Chakkarai Pongal

Pongal is one of the most popular four day long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu. It falls in mid January. It is like a Thanksgiving occasion to nature.Chakkara Pongal is a delicacy made of newly harvested rice. It is cooked with jaggery, ghee and cashew nuts and is offered to sun god. Let us learn to make sakkarai pongal-

Ingredients needed

Rice - 1/2 cup
Moong dal - 1 1/2 tbsp
Jaggery - 1 cup
Cashew nuts -2 tbsp
Raisins -2 tbsp
Cardamom -1/4 tsp
Ghee -1/4 cup

Preparation

Dry roast rice and dal separately till it becomes slightly hot. You do not have to fry till it changes color.

Pressure cook rice and dal with 2 1/2 cups of water. Mash it well and keep it aside. (I have used old rice. For new rice, add only 2 cups of water.)

Heat 1/2 cup of water in a pan and add jaggery to it.When it melts, filter it to remove impurities.

Method

1.Boil jaggery with a tsp of ghee.Take a cup of water, add a tsp of jaggery syrup to it, if it does not dissolve,then that is the right stage to add mashed rice.Do not add rice before that stage.

2 Cook for sometime after adding rice till everything gets mixed well and starts to leave the sides of the pan.

3.Now add cardamom powder

4.Heat 1/4 cup of ghee and fry raisins and cashew nuts separately and add it to the rice along with ghee.

5.Cook for some more time till everything gets blended well.Serve hot.

Note - This measurement serves 2 persons.

Source: http://www.padhuskitchen.com/2010/12/sweet-pongal-recipe-sakkarai-pongal.html