Sweet and Spicy Pongal Recipe

Pongal has two variants, one is Sakarai Pongal (Sweet Pongal) and one Ven Pongal (spicy Pongal ). The dish is served on banana leaves.

Sweet / Sakarai Pongal Recipe

Sweet Pongal/Chakkarai Pongal is the main dessert for Tamil people cooked mainly during the Pongal festival. It has rice, milk, jaggery, Green gram, cashew nuts, cardamom, raisins as the main ingredients.

Ingredients:

Rice 1 cup
Green Gram Dal 1/2 cup
Milk 1 cup
Jaggery 2 cup
Ghee 1/2 cup
Cashew nuts
Raisins
Cardamons
Saffron
Water

Preparation:

In a Pan add 1/4 cup of water and add the crushed jaggery and cook for a couple of minutes till jaggery is fully dissolved. Strain the mixture so that the dirt is removed from jaggery, put the jaggery syrup again on the gas till the syrup becomes a little sticky.
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Now in another pan fry green gram dal for some time till the nice aroma of dal starts coming.
Add rice roasted green gram dal with 2 cups of water and 1 cup of milk in the cooker and cook up to 4- 5 whistles.
Fry the cashew nuts in ghee and add raisins after cashewnuts are light brown.
Now mix the cooked rice and dal mixture in jaggery syrup add cardamoms and saffron add the fried nuts and mix well till the aroma of spice and ghee is absorbed well and serve hot.

Ven Pongal (Khara Pongal) or Ghee Pongal or Milagu Pongal

It’s a famous dish in Tamil in which rice and dal are cooked in ghee and tempered with cumin and cashews. The spicy variant of Ven Pongal is called Milagu Pongal.

Ingredients:

Rice 1/2 cup
Split Moong dal 1/2 cup
Ghee
Cumin seeds
Pepper
Ginger
Green chilies
Curry leaves
Hing
Cashews
Water
Salt according to taste

Preparations:

Roast 1/2 cup split moong dal in low flame until the dal gives a nice aroma.
Now add the roasted dal and 1/2 cup rice in a pressure cooker along with 4 cups of water, salt and cook it for 7-8 whistles.
We need to cook it more so that it comes out all mushy and mixed.
Meanwhile, you fry cashews in ghee and keep them aside.
In the same pan add jeera and let it crackle now add pepper, green chilies, ginger, curry leaves, a pinch of hing.
Now add the cooked rice and dal mixture stir well and add the fried cashews and add ghee and mix well.
Enjoy the Pongal with Coconut chutney or sambhar.