Pongal festival is to celebrate the harvest festival and the first day of the Tamizh (Tamil Calendar Month) month. It is a festival that is spread over four days. Pongal in tamil means something that is overflowing. The act of boiling over of milk in the clay pot is considered to denote future prosperity for the family.

Made with rice, lentils and jaggery makes it healthy and delicious. Go ahead and savor it as a snack or as a sweet along with your meal.

This mouth watering sweet dish which is traditionally offered on a fresh banana leaf along with ven pongal, vada and vegetable kootu. This dish is made with jaggery and rice and mildly flavored with cardamom powder. Absolutely Delicious!

Ingredients

• 1 cup white rice
• ¼ cup yellow moong dal/mung dal (split moong dal)
• 1 cup jaggery
• 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 2 tablespoons halved cashew nuts
• 1 tablespoon raisins
• 3-4 tablespoons ghee

Method

Heat a pan on medium heat and roast the yellow moong dal until a lightly roasted aroma is released. Don’t let it turn brown.

Wash rice and mix with the roasted dal. Add 3 cups of water. Cook the rice and dal until well cooked and grainy.

Now heat ½ teaspoon of ghee in a small pan and roast the cashew nuts until golden and crisp. Add the raisins and roast until they puff and turn off heat.

Add ¼ cup of water and melt the jaggery on medium heat.

Once the rice-dal mixture is cooked; add the melted jaggery, cardamom powder, raisins and the cashew nuts to the rice-dal mixture. Add the remaining ghee and stir well for about 5 minutes until the jaggery has got well blended with the rice and dal mixture.

Serve hot or cold.