[VEGETARIAN RECIPES] Sakkari Pongal

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PONGAL RECIPES

 

Pongal celebrated through the first four days of the Tamil Month of

Thai (Mid January to Mid February), is a popular harvest festival in

Tamil Nadu. The word Pongal, which literally means 'boiling over',

refers to rice cooked in milk and jaggery. The preparations for the

Pongal festival are quite elaborate. Pongal or sweet rice is the main

preparation of the festival.

 

Pongal is prepared in new big earthen pots called 'Pongal Panai' in the

open and allowed to boil over signifying prosperity and bountifulness

of crops. Sweet rice is cooked in a new earthenware pot in the same

place where the puja is to be performed. Fresh turmeric is tied round

the pot. A delicious concoction of rice, moong dal, jaggery and milk is

boiled in the pot on an open fire. As the Pongal is being cooked, it

boils over. The boiling over and spilling out of the contents of the

pot is the auspicious sign that the family waits for. The ready Pongal

is garnished with cashew nuts and raisins fried in ghee. The whole

preparation is usually done on a predetermined time which is considered

auspicious. The preparation is offered to the Gods along with

vegetables and lentils, newly harvested sugarcane and bananas. Later

the family sits down to a ritual meal. The ingredients of this

preparation have some symbolic meaning attached to each. Rice and milk

are signs of prosperity, sugarcane for happiness, while turmeric augurs

the good things to come.

 

It is a festival honouring and giving thanks to the gods - especially

the Sun God and Indra, the lord of the rains and the cattle for the

plentiful paddy crops in the field during the mild winter months in

South India. Two varieties of Pongal- the salty one known as 'ven

pongal' and the sweet one known as 'Sarkkarai pongal' are prepared on

the second day.

 

Besides the preparation of Pongal or the special sweet rice, the

festival of Pongal is also the time to prepare some of the

mouth-watering Tamil delicacies like Sakkarai Pongal, Payasam, Aval

Payasam, Dal Payasam and Murukku. Here are some of the recipes that are

easy to prepare yet deliciously tasty.

 

Sakkarai Pongal

 

Ingredients (Serves 5)

Raw rice:- 200 gm

Moong dal 25 gm

Jaggery 375 gm

Grated coconut 50 gm

Ghee 150 gm

Cashew nut 20 gm

Raisins 20 gm

Cardamom powder ½ tsp

Honey (optional) 15 ml

 

Method

 

Cook moong dal and cleaned rice, till half done. Drain the excess water

and keep them aside. Now, dissolve jaggery in water and heat it

separately. Pour the jaggery to cooked mixture. Roast cashew nuts,

raisins, and grated coconut in ghee. Add this to the mixture and stir

well. Also, add some extra ghee while serving.

 

Fry cashew nuts and raisins in ghee and keep aside. In a cooking pan,

heat 100 ml of water and the grated or broken jaggery. Allow the

jaggery to melt and form thick syrup and be mixed with the water

properly. Add the rice, moong dal and grated coconut into the syrup and

stir well to mix them up. Add honey, raisins and roasted cashew nuts

and the remaining ghee. Cook the entire content for 10 minutes. Remove

from flame and sprinkle powdered cardamom. Serve hot.

 

 

 

 

 

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Posted By Prema R to VEGETARIAN RECIPES at 1/13/2008 10:07:00 AM