Sweet Pongal | Sakkarai Pongal

About Sweet Pongal

Pongal means overflowing or bubbling up by boiling and Sakkarai or Chakkara means jaggery / country sugar in Tamil. Water and milk is boiled and then raw rice, jaggery, dal, dry fruits, ghee are added to make Sakkarai Pongal.

Sakkarai Pongal is made traditionally during Pongal festival or Makar Sankaranti as the first meal with the first harvested rice of the year. Pongal is made in the east direction facing Sun which symbolizes thanks giving & dedication of the first meal from the harvest to Sun God for a bountiful harvest.

The significance of using raw rice instead of boiled rice for making Pongal is that first cooking with the harvest is celebrated & dedicated to Sun God.

Sakkarai Pongal Ingredients

• Rice : Use raw rice for making Pongal. At stores it is available as Pongal Raw Rice / PongalPacharisi. 
• Dal : Use moong dal half the quantity as that of rice.
• Jaggery: If you have access get paaguvellam or achuvellam which is slightly darker, else you can use regular rectangular mold jaggery.
• Milk : The temple style sweet pongal doesn’t use milk however we add milk to give it a rich taste. Use full cream milk if possible else you can use regular toned milk.
• Flavours : Use bountiful cashews, raisins, cardamom powder and ghee for Pongal.

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Sweet Pongal – 2 methods

Traditionally Pongal is slow cooked in pots with firewood and as times changed we are cooking in pressure cooker nowadays. I have presented the cooking of Sweet Pongal here in both these methods.

1. Sweet pongal – Pressure cooker method: Cooking Pongal in pressure cooker is easy, convenient and less time consuming.

2. Sakkarai pongal – Traditional pot method: Traditionally sakkarai pongal is made in bronze pot as shared here.

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Other recipes for Pongal

Pongal Kulambu

Pongal Kulambu is a traditional tangy & delicious side dish for sweet pongal and milk pongal. Pongal Kulambu is commonly made on Pongal Festival and made by cooking at least 5 vegetables with spices, onion & tomato. Pongal Kuzhambu is also called Pongal Pulicurry.

Total time : 1 hour hour

Paal Pongal | Milk Pongal

Paal Pongal is made on Pongal festival or Mahar Sankaranthi along with Sweet Pongal or Sakkarai Pongal with the first harvested rice of the year. Paal Pongal is offered to Sun God and traditionally cooked in open space facing sun in mud /brass pots. Paal Pongal is a buttery delicious pongal made by cooking rice & moong dal in milk & water.

Total time : 35 minutes minutes

If you have any more questions about this sweet pongal recipe do mail me at [email protected].
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Expert Tips

• Always use less water for making jaggery syrup, just half the measure of jaggery would be just right.
• Use paagu vellam or dark colored jaggery for best results, it enahnces the taste and color of the pongal.
• Make sure to switch it off when it is still goey as it thickens with time.
• Always serve hot with a dollop of ghee.
• Edible camphor can be skipped if you don’t have it but it gives a divine taste just like in temples.

Sakkarai Pongal – Serving & Storage

Tastes great when consumed hot! Pongal tends to become solid as the starch is not drained. So add little water or milk and heat it in stovetop or microwave when you are consuming after say 3-4 Hrs.

Generally sweet pongal keeps well for 2 days in room temperature. However if refrigerated you can consume next day.

Variations

• Add milk too for a richer taste.
• If you like saffron flavour soak saffron in milk and add it.
• You can add jaggery as such too in powdered form (without making it as syrup). Make sure it is free from impurities.
• You can replace jaggery with sugar or sugar candy (kalkandu) or brown sugar or karupatti or sugar cane juice.
• You can add little grated coconut too.
• You can add clove powder for more flavour.
• You can use, Quinoa, Sooji / Rava, Millet, Poha, Wheat Rava as an alternative or when you want to experiment sweet pongal with different ingredients.

Karupatti Pongal

• 1/3 cup raw rice
• 1/8 cup moong dal
• 2 cups water
• a pinch cardamom powder
• 10 to 15 nos cashews
• 1 and 1/2 tablespoon raisins
• 3 tablespoon ghee

For palm jaggery syrup:

• 1/2 cup palm jaggery
• 1/4 cup water

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Sakkarai Pongal FAQs

1.What is Sakkarai Pongal?

Sweet Pongal is a delicious, yummy rice meal made by cooking rice &moong dal in jaggery syrup, milk, water and then flavoured with ghee and cashews.

2.How to make Sweet Pongal?

• Add jaggery and water to a pan, boil till jaggery is dissolved completely.
• Dry roast moong dal and add it to rice.
• Add water and pressure cook for 5 whistles in low medium flame.Let the pressure release by itself.
• Strain and add jaggery syrup. Mix well and let it boil in sim to thicken.
• Add cardamom powder and dry fruits sauteed in ghee.
• Serve hot with ghee drizzled.

3.Can I make jaggery syrup the previous night and store in fridge?

Yes very well – That saves quite some time on the festival day!

4.I do not have raw rice – Can I cook with boiled rice or brown rice?

Raw rice is preferred when it is offered as Neivaidhyam. However you can cook Sweet Pongal with all types of rice given that taste may slightly vary based on the type of rice. For Brown rice cook extra for 20-30 minutes. 

5.At what step I need to add milk and will milk get curdled?

In traditional method, milk is boiled with water and then rice, dal & other ingredients are added. In the pressure cook method, add boiled milk before jaggery syrup is added.

6.Can I add coconut to Pongal, edible camphor?

Yes very much – Add grated coconuts, edible camphor and other flavours along with dry fruits.

7.What is the ratio of rice to dal? Can I use toor dal?

Use half the quantity of moong dal to the amount of rice! Do not use toor dal and if you do not have mong dal, you can skip it.

8.Why does rice gets stuck to pot?

You have to stir well and quite often to prevent a layer of rice getting stuck to pot.