Mouth watering Sweet Pongal recipe for beginners. Sweet pongal is known as Sakarai pongal in Tamil. Today is 14th January and it is Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல்) for people of Tamil origin in India, Sri Lanka and around the world.
There is a saying as “Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum” which means the beginning of “Thai paves the way for new opportunities”.
Thai refers to month in Tamil which falls from 14th January to 12th February in normal English Calendar.
Sweet Pongal Recipe:
Preparation Time : 10 minutes if you have the ingredients in your pantry
Cooking Time : 30 Minutes
Serves : 4-5
Ingredients
1 1/2 cup Black & Gold Jasmine Rice
1/2 cup Yellow mung lentils
6 cups Water
1/3 of the jaggery ball
1/2 Gula Melaka
3 tablespoon Blended Fresh Ginger Juice
1/2 Cup Silvered Almonds
80 grams Australian Sultana
2 tablespoon Clarified Butter or Ghee
2 Cardamom whole
A pinch of salt
Cooking Method:
Step1: Roast Rice and mung lentils together in small flame till roasted light brown.
Step 2: While the roasting is happening, start melting jaggery and Gula melaka in the pot with 3 cups of water and a pinch of salt.
Step 3: Strain the mixture, add ginger juice and boil in higher flame to caramelize the syrup. Step 4: Pressure cook the roasted rice and mung lentils with 3 cup of water in high flame till you hear the 1st whistle, then off the stove and let it continue cooking.
(Note: I am using hotplate in Australia).
Step 5: Mash the rice and mung lentils together and add the caramelized syrup to the opened pressure cooker.
Guess what, too much syrup will cause the rice and mung lentils to float. Do not get frighten!
Art of cooking is amending the mistakes. That’s what cooking has thought me in life.
Step 6: Turn on the flames once again in medium heat and stir the ingredients in the pressure cooker with the lid open.
Step 7: While that is happening, Heat another pan with ghee and light fry Cardamom a while and add the Cardamom to pressure cooker.
Step 8: Finally fry the almond and sultana light brown and add them to the pressure cooker. Stir altogether and serve mild hot.
Trust me! It was damn delicious!My mouth is still watering although I had 2 bowls of it. My 1st time experience cooking Sweet Pongal for Pongal day!
