Sakkarai Pongal

On this day of Pongal or Makara Shankranthi, we prepare a sweet rice pudding called Sakkarai Pongal (Sakkarai meaning sweet or sugar). Sakkarai Pongal is made in a traditional heavy brass pot that is decorated with turmeric shoots and sugarcane leaves. It is offered to the Sun God with prayers for a good year (especially for a good year of bountiful harvests).

This recipe comes from my mother. 

Ingredients:

1. 1 cup of raw white rice
2. 2 teaspoons of moong dhal / payatham paruppu
3. 1 teaspoon of bengal gram dhal / kadala parauppu
4. 1 cup of milk
5. 4.5 cups of water or more (more or less depending on the rice)
6. 2 cups of powdered jaggery (or dark brown sugar)
7. 4 teaspoons of ghee or more
8. a few cashews and raisins
9. 1 teaspoon of cardamom powder
10. a pinch of saffron
11. 1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (optional)

Preparation:

1. Dry roast the rice and lentils (the moong dhal and bengal gram dhal) on medium heat for 5-6 minutes until they are warm to the touch. Do not roast them till they turn brown.
2. Cook the rice and lentils with 1 cup of milk and 2.5 cups of water (the ratio of rice: liquid is usually about 1:5.5). If you like, you can add more milk and cut down the water.The cooked rice will be soft and slightly mushy. A pressure cooker will make the rice mushier.
3. Add 2 cups of jaggery, a pinch of saffron, and a couple of spoons of ghee to the cooked rice (and lentils) and stir on low heat until the jaggery dissolves, and the syrup begins to thicken the rice to the consistency of pudding. Keep stirring on low-medium heat for 5-7 minutes until the pongal thickens. The time it takes to thicken, depends on the conductivity of the container in which the pongal is cooked. It is best to cook it in a heavy-bottomed vessel that conducts heat well. Always remember - the jaggery syrup will continue to thicken as it cools. So, do not over-heat the jaggery.
4. Remove the pongal from heat. Roast some cashews and raisins (about a teaspoon each) in a spoon of ghee. Garnish the pongal with freshly ground cardamom powder, grated nutmeg and the roasted raisins and cashews. Nutmeg is used as a substitute for edible camphor that's usually added in this dish.
5. Serve warm with a small dollop of ghee on top (optional, but highly recommended)

If you are outside of India, I think most brands of jaggery that’s available in the Indian stores in the U.S have a very small amount of molasses content in them. Consequently, the pongal does not always have its identifiable rich, warm, brown color to it (like the one in the picture below). But in terms of taste, it doesn't matter.



Some times, I hardly add any ghee in my effort to keep things not as unhealthy, which means the pongal would appear a bit dry in pictures. The mark of a good sakkara pongal lies in the amount of ghee that oozes out of it and runs down to one’s elbows as one eats a handful of it - a calorific nightmare for us these days, but that’s what my grand-aunt and other ladies believed in!