kalakkalsamayal: Sarkkarai Pongal Special

Friday, October 4, 2013

Sarkkarai Pongal Special - Sweet Pongal

#SakkaraiPongal Special is specially made during Pongal festival and also on other festival days.
The common preparation of sakkarai pongal is just like the same way as regular pongal and jaggery is added at the end to make it sweet.
But I usually dry roast split green gram till golden color to get a nice flavor of it and then cook along with rice adding a pinch of salt. Then jaggery dissolved water is added to the cooked rice-dhal mixture. It is stirred over slow flame adding milk at regular interval to get a tasty sakkarai pongal. This method is just like that of akkaravadisal but with less ghee.

Here we will see the method of preparing sakkarai pongal.

Ingredients :
Raw rice : 1/2 cup
Green gram dhal : 1 tblsp heaped
Salt : a pinch
Jaggery : 3/4 cup ( adjust )
Cardamom powder : 1/2 tsp
Nutmeg powder : 1/4 tsp
Fried kismis / cashew : 10 to 12
Ghee : 2 tsp ( adjust )
Milk : 1 cup

Method :
Take jaggery in a vessel.
Add 1/3 cup of water and heat over a medium flame.
Mix well using a ladle and dissolve jaggery in water.
Turn off the stove once jaggery has been completely dissolved in water.
Strain through a filter to remove impurities. Keep aside.

Dry roast green gram dhal until it turns golden color.
Take raw rice and roasted dhal in a pressure cooker.
Wash them twice and add 2 cups of water & a pinch of salt.
Close the lid with weight on.
Allow it to cook for 3 whistles and 5 minutes on SIM.
Open the cooker after the steam has been completely subsided.
Mash with a heavy ling ladle.

Now add jaggery water and 1/2 cup of milk.
Keep it again on slow flame and keep stirring for five to seven minutes or until all blend together.
Now again add rest of the milk and keep stirring until all blend together.
Keep stirring continuously.

Otherwise it may get stuck at the bottom.
Finally add ghee and cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.
Mix well and turn off the stove.