பொங்கல் Sakkarai Pongal / Sweet Pongal Recipe

பொங்கல் Sakkarai Pongal / Sweet Pongal Recipe.

Sweet Pongal / Sakkarai Pongal / South Indian Rice Pudding recipe made during the pongal festival of tamilnadu தை பொங்கல். Pongal is also served as prashad/neivedhyam – an offering to god.

Sakkarai Pongal has to be the king of desserts for Tamil people all around the world. It is also considered as prasaadam, a religious offering to god. The word Pongal means “overflowing” which signifies prosperity. Pongal is a major festival in Taminadu. The word “pon” in Tamil means Gold. The color of yellow, the color of sun. Pongal is celebrated to give thankfulness to the Sun God. In the medieval Chola empire days Pongal was celebrated as “puthiyeedu”. Puthiyeedu meant the first harvest of the year. Pongal is traditionally made on clay pots set on wood fire. Its still made the same way in the country side of Tamilnadu. Here are some pictures from our Pongal celebrations at my husbands place in the village.

Pongal is the simplest of desserts. Lets make some awesome sweet pongal. We need some good quality raw rice and split moong dal.

Take quarter cup each of rice and split moong dal and soak it in 1 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker for a good 10 minutes on medium flame (8-10 whistles). Remove off heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. Set this aside. I don’t add the rice and dal directly in the cooker. I place some water in the cooker and place a bowl inside and add the rice, dal and water to the bowl. This way the rice mixture does not scorch in the bottom.

Take half a cup of jaggery and boil it with half a cup of water until all the jaggery is melted. Remove off heat. Jaggery almost always has some sand residue. So strain the boiled jaggery water on a muslin cloth. Set aside.

Next, we need to roast the dry fruits in ghee and add it to our pongal. We would need ghee, cashew nuts and raisins.

Take a small pan and set it on low. Add in the ghee and the cashew nuts. Roast on low flame until lightly brown. Low flame is the key to good roasted nuts. Add in the raisins and wait for it to plump. Once its plumped up, remove off heat and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.

Its time to add some spice magic. We will need 1/4 teaspoon of cardamom powder and a pinch of nutmeg. Mortar and pestle is the best way to grind cardamom. I use a micro-plane zester to zest nutmeg.

Mix the jaggery water and the cooked rice and dal mixture and set it on a stove on low flame. Keep stirring constantly. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add in a couple of pinches of SALT. Salt rounds the flavor. Now add in the ghee and nut mixture and stir until all the ghee is absorbed into the pongal.

Remove off heat and serve.

For the rice dal Mixture

• 1/4 cup raw rice
• 1/4 cup split moong dal
• 1 1/2 cups water

Jaggery Mixture

• 1/2 cup Jaggery
• 1/2 cup water

Tempering Mixture

• 4 tablespoon ghee
• 2 tablespoon cashew nut
• 2 tablespoon raisins

Spice Mixture

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• pinch of nutmeg powder
• 2 pinch salt

1. Take quarter cup each of rice and split moong dal and soak it in 1 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker for a good 10 minutes on low flame. Remove off heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. Set this aside.
2. Take half a cup of jaggery and boil it with half a cup of water until all the jaggery is melted. Remove off heat. Jaggery almost always has some sand residue. So strain the boiled jaggery water on a muslin cloth. Set aside.
3. Take a small pan and set it on low. Add in the ghee and the cashewnuts. Roast on low flame until lightly brown. Add in the raisins and wait for it to plump. Once its plumped up, remove off heat and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.
4. Mix the jaggery water and the cooked rice and dal mixture and set it on a stove on low flame. Keep stirring constantly. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add in a couple of pinches of SALT. Salt rounds the flavor. Now add in the ghee and nut mixture and stir until all the ghee is absorbed into the pongal.
5. Remove off heat and serve hot or at room temperature.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: South Indian

For the rice dal Mixture

• 1/4 cup raw rice
• 1/4 cup split moong dal
• 1 1/2 cups water

Jaggery Mixture

• 1/2 cup Jaggery
• 1/2 cup water

Tempering Mixture

• 4 tablespoon ghee
• 2 tablespoon cashew nut
• 2 tablespoon raisins

Spice Mixture

• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• pinch of nutmeg powder
• 2 pinch salt

1. Take quarter cup each of rice and split moong dal and soak it in 1 1/2 cups of water for 15 minutes. Cook the dal and rice together in a pressure cooker for a good 10 minutes on low flame. Remove off heat and allow the pressure to release naturally. Set this aside.
2. Take half a cup of jaggery and boil it with half a cup of water until all the jaggery is melted. Remove off heat. Jaggery almost always has some sand residue. So strain the boiled jaggery water on a muslin cloth. Set aside.
3. Take a small pan and set it on low. Add in the ghee and the cashewnuts. Roast on low flame until lightly brown. Add in the raisins and wait for it to plump. Once its plumped up, remove off heat and transfer to a small bowl. Set aside.
4. Mix the jaggery water and the cooked rice and dal mixture and set it on a stove on low flame. Keep stirring constantly. Let it simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add in the cardamom and nutmeg powder. Add in a couple of pinches of SALT. Salt rounds the flavor. Now add in the ghee and nut mixture and stir until all the ghee is absorbed into the pongal.
5. Remove off heat and serve hot or at room temperature.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 20 mins
• Category: Breakfast
• Cuisine: South Indian

Find it online : https://www.kannammacooks.com/sakkarai-pongal-sweet-pongal-recipe/

Simple Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe – Very Soft and Moist.

How to make Basic Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake Recipe. Very soft, moist, tender and fluffy. Best plain vanilla base cake recipe. With step by step pictures.

This is a very simple Eggless Vanilla Sponge Cake and delicious recipe. Egg-less cakes can be tricky as they usually turn out dry and dense and crumble easily. But this one is a winner. This cake is very soft, moist, tender and fluffy. It makes an absolutely nice base cake that one can use for layer cakes. My mom had given me a small and tiny recipe snippet book on baking years back. I found this gem of a recipe in that book. Many of you have requested that I post a good egg-less cake recipe. I am happy to oblige. Lets jump straight into the recipe. Here you go!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees Celsius. Line an 8 inch square pan with butter paper or parchment. Grease and flour the pan. Set aside.

We need to cream butter and sugar. Sift 60 grams of confectioners sugar and set aside. We need to sift the sugar to get rid of any lumps. Let the butter be at room temperature.

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.

Its time for that delicious ingredient called milkmaid. Its nothing but condensed milk. I lick the can almost every single time I use it. I know you do it too.

Add in a teaspoon of real vanilla extract and one whole can/tin of milkmaid to the creamed butter sugar mixture. Beat well for a couple of minutes.

Lets now measure the flour and the raising agents. We will need one level teaspoon of baking soda and two level teaspoon of baking powder.

Sift the ingredients to remove any lumps in the flour and to distribute the raising agents uniformly in the mixture. Add in the sifted flour mixture slowly until a thick batter is formed.

Measure 1.5 cups of milk. Heat the milk until its hot but not boiling.

Add the hot milk to the batter and mix well to combine.

Pour it in a 8 by 8 square pan. Bake it immediately in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean. Do not open the oven for the first 30 minutes of baking. If you open, the heat will escape and the middle of the cake will sink.

Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife on the edges of the pan to ensure smooth release.

Turn the pan upside down and gently release the pan. Remove the butter paper/parchment. Invert the cake and cool the cake completely.

Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up-to two days.

• 60 grams / 1/2 cup confectioners sugar
• 100 grams butter (Approximately 1/2 cup )
• 1 can/tin (400 grams) condensed milk like milkmaid
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1.5 cups milk
• 250 grams / 1.75 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon baking powder

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F / 180 degrees Celsius. Line an 8 inch square pan with butter paper or parchment. Grease and flour the pan. Set aside.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
3. Add in a teaspoon of real vanilla extract and one whole can/tin of milkmaid to the creamed butter sugar mixture. Beat well for a couple of minutes.
4. Sift the dry ingredients to remove any lumps in the flour and to distribute the raising agents uniformly in the mixture. Add in the sifted flour mixture slowly until a thick batter is formed.
5. Measure 1.5 cups of milk. Heat the milk until its hot but not boiling. Add the hot milk to the batter and mix well to combine.
6. Pour it in a 8 by 8 square pan and bake it immediately in a preheated 350 degree F oven for about 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes clean. Do not open the oven for the first 30 minutes of baking.
7. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Run a knife on the edges of the pan to ensure smooth release.
8. Turn the pan upside down and gently release the pan. Remove the butter paper/parchment. Invert the cake and cool the cake completely.
9. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up-to two days.

• Author: Kannamma - Suguna Vinodh
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 50 mins
• Category: Dessert
• Cuisine: Indian