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Sakkarai Pongal | Sweet Pongal | South Indian Rice Sweet


Shakkarai Pongal is a sweetened rice that is famous in Tamil Nadu. Usually made during festivals, Pongal to be exact. But as far as I know this sweet pongal is a common occurrence in my home right from childhood days till now. Earlier it used to be Appa who is a big fan of Shakkarai pongal and to fulfil his sweet tooth Amma used to make this pongal loaded with ghee and nuts but now its my husband's favourite  of course I had to get it right and according to his taste. There are various versions of Shakkarai Pongal in every household, my version is a quickie and without milk, so you can call it a simple Chakkarai pongal. Since its R's favourite  it had to be blogged. I feel that I have not done justice to the pictures and the one and only reason for this is R himself, cos he did not let me click, as he was waiting to enjoy his share of pongal which was being captured :-P. Once a month I make both Ven Pongal and Shakkari Pongal at home for our Saturday breakfast menu. So to make matters simple I pressure cook raw rice and moong dal until soft, mash it up using a laddle and divide it for the 2 recipes and do the rest. So without much delay lets go to the recipe



SHAKKAI PONGAL RECIPE

Recipe Source ~ Own
Serves ~ 3-4 generously

Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Moong dal / Split yellow dal - 1/4 cup
Water - 3 cups (to pressure cook rice &dal)
Jaggery - 1/2 cup powdered
Cardamom powder - 1/2 tsp
Cashew - 2 tbsp chopped
Raisins - 1 tbsp
Sugar - 2 tbsp (recommended can be reduced)
Ghee - 3 tbsp

Method
  • In a bowl take both the rice and dal, soak for 10-15 mins. Heat water in a pressure cooker and once it starts to boil add the soaked rice & dal. Cover the lid and attach the cooker weight, pressure cook for 4 whistles until soft. 
  • In the meantime bring 1/2 cup water to a boil, add the powdered/ grated jaggery to it, bring it to a boil and once it all melts, let it cook further to become thick, this takes 7 minutes, strain the jaggery syrup and set aside
  • Let the pressure gradually settle, open the lid and using a wooded laddle partially mash the rice & dal, set aside
  • In a wide pan add ghee fry the cashew and raisins one after the other and set aside. To the same pan heat the rest of the ghee add the mashed rice & dal, jaggery syrup. Once it starts to boil, add the cardamom powder and sugar mix well, cook further until it turns to a thick mass and starts to leave the pan. This takes 3 minutes.
Top with nuts & raisins serve warm / cold


Cooks Wisdom

- You can even add coconut bits or even grated coconut while frying the nuts for additional flavour
- Some love to add nutmeg and camphor (edible), if you plan to use them use a very tiny pinch of both not more than that. Since R does not like both flavours I have not used it in this recipe
- Make sure rice and dal is well cooked else add more water and pressure cook for 2 more whistles 
- You can alternately dry roast the dal before pressure cooking, but I usually don't do it
- Adding jaggery gives the yellow tint to the sweet pongal, so this may vary depending on the quality of jaggery you use



25 comments:

  1. Just had lunch, craving for a pudding. you are killing me dear. Looks sooooo delicious... yummmmm

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  2. Yummy sakkarai pongal and my son's favourite.

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  3. drooling pongal dear...love it!!!

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  4. wow... super tempting and inviting pongal... my most favorite pongal...

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  5. amma do the same , she mix it with moong dal and cook it and mash it and divide in to two half and do the recipes :D Great one ! its oke i feel the pongal is too good

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  6. Delicious ! This is one dish which I can never say no.. lovely clicks Priya..

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  7. my kids fav.. looks so tempting

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  8. It's been a while since I had sakkarai pongal, looking at the pictures, feel like having some..

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  9. Being in Tamil Nadu I come across this sweetened rice more often. This method is my favourite ( sweetened one).
    Deepa

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  10. I can never refuse a bowl of chakarai pongal. Looks delish

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  11. Sakkarai pongal looks so delicious.Love the fabric used.Though I wouldn't mind venpongal I would dive into a bowl of sakkarai pongal anytime:))

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  12. yummy this is one of my fav pongal.....
    Cheers
    Anu
    Anu's Healthy Kitchen

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  13. My all time favourite.. Love this divine pongal at any time.. You have perfectly made it .. Very tempting..

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  14. Mouthwatering pongal, and very tempting...

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  15. Wish i get that droolworthy pongal my fav..

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  16. classic pongal n lovely clicks :-)

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  17. super delicious pongal,,,wish to have that bowl of pongal.

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  18. omg that a fabulous sakkarai pongal :) looks heavenly to me !! love the presentation !! am going on gawking you drool worthy pongal !! :P

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  19. Simple and an all time favorite

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  20. can u pass d bowl..dying fan of this..amma also makes same like this..i mean look.

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  21. Looks very delicious and yummy.

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Thank you for visiting, I hope you enjoyed my recipes :-) In case you have tried any of the recipes featured here, do let me know in the comment section. For any other queries email me - cooklikepriya(at)gmail.com

Love,
Priya Ranjit

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