Sakkarai pongal recipe or sweet pongal recipe: we don’t celebrate pongal festival back in Kerala. This should explain why I am posting this traditional pongal festival recipe in March. I mean, how off the mark can you get? About 2 months, that’s how much.
But like I said, we don’t celebrate pongal, and by that I mean my family. TH’s family definitely does, but nothing elaborate. Mostly it involves making ven pongal the savory kind and this sweet version, sakkarai pongal.
My mom makes sweet pongal as and when she feels like it. Usually, when we need a quick dessert for guests, sakkarai pongal gets made. Admittedly, its not my favourite sweet but recently I had this tremendous craving that was quite inexplicable so I made a teeny weeny bit (TH hates it) and had it all by myself at around 10pm in the night, which explains the very not-nice picture.
It came out pretty nice though. I’d never realised sakkarai pongal was this easy to make!
- 1 cup raw rice
- ¼ cup moong dal (paasi paruppu)
- ¾ cup grated jaggery (adjust to taste)
- 1 cup full fat milk + ½ cup water (or 1.5 cups low fat milk)
- A few cashew nuts (I used almonds)
- A few raisins
- 2 tbsp + 1 tbsp ghee
- 3 cardamom pods, crushed well
- Traditionally, sakkarai pongal is made by simmering the rice and dal in the milk until soft but who has that kind of time these days? Definitely not me. So bring out your pressure cooker.
- Wash the rice and dal together.
- Add the milk + water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or 15 minutes. We want the rice + dal to turn nice and mushy.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp ghee and roast the cashew nuts (or almonds) and the raisins until golden brown (the raisins will become plump).
- Remove from fire and sprinkle cardamom powde on top. Give it a mix and set aside.
- Once the pressure leaves the cooker, open gently and while the rice and dal mixture is still hot, mix in the grated jaggery, roasted nuts, and raisins.
- If the pongal is too thick at this stage, add some boiled milk by the tablespoons.
- If the mixture is too loose, keep on a low fire and mix continuously until desired consistency is achieved.
- Mix in one more tbsp of ghee and serve warm. I also like it cold from the fridge the next day.
Note:
You can add some grated coconut to the pongal along with the jaggery if you’d like some bite to the sakkarai pongal.
For Sakkarai Pongal recipe in Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, etc please use the Google Translate button in the sidebar.
hey nags.. ur sakkarai pongal came out so well.. thanks for the receipe.. the idea of adding grated coconut made it tastier!! my li'l one had asked me to make it after having it from a temple 🙂
dhanya
Oh my.. I was looking for Sakkarai Pongal recipe and stumbled upon your food blog. The pic looks divine… drooool… gonna make me some this weekend! Thanks heaps!
Syama
now, i was asked to make a pie here (which i completely had no idea!) and all i did was bought crust and filled it with your recipe of sakkarai pongal… he he he.. named it rice pie!! 😛 thanks for the recipe!! 🙂
That's one of the most creative recipes I have every come across!! Kudos 😀
tried the recipe today, turned out just GREAT! thank you. my rice and moong dal came out a little dry from the pressure cooker, but i just followed your advice of adding hot milk to it and it was fine.
I had even forgotten about recipe. So glad it came out nicely for you 🙂
Oh, I love Pongal in this dark colour. My mom would ask his uncle for this black jaggery every year, just because I like it this way 😀
yummy pongal. even though i am not a big fan of this,my hubby and kids love it to the core.
Adding coconut sounds great.
Same Pinch!!!! I too pestered my amma to make this yesterday night and had a big bowl all myself without giving a pinch to anyone. The click is pretty good nags!
I love this! Posted the same on the blog a day ago!
and like u , I made it at night and posted it after midnight!
Ok – that must be some heavy load craving! I crave for kesari this way and make it in the middle of the night!
My hubby loves and would dig in the whole pan of chakkari pongal – I was like you too – did not like it when I was growing up – but there is a lot of comfort in this and I enjoy it now!
Nice click Nags!, even though it is not upto your mark of photography skills!!, But truly it is still 100% better than mine, as I click mine only at night, doesn't look that you clicked it at night!!!, as for the pongal I love the savoury version but my H's sweet tooth family love it!!, my daughter can sit and eat it all day long!!, But, I love eating eating them in temples, with ghee dripping down!!, sigh!! now you are making me feel I should make it,
Nice click Nags!, even though it is not upto your mark of photography skills!!, But truly it is still 100% better than mine, as I click mine only at night, doesn't look that you clicked it at night!!!, as for the pongal I love the savoury version but my H's sweet tooth family love it!!, my daughter can sit and eat it all day long!!, But, I love eating eating them in temples, with ghee dripping down!!, sigh!! now you are making me feel I should make it,
pongal at my parents house is a huge deal. my grandmother always makes the pongal and she pours a ton of ghee in the sakkarai pongal!
Goodness, really looks sweet and delicious!
I have never even heard of Pongal before. I will definitely be trying out this recipe to see how it turns out.
I love this and unfortunately I'm the only one in my family who likes this..Maybe I should make it like you and have the entire portion myself..lol..
This is our family favorite and we could probably have it anytime. Liked your version.
WOO! looks yumm and tempting.
Rava kesari is my late night sweet craving remedy. This one also sounds doable late night! thanks 🙂
Aaah! that looks good Nags! Judging from the ingredient list, I think it must be the perfect balance of sweet and spice, just like Halwa:)
will love to try this!:)I think adding coconut would be a great idea!
btw, you missed nutmeg in the ingredient list:) (Yes, I did read the recipe:)D)
Ok – that must be some heavy load craving! I crave for kesari this way and make it in the middle of the night!
My hubby loves and would dig in the whole pan of chakkari pongal – I was like you too – did not like it when I was growing up – but there is a lot of comfort in this and I enjoy it now!
love chakkara pongal.. my mom makes this for pongal and adds so much of ghee that you literally see it glistening…I have had this as a meal by itself so many times… and I love the darker shade that you have… I never get it when I use the jaggery that I get here in U.S 🙂
Mansi, thanks for reading the recipe 😀 I didn't see nutmeg in the scribble scrap I had the recipe on. Either amma forgot to mention it or maybe she doesn't add it. You are right though, I later saw that ingredient in almost all the chakkarai pongal recipes I saw online. So i have added it as an optional ingredient, although I didn't add it.
Thanks for pointing it out 🙂
Sakkarai pongal with some sundal and ven pongal would make it a luxurious breakfast for me. I like the darker shade in the pongal and this looks yumm. Adding coconut will give it a nice crunch to it.. do check with your Mom
Pongal has come out so well Nags. Very tempting..We had cows at our place in India and most often my friends will wish me a happy mattu pongal..but u know we fed the cows pongals too and they ate them like hay 😀
I love this! Posted the same on the blog a day ago!
and like u , I made it at night and posted it after midnight!
Am craving for this and ur click tempting me a lot..
I so much prefer the bhagavathi seva nei payasam to this…..but yeah, for a quick dessert, this does just fine. I like the nice, warm brown of your pongal.
Nice recipe with jaggery n moong dal….
Same Pinch!!!! I too pestered my amma to make this yesterday night and had a big bowl all myself without giving a pinch to anyone. The click is pretty good nags!
yummy this looks
yummy pongal. even though i am not a big fan of this,my hubby and kids love it to the core.
Adding coconut sounds great.
I too some times have the craving for this,my H too,so make when ever we feel like and you are so true about this pressure cooker version,who will sit and pongify these days 🙂
Love the colourful backdrop!