Pongal is one of south India's most popular festivals and marks harvest time for South India's hard working farmers. It is celebrated Mid-Winter every year and signifies Uttarayaan" the sun's northwards journey.

The 4 days long celebrations for Pongal in South India, challenges the might of Diwali in north India. What's perhaps surprising to most people is that Pongal isn't just a festival but also a very famous and an essential sweet dish.

In this article, I will share my receipe on how Pongal is traditionally made.


What's required:
2 litres Milk
1 1/2 cups  Rice
1/4 cup Moong Dal
15 no. Cashew
30 no. Raisins (Kishmish)
1 1/2 cup Grater Jaggery (Good old Gurr)
1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
2 tablespoons ghee

How to go about it:
1. Chop cashew nuts. Shallow fry cashews and raisins in Ghee for 1 minute

2. Add Milk, Rice, Moong Dal  and Water and pressure cook for 10-15 min or to be on the safer side, until cooked. (Note : Rice and water proportion should be 1:2 (1 Cup rice = 2 Cup Water)

3. As soon as the rice and dal are cooked to softness, add Grated Jaggery and Ghee

4. Mix well until the Jaggery is combined with the cooked rice and dhal.

5. Now add the shallow fried Cashews, Raisins and Cardamom powder(to taste)

6. If the rice-lentil mixture is dry, add some melted ghee/warm milk to the mixture until it comes to the consistency of your liking.

Phew, wasn't that difficult was it? Have a go and trust your tastebuds and I'm sure you'll succeed. I'll be back with another gem from my kitchen that I can share with all of you. Till later, be good or be really really good.

Ramya Krishnan