Pongal is the harvest festival of the South and is celebrated over many days. The festival is dedicated to the Sun God who sustains all life on Earth. Nature is also revered in the form of cows and birds over the festive days.
The world Pongal means to ‘overflow’ symbolizing abundance. The festival’s signature custom is to boil milk in earthen pots until it overflows. This is a festivity where the name of the festival and the main offering are the same. The star dish is Pongal, a dish made up of rice and lentils, that can either be sweet (Chakkarai Pongal) or savoury (Ven Pongal).
We decorate the Pongal pot with Kumkum-haldi, boil milk in it, and watch it overflow to the cheers of Pongalo-O-Pongal! The same pot used for the milk is also used to make the sweet and savoury Pongal.
Pongal brings back fond memories of growing up. I remember my Paati’s (grandmother’s) kitchen that would be filled with the fragrant aroma of ghee and jaggery and crackling cumin and pepper that held promise that delicious treats awaited us. After the poojas, we would dig into the Pongal that dripped with ghee and goodness with great gusto, savouring each bite, and wishing we had more space in our tummies. Paati would insist that we have ‘a little more’ until it became a whole lot more.
Smooth, silky, wholesome goodness indeed!
My goal is to recreate Paati’s magic in the kitchen, and with every Pongal, I am getting better!
Here are the recipes for both the dishes I have such fond recollections of:
Ven Pongal
This is a great savoury breakfast; it’s loaded with protein and flavorful.
Ingredients
-White Rice (1 cup)
-Split yellow Moong Dal (1 cup) Some recipes use 1/2 cup. I use 1:1 ratio to make the dish nice and creamy.
-Ghee
For the seasoning
-Handful of cashews
-Jeera (cumin)- 1 tsp
-Black Peppercorns (While the traditional recipe uses whole corn, you can use crushed black pepper too)
-Asafoetida (Hing) -one pinch
-Green chillis to taste (chopped)
-Finely chopped Ginger
-Curry leaves (one sprig)
-Salt to taste
Preparation Method
Heat 1 tbsp ghee and roast cashews. Remove the cashews and keep them separately for seasoning. In the same pan, dry roast moong dal (1 cup) until it releases an aroma. Take it off the stove.
Mix the roasted dal with the rice and add adequate water (8 cups) to the pressure cooker. Add a spoonful of salt, cover, and turn on the heat to medium. After 5-6 whistles, switch off. Once it cools, mash the rice-dal mixture. The consistency will be similar to khichdi.
For the tempering, take two tbsps. of ghee on the pan, and splutter the jeera, the peppercorns, the ginger, one chilli (you can put more if you like), the curry leaves, and the asafoetida. Pour the seasoning over the cooked mash and add extra melted ghee to make the Pongal rich. Mix well to get a smooth and creamy texture, and garnish with cashews.
Savour while hot along with sambar for a ‘yummylicious’ breakfast or lunch.
Chakkarai Pongal
This is a sweet dish that is special for the Mother Goddess. Apart from Pongal, we make this on Fridays and during Navrathri.
Ingredients
-White Rice (1/2 cup)
-Split yellow Moong Dal (1/4 cup)
-Jaggery (1/2 to 3/4 cup, based on how sweet you want it to be)
-Ghee
For the seasoning
-Handful of cashews
-Handful of raisins
-Elaichi (1tsp)
-Edible green camphor (optional)
Preparation
Heat 1 tbsp ghee and roast cashews and raisins. Remove the cashews and raisins and keep them separately for seasoning. In the same pan, dry roast moong dal (1 cup) until it releases an aroma. Take it off the stove.
Mix the roasted dal with the rice in a pressure cooker and add adequate water (3-4 cups). On Pongal day we add boiled milk- but on other days we just cook in the water alone. Cook for 4-5 whistles and switch off.
In a pan, take the jaggery and melt it. If needed filter it to get the clear brown liquid. Add a little water if the consistency is too thick.
Add the cooked rice-dal into the jaggery and mix. Add lots of ghee to the mixture and keep stirring, until it solidifies and acquires a glossy sheen. Add one spoon of elaichi and mix. You can also add edible green camphor (small piece) if you like. Garnish with cashews and raisins. Your Pongal is ready!
Happy Pongal!
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