Starting 2022, I’m planning to do a post of the month, which will be based on monthly festivities or celebrations in that particular month. So, with that in mind, I thought, “What better way to start January 2022 with Pongal?” Pongal marks the beginning of the harvest festival to thank the Sun god for agricultural abundance. Pongal literally signifies boiling over or overflow. It is celebrated by Tamils in South India and by the Tamil diaspora worldwide. The feast consists of the traditional sweet and savory ‘Pongal’ dish. We enjoy this dish during Pongal celebrations and also make it as a breakfast or brunch option. Naturally vegan and gluten free, here is how I prepare the sweet and savory versions of the simple yet flavorful Pongal.
Sakkara Pongal or Chakkara Pongal
Ingredients
- 1 cup jaggery
- 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
- 1/4 cup Dry fruits- I use cashews and raisins
- 1/8 cup yellow moong dal
- 1/4 cup rice
- 1 teaspoon ghee
Method:
- Dry roast the moong dal on a pan til it changes color slightly and set aside. Make sure you don’t brown it or let it turn darker.
- Wash the moong dal and rice nicely
- Pressure cook the moong and rice together with double the quantity of water for 4-5 whistles
- While the rice and moong are pressure cooking heat ghee on a thick bottomed pan and roast the dry fruits till they turn golden brown and set aside.
- In the same pan add the jaggery and add sufficient water to cover it. Add the cardamom powder and let it boil. Now simmer the flame and cook it it turns into a sticky and slightly thick syrup but no string consistency required.
- Once the dal and rice are cooked, add them to the syrup and cook stirring continuously. Once the rice -moong mixture has blended well with the syrup and turned into a gooey consistency, add the roasted dry fruits and turn off the gas.
- Enjoy with combination of ven pongal which is prepared as follows:
Ingredients
- 1 sprig curry leaves
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 8-10 cashews
- 6-8 pepper corns (optional)
- 1 teaspoon black pepper powder
- 1/4 cup yellow moong dal
- 1/2 cup rice
- 1 inch ginger piece
- 2 tablespoons ghee
- Salt as per taste
Method:
- Dry roast the moong dal on a pan til it changes color slightly and set aside. Make sure you don’t brown it or let it turn darker.
- Wash the moong dal and rice nicely. Grate the ginger into the rice moong dal mix.
- Pressure cook the moong and rice together with double the quantity of water for 4-5 whistles and once done let pressure release naturally.
- I usually do sakkara pongal and ven pongal together using pot in pot method.
- Now in a pan, add 1 tablespoon of ghee and add the cumin seeds.
- Once they splutter, add the pepper corns, curry leaves and cashews and let the cashews turn golden.
- Add the rice moong mixture and stir well. Add salt and pepper powder and stir. Add little water as required and keep stirring for about 2 minutes till you get the perfect consistency.
- Finish with a tablespoon of ghee.
Enjoy your brunch and let me know how it turned out for you in comments!
