Sweet Pongal is a special sweet dish made with rice, milk, and jaggery
on
Pongal/Makar Sankranti day to celebrate the harvest festival. Simple
and easy to make, this dessert is delicious and healthy.
Servings: 8-12 Cooking Time: 60
minutes
Ingredients
1 cup rice
10 cups milk
2 1/4 jaggery (grated, adjust to taste)
1 tsp cardamom powder (elaichi)
3 tbsp ghee (clarified butter)
8-10 cashewnuts
20 raisins (adjust to taste)
Preparation
Soak the rice in 1 1/4 cups water and set aside for
10 minutes.
In a heavy-bottomed pan, add the milk and bring to a
boil on medium heat, stirring frequently and making sure it doesn't
stick to the bottom.
Add the soaked rice to the milk and cook on medium
heat. Stir frequently, scraping the bottom to prevent the rice from
sticking to the bottom and burning.
When the rice is cooked and the pongal thickens,
reduce the heat and add the jaggery. Stir constantly until the jaggery
is dissolved, and it's raw flavor is gone.
Remove from heat and let cool a bit.
In a small pan, heat the ghee on low heat. Add the
cashews and fry until golden and remove. Add the rasins and fry until
fluffy and remove. Pour the ghee into the sweet pongal. Cut the cashews
into small pieces and add to the pongal along with the raisins.
Stir in the cardamom powder and serve the sweet
pongal warm.