• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Edible Garden

  • Popular Categories
    • Dal Recipes
    • Chicken Recipes
    • Egg Recipes
    • Indo-Chinese Recipes
    • Mushroom Recipes
  • Kerala Recipes
  • Chocolate
  • About
  • Navigation Menu: Social Icons

    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter
You are here: Home / Sweets Puddings Desserts / Sakkarai Pongal Recipe, How to Make Sweet Sakkarai Pongal

Sakkarai Pongal Recipe, How to Make Sweet Sakkarai Pongal

January 11, 2016 34 Comments

Sakkarai Pongal recipe, how to make sweet sakkarai pongal

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. Β 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!

Sakkarai Pongal Recipe
 
Print
Prep time
10 mins
Cook time
25 mins
Total time
35 mins
 
Sakkarai pongal or sweet pongal is a thick rice pudding from South India that features raw rice, some lentils, and sweetened with jaggery.
Author: nags
Recipe type: Sweets
Cuisine: Indian
Serves: 4-6
Ingredients
  • 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
Instructions
  1. 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.
  2. Wash the rice and dal together.
  3. Add the milk + water and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles or 15 minutes. We want the rice + dal to turn nice and mushy.
  4. Meanwhile, heat 2 tbsp ghee and roast the cashew nuts (or almonds) and the raisins until golden brown (the raisins will become plump).
  5. Remove from fire and sprinkle cardamom powde on top. Give it a mix and set aside.
  6. 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.
  7. If the pongal is too thick at this stage, add some boiled milk by the tablespoons.
  8. If the mixture is too loose, keep on a low fire and mix continuously until desired consistency is achieved.
  9. Mix in one more tbsp of ghee and serve warm. I also like it cold from the fridge the next day.
3.5.3208

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.

Share This Recipe
  • Facebook1
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest1
  • Twitter
  • Google+0
  • Email
  • Print
2

By nags Filed Under: Sweets Puddings Desserts, Tamil Recipes

logo
Food Advertising by

Subscribe

for your weekly recipe fix.

Previous Post: « Chambakka Pickle Recipe, Kerala Water Rose Apple Pickle
Next Post: Sharjah Shake Recipe – Sharjah Banana Milkshake – Step by Step Recipe »

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Anonymous

    March 25, 2013 at 4:52 am

    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 πŸ™‚
    dhanya

    Reply
  2. Syama Ramasamy

    January 20, 2012 at 10:07 am

    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

    Reply
  3. nirmal

    January 24, 2011 at 7:01 am

    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!! πŸ˜› thanks for the recipe!! πŸ™‚

    Reply
  4. Nags

    January 24, 2011 at 7:24 am

    That's one of the most creative recipes I have every come across!! Kudos πŸ˜€

    Reply
  5. Anonymous

    January 9, 2011 at 1:56 am

    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.

    Reply
  6. Nags

    January 9, 2011 at 7:29 am

    I had even forgotten about recipe. So glad it came out nicely for you πŸ™‚

    Reply
  7. Manki

    April 3, 2010 at 2:37 pm

    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 πŸ˜€

    Reply
  8. jeyashrisuresh

    April 1, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    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.

    Reply
  9. janu

    April 1, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    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!

    Reply
  10. Manasi

    April 1, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    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!

    Reply
  11. Mriganayani

    April 1, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    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!

    Reply
  12. jayasri

    April 1, 2010 at 1:04 pm

    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,

    Reply
  13. jayasri

    March 28, 2010 at 8:28 am

    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,

    Reply
  14. Veggie Belly

    March 28, 2010 at 1:40 am

    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!

    Reply
  15. meeso

    March 27, 2010 at 5:18 pm

    Goodness, really looks sweet and delicious!

    Reply
  16. Paula

    March 27, 2010 at 12:31 pm

    I have never even heard of Pongal before. I will definitely be trying out this recipe to see how it turns out.

    Reply
  17. Gulmohar

    March 26, 2010 at 11:21 pm

    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..

    Reply
  18. RedChillies

    March 26, 2010 at 3:31 am

    This is our family favorite and we could probably have it anytime. Liked your version.

    Reply
  19. Ann

    March 26, 2010 at 1:24 am

    WOO! looks yumm and tempting.

    Reply
  20. Superchef

    March 25, 2010 at 11:35 pm

    Rava kesari is my late night sweet craving remedy. This one also sounds doable late night! thanks πŸ™‚

    Reply
  21. Mansi

    March 25, 2010 at 7:38 pm

    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)

    Reply
  22. Mriganayani

    March 25, 2010 at 7:20 pm

    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!

    Reply
  23. Indhu

    March 25, 2010 at 6:21 pm

    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 πŸ™‚

    Reply
  24. Nags

    March 26, 2010 at 1:39 am

    Mansi, thanks for reading the recipe πŸ˜€ 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 πŸ™‚

    Reply
  25. RV

    March 25, 2010 at 5:14 pm

    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

    Reply
  26. ruchikacooks

    March 25, 2010 at 3:32 pm

    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 πŸ˜€

    Reply
  27. Manasi

    March 25, 2010 at 3:27 pm

    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!

    Reply
  28. Priya

    March 25, 2010 at 1:17 pm

    Am craving for this and ur click tempting me a lot..

    Reply
  29. Jayashree

    March 25, 2010 at 1:11 pm

    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.

    Reply
  30. Vrinda

    March 25, 2010 at 12:49 pm

    Nice recipe with jaggery n moong dal….

    Reply
  31. janu

    March 25, 2010 at 12:38 pm

    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!

    Reply
  32. notyet100

    March 25, 2010 at 12:25 pm

    yummy this looks

    Reply
  33. jeyashrisuresh

    March 25, 2010 at 11:00 am

    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.

    Reply
  34. RAKS KITCHEN

    March 25, 2010 at 11:46 am

    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 πŸ™‚
    Love the colourful backdrop!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe:  

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Primary Sidebar

Hello!

I am Nags, the face behind Edible Garden, a food and recipes website for the busy (and sometimes lazy!) cook since 2007. My recipes are meant to be quick yet healthy and delicious - Nothing fancy, nothing too difficult. Follow Me On Instagram for real-time food and life updates.

ADS

logo
Food Advertising by

Popular Recipes

Instant Oats Idli Recipe with Rava, Step by Step
Kerala plum cake recipe
Butter Chicken Recipe, Indian Butter Chicken Masala Recipe
dosa recipe-how to make dosa
pressure cooker eggless sponge cake recipe (no oven cake)
vegetable pulao recipe
Eggless No-Bake Mango Cheesecake Recipe Step by Step
garlic pull-apart rolls recipe, eggless
paneer butter masala recipe restaurant style

Browse Older Recipes

Translate

Copyright © 2022