Sarkarai Pongal, make a delicious sweet beginning to your celebrations. A traditional recipe.

INGREDIENTS:
  • Rice – 2/3 cup
  • Moong dhal – 1/3 cup (Dry roast lightly)
  • Powdered jaggery – 2 ½ cups
  • Cashew broken – 50 gms
  • Raisins – 50 gms ,
  • Milk – 2cups
  • Water – 3 cups
  • Ghee – 3 tablespoons (Can add extra)
  • Cardamom powder and Nutmeg powder each ½ teaspoon
  • Edible camphor(Pachai karpooram) – one pinch (optional )
PREPARATION METHOD:
  1. Soak rice and dhal for 15 minutes, wash and strain.
  2. In a big pressure pan (or pressure cooker ) add water, milk, rice and dhal.
  3. When the mixture starts boiling, close the cooker, put the weight.
  4. Do not wait for the whistle. At once put the gas on sim and cook for`15 mtes.
  5. In the meanwhile in another pan take 1/2cup of water and add the powdered jaggery.
  6. Stir continuously till jaggery dissolves, strain it and keep ready.
  7. After the pressure drops mash it lightly with a potato masher and add the jaggery water to this mixture .
  8. Put it back on the flame and boil it along with 2 tablespoon ghee.
  9. When everything is blended well add the spices and remove.
  10. In a small pan heat 1 tbsp ghee , lightly roast cashew and raisins and add it to Pongal.