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.
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
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 😀
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!
Am craving for this and ur click tempting me a lot..
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.
Nice recipe with jaggery n moong dal….
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!
yummy this looks
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.
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 🙂
Love the colourful backdrop!