next, melt the crushed jaggery with 1 cup of water in a heavy bottomed pot/pan.
6. Once the jaggery has melted, you can strain it to remove any dirt. This step can be skipped if the jaggery is pure.
7. Return the strained jaggery back to the pot. Bring it to a boil, reduce the heat and let it simmer for about 5 minutes.
8. Mash the cooked rice-dal mixture partially and add it to the simmering jaggery syrup.
9. Add the remaining ghee, cardamon powder, saffron strands and the roasted nuts. Mix together and let it simmer for few minutes till everything comes together into a gooey pongal consistency.
10. Switch off. The pongal continues to thicken as it cools.

Serving Suggestion

• You can server the sweet pongal as a snack, dessert or a meal.

Variation

• Instead of using regular jaggery (cane jaggery) for sweetening the pongal, you can use Karupatti (Palm Jaggery).

More Pongal Recipes

Rava Pongal	Akkaravadisal	Puli Pongal	Ven Pongal (Katte Pongali)
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