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!
Sakkarai Pongal Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 cup raw rice
- 1/4 cup moong dal paasi paruppu
- 3/4 cup grated jaggery adjust to taste
- 1 cup full fat milk + 1/2 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
- 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.
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!