Kannamma Cooks

Collection of Tamil Nadu Recipes , Tamil Cuisine, Kongunad Recipes. Easy Vegetarian and Non Vegetarian dishes with step by step pictures.

  • Home
  • Recipes
  • Kongunadu Recipes
  • KC Videos
  • Contact
  • Buy Online

search the site

SEARCH Categories

பொங்கல் Sakkarai Pongal / Sweet Pongal Recipe

January 15, 2015 by Suguna Vinodh 7 Comments

Jump to Recipe·Print Recipe

பொங்கல் Sakkarai Pongal / Sweet Pongal Recipe.

Sweet Pongal / Sakkarai Pongal / South Indian Rice Pudding recipe made during the pongal festival of tamilnadu தை பொங்கல். Pongal is also served as prashad/neivedhyam – an offering to god.

Sakkarai Pongal has to be the king of desserts for Tamil people all around the world. It is also considered as prasaadam, a religious offering to god. The word Pongal means “overflowing” which signifies prosperity. Pongal is a major festival in Taminadu. The word “pon” in Tamil means Gold. The color of yellow, the color of sun. Pongal is celebrated to give thankfulness to the Sun God. In the medieval Chola empire days Pongal was celebrated as “puthiyeedu”. Puthiyeedu meant the first harvest of the year. Pongal is traditionally made on clay pots set on wood fire. Its still made the same way in the country side of Tamilnadu. Here are some pictures from our Pongal celebrations at my husbands place in the village.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-pooja

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-cook-rice-and-dal

Pongal is the simplest of desserts. Lets make some awesome sweet pongal. We need some good quality raw rice and split moong dal.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival

Take quarter cup each of rice and split moong dal and soak it in 1 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker for a good 10 minutes on medium flame (8-10 whistles). Remove off heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. Set this aside. I don’t add the rice and dal directly in the cooker. I place some water in the cooker and place a bowl inside and add the rice, dal and water to the bowl. This way the rice mixture does not scorch in the bottom.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-cook-rice-and-dal

Take half a cup of jaggery and boil it with half a cup of water until all the jaggery is melted. Remove off heat. Jaggery almost always has some sand residue. So strain the boiled jaggery water on a muslin cloth. Set aside.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-jaggery

Next, we need to roast the dry fruits in ghee and add it to our pongal. We would need ghee, cashew nuts and raisins.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-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 and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-ghee-roast

Its time to add some spice magic. We will need 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom powder and a pinch of nutmeg. Mortar and pestle is the best way to grind cardamom. I use a micro-plane zester to zest nutmeg.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-spices

Mix the jaggery water and the cooked rice and dal mixture and set it on a stove on low flame. Keep stirring constantly. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add in a couple of pinches of SALT. Salt rounds the flavor. Now add in the ghee and nut mixture and stir until all the ghee is absorbed into the pongal.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-finish

Remove off heat and serve.

sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal

 

Print
clock clock iconcutlery cutlery iconflag flag iconfolder folder iconinstagram instagram iconpinterest pinterest iconfacebook facebook iconprint print iconsquares squares iconheart heart iconheart solid heart solid icon
sakkarai-pongal-chakkara-pongal-recipe-sweet-pongal-neivedhyam-pongal festival-plated

பொங்கல் Sakkarai pongal / Sweet Pongal Recipe


★★★★★

5 from 1 reviews

  • Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
  • Total Time: 40 mins
  • Yield: 5
Print Recipe
Pin Recipe

Description

Sweet Pongal / Sakkarai Pongal / South Indian Rice Pudding recipe made during the pongal festival of tamilnadu தை பொங்கல். Pongal is also served as prashad/neivedhyam – an offering to god.


Ingredients

Scale

For the rice dal Mixture

  • 1/4 cup raw rice
  • 1/4 cup split moong dal
  • 1 1/2 cups water

Jaggery Mixture

  • 1/2 cup Jaggery
  • 1/2 cup water

Tempering Mixture

  • 4 tablespoon ghee
  • 2 tablespoon cashew nut
  • 2 tablespoon raisins

Spice Mixture

  • 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
  • pinch of nutmeg powder
  • 2 pinch salt

Instructions

  1. Take quarter cup each of rice and split moong dal and soak it in 1 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker for a good 10 minutes on low flame. Remove off heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. Set this aside.
  2. Take half a cup of jaggery and boil it with half a cup of water until all the jaggery is melted. Remove off heat. Jaggery almost always has some sand residue. So strain the boiled jaggery water on a muslin cloth. Set aside.
  3. Take a small pan and set it on low. Add in the ghee and the cashewnuts. Roast on low flame until lightly brown. Add in the raisins and wait for it to plump. Once its plumped up, remove off heat and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.
  4. Mix the jaggery water and the cooked rice and dal mixture and set it on a stove on low flame. Keep stirring constantly. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add in a couple of pinches of SALT. Salt rounds the flavor. Now add in the ghee and nut mixture and stir until all the ghee is absorbed into the pongal.
  5. Remove off heat and serve hot or at room temperature.
  • Prep Time: 20 mins
  • Cook Time: 20 mins
  • Category: Breakfast
  • Cuisine: South Indian

Did you make this recipe?

Tag @kannammacooks on Instagram and hashtag it #kannammacooks

sakkar-pongal

← Previous Post Egg Masala / Tamilnadu Style Spicy Muttai Masala
Next Post → Simple Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe – Very Soft and Moist

Suguna Vinodh

I'm Suguna Vinodh aka Kannamma. I love south Indian food and I am passionate about baking. My Favorite things include my Wusthof knife, Coffee, Ilayaraja, Tamil and beaches. I love Jacques Pepin and Julia Child.

Connect With Me : FacebookInstagramTwitter

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

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

Recipe rating ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆ ★☆

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

Comments

  1. Sangeeta says

    January 20, 2017 at 12:33 pm

    Hi kanamma !! Ur recipes are jus awesome 🙂

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      January 20, 2017 at 11:37 pm

      Thank you so much Sangeeta.

      Reply
  2. anand says

    May 21, 2016 at 3:47 pm

    thanks , am going to try this.
    but pls recommend where to get muslin cloth or a idly cloth that is safe and durable for cooking (am going to try sweet pongal for first time)

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      May 21, 2016 at 5:03 pm

      any good cotton clean white hand kerchief or an old clean white dhoti will do!

      Reply
  3. Madhari says

    January 13, 2016 at 7:51 am

    Hi in the list you mentioned msoor dal but the picture shows mung dal.

    Reply
    • Suguna Vinodh says

      January 13, 2016 at 11:12 am

      Yes. Its split moong only. Thank you.

      Reply
  4. suguna vinodh says

    January 23, 2015 at 9:42 pm

    🙂

    ★★★★★

    Reply

Download our App today!!!

Android app
iOS app

HEY! NICE TO MEET YOU HERE!

I’m Suguna, a former financial analyst, now a full-time food blogger. Welcome to my space. I share recipes gathered from my friends and family here. I am passionate about South Indian food. I crazy love knives. A sharp knife is a girls best friend. Hope you like the recipes here. Happy Cooking. Read more.....

Categories

  • Air Fryer Recipes (18)
  • All Day Breakfast (31)
  • Appetizers / Tea Time snacks (104)
  • Asian Flavors (47)
  • Baking (53)
  • Barbecue (3)
  • Basics (13)
  • Biryani (28)
  • Bread / Buns / Quiche (19)
  • Brownies/Blondies (2)
  • Cakes / Pastries / Tart (18)
  • Chettinad Recipes (36)
  • Chicken Recipes (58)
  • Combo Meals (2)
  • Cookies / Biscuits (10)
  • Dal/lentil Recipes (80)
  • Dips, Salsa, and Sauces (6)
  • Dumpling / Kozhukattai / idiyappam Recipes (19)
  • Egg Dishes (32)
  • Equipment (1)
  • Fish / Seafood Recipes (48)
  • Gluten Free (15)
  • Healthy Meals (16)
  • Healthy zero oil snacks (2)
  • Home Improvement (1)
  • Home Remedy (5)
  • Hong Kong Life (3)
  • Idli-Dosa-Paniyaram varieties (52)
  • Indian Recipes (568)
  • Italian-Continental (19)
  • Juices / Mocktail (5)
  • Kitchen How to's (13)
  • Kongunadu Recipes (102)
  • Kurma Dishes (50)
  • Lunch Box Ideas (31)
  • Masala Powder/Chutney Powder/Pastes (18)
  • Middle Eastern Recipes (4)
  • Millet Recipes (18)
  • Misc (52)
  • Movie/Celebrity Inspired Recipes (4)
  • Muffins (5)
  • Mutton Recipes (29)
  • Non Veg Recipes (128)
  • North Indian Gravies (19)
  • OPOS / Easy Cooking / 10 minutes cooking (24)
  • Pachadi Recipes (1)
  • Parotta (3)
  • Pickles (4)
  • Poriyal – Stir-fry (63)
  • Rasam Varieties (17)
  • Recipes (742)
  • Research work (2)
  • Rice Dishes (49)
  • Roti / Chapati / Paratha (17)
  • Salad (3)
  • Sandwiches & Burgers (11)
  • Soups and Broth (23)
  • South Indian Chutney (66)
  • South Indian Kulambu / Sambar (59)
  • Sweets and Desserts (48)
  • Tea / Coffee (8)
  • Tips and Tricks (5)
  • Travel (3)
  • upma / kali (5)
  • Whole Grain Vegan Recipes (23)

Archives

(c) Copyright 2022 Kannamma Cooks | Privacy Policy | Hosting and Customization by Best Hosting And Design