Moonu raja pongal is made in Pondicherry and coastal areas to celebrate Epiphany or three kings festival. Its made with freshly harvested rice and coconut milk. மூன்று ராஜா பொங்கல் பண்டிகை.
This is a traditional recipe made in Pondicherry and Karaikal for the epiphany festival which coincides with the pongal festival in January. Its very interesting to know why its called as Moonu raja pongal. Moonu Raja means three kings.
According to the Christian tradition, a group of foreigners, “three wise men or three kings” as they are called visited Jesus after his birth, bearing gifts of gold, Frankincense and myrrh (a resin used in incense and perfumes). They are regular figures in nativity celebrations of Christmas and are an important part of Christian tradition.
Epiphany is a christian festival that falls on the twelfth day after Christmas. Epiphany is also called the “Three Kings festival” and is celebrated on January 6th, which is also the pongal season in Tamilnadu (Harvest festival). Christians in Tamilnadu, especially in the coastal areas of Pondicherry and Karaikal (the erstwhile french colonies) celebrate Epiphany as Three Kings festival.
The french celebrate Epiphany by making “galette des rois – Three Kings’ cake” and that influence has been passed on where christians settled in Pondicerry make a Three Kings Pongal / Moonu Raja Pongal. Moonu Raja means three kings.
On this day people remove the cribs and nativity sets at home that were put up for Christmas.This recipe is made with freshly harvested rice and coconut milk. Its very rich and is offered in churches all over Pondicherry on Three Kings Day.
Here is how to do Moonu Raja Pongal.
Prep:
We will need coconut milk for this recipe. I have used half of a small coconut to make coconut milk. To make coconut milk, please see the recipe here.
This recipe is made with raw rice. I have used seeraga samba rice today to make the recipe. Any raw rice variety will work for this recipe. Seeraga samba is a short grained aromatic rice that’s really popular in Tamilnadu and works really well for this recipe. The aroma is divine!!!!
Method
We will be using half a cup of rice today for this recipe.
Take a pressure cooker and add in the second pressed + third pressed coconut milk. Add in the rice and the salt.
Cover the cooker and cook for 4 whistles on a medium flame. It will take about 7-8 minutes. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to settle naturally. I used a 3 liter cooker today for making this recipe.
Keep the cooker on a low flame and add in the sugar and cook for a couple of minutes till all the sugar is dissolved.
Add in the powdered cardamom. Mix well to combine.
Finally add in the first pressed coconut milk. After adding the first pressed coconut milk, do not cook for a long time. Remove from heat after a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes. The pongal will continue to thicken as it cools.
Next, we need to roast the dry fruits in ghee and add it to our pongal. We would need ghee, cashew nuts and raisins.
Take a small pan and set it on low. Add in the ghee and the cashew nuts. Roast on low flame until lightly brown. Low flame is the key to good roasted nuts. Add in the raisins and wait for it to plump. Once its plumped up, remove off heat.
Add it to the pongal. Mix well.
Moonu Raja Pongal is ready. Serve hot / warm immediately.
- ½ a coconut ground with water and strained to yield below
- --------1/2 cup first pressed milk (Thick Milk)
- --------1 cup second pressed milk (Thin Milk)
- --------1 cup third pressed milk (Very Thin milk)
- ½ cup raw rice or seeraga samba rice
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2 tablespoon ghee
- 10 cashews
- 10 raisins
- Take a pressure cooker and add in the second pressed + third pressed coconut milk. (Total of two cups ). Add in the rice and the salt.
- Cover the cooker and cook for 4 whistles on a medium flame. Remove from heat and wait for the pressure to settle naturally.
- Keep the cooker on a low flame and add in the sugar and cook for a couple of minutes till all the sugar is dissolved.
- Add in the powdered cardamom. Mix well to combine.
- Finally add in the first pressed coconut milk (half cup). After adding the first pressed coconut milk, do not cook for a long time. Remove from heat after a gentle simmer for a couple of minutes.
- Take a small pan and set it on low. Add in the ghee and the cashew nuts. Roast on low flame until lightly brown. Add in the raisins and wait for it to plump. Once its plumped up, remove off heat.
- Add it to the pongal. Mix well.
- Serve immediately.
Madam cup level should be leveled not heaped as shown in the display
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