The name of the festival ‘Pongal’ itself
comes from the recipe Pongal. Basically, this festival is all about rice whose
method of preparation, and the final output is known as Pongal. You can say that
this period marks the gourmet delight respecting the beauty of harvest. The
making of sweet rice is the most important preparation done. This is a dish
prepared with rice, dal, jaggery, dry fruits, sugar, and milk. All these
ingredients are cooked in a new clay pot in the open and allowed to boil over,
signifying plenty and prosperity for the year ahead. This is offered to the Sun
God and partaken as prasad.
In this article, we will discuss the
different types of Pongal recipes which are prepared especially on these 4
days.
HOW TO MAKE THE PONGAL MAIN STATEMENT
DISH
According to the ritual, this Pongal rice is allowed to boil and spillover. Once the rice is cooked and is ready, it is offered to the sun god on a new banana leaf along with other traditional delicacies, like vadas, payasam, etc. Now let’s see its detailed recipe.
Ingredients
·
1 cup Rice
·
1/4
cup Moong dal
·
2- 1
tsp jeera
·
1/2-1
tsp peppercorns
·
1/2
tsp pepper powdered fresh
·
A few
Cashewnuts broken
·
1/2
cup dessicated Coconut
·
A
pinch of Turmeric powder
· Ghee
Method
1.
Fry the Moongdal a little till you get a
light flavor.
2.
Mix the dal with the rice, add 2 -3 cups of
water (the rice should cook very very soft)
3.
Add
turmeric powder, coconut, a few peppercorns, and a 1-2 tsp of ghee to the rice
and pressure cook till done.
4. When
done, take a Kadai add sufficient of Ghee to it, more the ghee better it
tastes, add jeera, peppercorns, and cashew nuts.
5. Add
the cooked rice mixture, add pepper powder, salt and mix well with the ghee and
jeera/cashew nuts.
The Pongal is
ready!!! You can add some more ghee at the end if you need. It is best eaten fresh
and Hot! You can serve it with Coconut Chutney, or Onion/Tomato Raita.
VEN PONGAL
Ingredients
·
Rice 1 Cup
·
Moong
Dal 1/4 Cup
·
Black
Pepper Powder to taste
·
Zera
Powder 1 Tbsp
·
Ginger
Paste 1 Tsp
·
Dry
Dinger (Sukku) 1 Tbsp
·
Heeng 1 Tsp
·
Cashew for garnishing
·
Margaring/Ghee 2 Tbsp
·
Water 6 Cups
· Salt to taste
Method
1.
Wash rice and dal together and drain nicely.
2.
In the
Rice cooker heat 1 tbsp ghee.
3.
Add
rice and dal. Fry till the ghee coats the mixture.
4.
Add
the rest of the ingredients, except Cashews.
5.
Add
water. Cover and cook.
6.
Keep
testing the water level and stir frequently as it has a tendency to stick to
the bottom.
7. When rice gets fully mashed garnish with cashews.
SAKKARAI PONGAL
Ingredients
·
2 liters Milk
·
1 1/2 cups Newly harvested Rice
·
1/4 cup Moong Dal
·
15 no. Cashewnuts
·
10 no. Almonds
·
30 no. Kishmis
·
1/4 level teaspoon Nutrieg Powder
·
1 1/2 cup Jaggery (grated)
·
1/4
teaspoon Saffron (crushed)
·
1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
·
2 tablespoons ghee
Method
1.
Chop almonds and cashew nuts.
2.
Clean kishmis.
3.
Pour milk in the earthen pot called
'Pongapani' and place it on fire.
4.
When the milk starts boiling add rice and
dal, after washing. As soon as the rice and dal are cooked to softness, add
jaggery and ghee.
5. Let cook on medium fire for some time and
then put in almond and cashew nut bits, saffron, nutrieg, and cardamom powders.
6.
Now, add the kishmis.
7. Bring to one or two good boils.
CHAKARA PONGAL
Ingredients
·
Long Grain Rice 1 cup
·
Moong Dhal 1/8 cup
·
Milk 1 cup
·
Melted Butter (Ghee) 1/2 to 1 cup
·
Powdered Jaggery (Gur) or Brown Sugar 1 3/4
cup
·
Cardamom Powder 1/2 tsp
·
Raisins 10 no
·
Cashew Nuts (whole) 6 to 8 no
Method
1.
Cook rice and moong dal with milk and water
until well done.
2.
Fry cashews and raisins in ghee until golden
brown and keep aside.
3.
Take water and add gur (or brown sugar) and
boil it until it dissolves and becomes thick.
4.
Add cooked rice and dal to gur and keep
stirring on low heat until well mixed.
5.
Add remaining ghee in spoonfuls and continue
stirring.
6.
Add powdered cardamom and mix well.
7.
Decorate with fried raisins and cashews.
8.
Serve with a Smile!
SWEET PONGAL
Ingredients
· 1 cup Raw Rice
·
1/2 cup Green Gram Dal
·
1 cup Milk
·
3 cups Jaggery (powdered)
·
4 tbsp Ghee
·
2 tbsp Cashewnuts
·
2 tbsp Raisins
·
5 no Cardamoms (powdered)
·
2 no Cloves (powdered)
·
1 small piece Nutmeg (grated or powdered)
·
A pinch of Saffron
· 2 1/2 cups Water
Method
1.
Roast dry the green gram dal for a couple of
minutes.
2.
Cook the rice and green gram dhal with 2 1/2
cups of water and 1 cup milk in the microwave and set aside.
3.
Dissolve the jaggery in 3/4 cup water and
cook on low heat till the jaggery melts.
4.
Strain the jaggery to remove the dirt.
5.
Put the syrup once more on the heat and stir
till it becomes slightly sticky.
6.
Add the cooked rice and dhal.
7.
Heat the 4 tbsp ghee.
8.
Fry the cashew nuts and raisins and add to the
Pongal.
9.
Add the powdered cardamoms, cloves nutmeg and
saffron.
10. Mix well and serve hot.
RAVA PONGAL
Ingredients
·
Rava 1 cup
·
Moong Dal 1/2 cup
·
Cashew Nuts 10 no
·
Ghee 4 tbs
·
Curry Leaves
·
Chopped Ginger 1 tsp
· Blackpeppercorn tsp
·
Cumin Seeds 1 tsp
· Salt to taste
Method
1.
Fry the Rava without any oil till it is
really hot to touch.
2.
Fry the black pepper and cumin seeds in a
teaspoon of ghee and make a coarse powder of them.
3.
Fry the cashew nuts, curry leaves, chopped
ginger and keep aside.
4.
Pressure cook the moong dal with 1 cup of
water.
5.
After the pressure subsides transfer the
cooked dal to a heavy-bottomed pan and add a cup of water.
6.
Add the required salt.
7.
Allow this to boil well.
8. Add the fried rava to the above boiling
(cooked) moong dhal in small measures and stir continuously till the Rava is
cooked completely.
9.
While the Rava is being cooked add the ghee
little by little.
10.
Finally, add the coarsely powdered pepper and
jeera and the fried cashew nuts, curry leaves, and chopped ginger.
11.
If you want a spicy Rava Pongal you can also
use a teaspoon of chopped green chilly.
12.
This goes well with coconut chutney.
KHARA PONGAL
Ingredients
·
Moong Daal 1 cup
·
Rice 1 cup
·
Cashewnuts 10-12 no
·
Cumin Seeds, Pepper Powder 1 tsp each
·
Chopped Green Chilli 3-4 no (depending on
size and taste)
·
Dry Coconut Flakes 2 tbsp
·
Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp
·
Salt to taste
·
Water 3 to 3 1/2 cups
Method
1.
Take a cooker and heat two tbsp of oil in it.
2.
Wash moong daal and the rice and keep it
separately.
3.
Roast cashew in the oil and keep aside.
4.
Now, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds.
5.
When the mustard seeds start to crackle, add
green chili and fry for a few seconds.
6.
Now, add the moong daal and fry for a minute.
7.
Add water and the washed rice.
8.
Also add coconut, salt, and turmeric powder.
9.
Close the cooker and allow it to whistle
thrice.
10. After the cooker cools down, add the pepper powder, cashews, and chopped cilantro leaves.
Note: You
can use ghee instead of oil. Ghee gives a better taste.
RICE PONGAL
Ingredients
·
Raw Rice -300 gms
·
Moong Dal (yellow or green) 100 gms
·
Hing powder -Half tsp
·
Cummin Seeds- one or two tsp
·
Black pepper- 10 to 12
·
Cashew nuts-10 no
·
Ginger- 1-inch piece
·
Turmeric powder- half tsp (optional, if you
like the color)
·
Clarified Butter or liquified Ghee- four tbsp
·
Curry Leaves- 10 no (optional)
·
Salt- to taste
Method
1.
Heat Kadai. Dry roast rice and moong dal till
they turn hot to touch.
2.
Transfer the rice and dal to a container and
wash three times in freshwater.
3.
Add water four times the quantity of rice and
dal and add salt.
4.
Pressure cook for four whistles.
5.
In a Kadai dry roast cumin seeds and pepper
for 2 minutes and powder coarsely.
6.
Chop the ginger finely and keep it aside.
7.
Add one tablespoon of ghee in the Kadai and
roast the cashew nuts(halved) till they turn light brown.
8.
Add ginger, powdered cumin seeds, hing
powder, turmeric powder, and curry leaves and roast for a minute.
9.
Take out the cooked rice and dal mix and mash
well using a masher.
10.
Add all the prepared ingredients and mix well
with the remaining ghee.
11.
Rice Pongal is ready and can be served with
coconut chutney.
Source of recipe:
http://www.pongalfestival.org
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