Sakkarai Pongal / Sweet Rice Pongal

There’s one thing really magical concerning the aroma of ghee, jaggery, and cardamom wafting by means of the kitchen — it immediately looks like a celebration. Sakkarai pongala standard South Indian candy dish made with rice, moong dal, and jaggery, is not only meals, however an providing of affection and devotion throughout festivals like Pongal and Navratri. Soft, melt-in-your-mouth, and wealthy with the flavour of ghee-roasted cashews and raisins, this recipe is a heartwarming deal with you’ll wish to take pleasure in nicely past festive days.

Sakkarai pongal is deeply tied to particular events and festivals in South India, particularly Tamil Nadu. Here’s the cultural and seasonal background you should use as content material:

• Harvest Festival (Thai PongalThai Pongal Festival and Recipes):
  Sakkarai Pongal is the star dish of the Pongal pageant, celebrated in January to thank the Sun God for a bountiful harvest. It’s cooked in new clay pots, typically outdoor, and allowed to boil over — symbolizing abundance and prosperity.
• Temple Prasadam:
  It’s additionally a very fashionable prasadam (providing) in temples, particularly in Vaishnavite temples like Srirangam, the place it’s served to devotees.
• Other Festivals & Occasions:
  Apart from Thai Pongal, it’s also ready throughout Navratri, Aadi perukku, Vaikunta ekadashiand different auspicious days. Families make it at house as an providing to deities after which take pleasure in it collectively.

So whereas it may be made any time of 12 months, it’s most beloved throughout festivals, temple choices, and auspicious beginnings.

Ingredients

Every ingredient in Sakkarai pongal performs a goal that contributes to its signature style and texture:

• Rice and moong dal kind the creamy, porridge-like base—when cooked and mashed collectively, they provide each physique and easy consistency, important for the dish’s comforting character.
• Jaggerythe unrefined cane sugar, imparts a deep, molasses-like sweetness distinctive to conventional South Indian sweets—a taste profile that refined sugars merely can’t replicate.
• Ghee envelopes the dish in richness and aroma, making the feel luxuriously silky and elevating each chunk.
• Cardamomtogether with non-obligatory edible camphor, cloveand nutlend aromatic heat and a contact of divine, nearly ritualistic taste—particularly when the dish is made as prasadam (providing).
• Cashews and raisins introduce a pleasant distinction in texture—nutty and barely chewy—rounding out the dish with pops of buttery crunch and candy bursts.

Each element has been fastidiously chosen not only for taste, however for custom, mouthfeel, and the harmonious stability that makes this humble candy dish really feel like a festive celebration in each spoonful.

See recipe card for portions.

Instructions

💡 Hint: When melting jaggery, all the time pressure the syrup earlier than including it to the rice-dal combination. This helps take away any impurities and ensures your pongal stays easy, clear, and shiny.

Variations

• Gluten-Free: Since it’s made with rice, dal, and jaggery, Sakkarai Pongal is of course gluten-free. Just be sure that your jaggery is pure and never processed with components.
• Vegan Option: Traditionally, this recipe makes use of ghee and typically milk. To make it vegan, change ghee with coconut oil or vegan butter, and skip the milk (or use almond/coconut milk for richness).

Storage

• Pongal made with out milk may be stored at room temperature for as much as 12–18 hours in a cool place. Pongal made with milk ought to be consumed inside 6–8 hoursbecause it spoils rapidly.
• Store in an hermetic container to keep up freshness and aroma.
• Keep at room temperature for as much as 1 day.
• Refrigerate for as much as 2–3 days.
• Reheat gently on low flame earlier than serving.
• Avoid extended storage to protect the comfortable, creamy texture and taste.

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Recipe Card