Sweet Pongal – How to Make Chakkara Pongal
Sweet Pongal is not just a dish, it’s the heart of South Indian festive traditions. Prepared with rice, moong dal, jaggery, and ghee, this golden delight is cooked especially during the harvest festival of Pongal and Makar Sankranti. With its melt-in-the-mouth sweetness, nutty crunch of cashews, and the heavenly aroma of cardamom, Sweet Pongal brings joy, abundance, and celebration to every spoonful.
Servings: 4
Calories: 425kcal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup raw rice
- 1/3 cup moong dal yellow split gram
- ½ - ¾ cup jaggery grated or powdered
- 3 - 4 tbsp ghee
- ¼ cup cashews
- 1 tbsp raisins
- 3-4 cups water
- ½ tsp cardamom powder
- 1 clove crushed
- 1 pinch edible camphor optional
Instructions
- For this Chakkara Pongal recipe, start by dry roasting the rice and moong dal.
- Rinse the roasted dal and rice. Drain and transfer to a pressure cooker.
- Pressure cook with 3 - 3.5 cups of water on medium heat for about 8 whistles, until soft and mushy.
- Once the pressure releases, lightly mash the rice and lentils. Add 1/2 cup of hot water if the pongal is too dry.
- If using powdered jaggery, add directly to the cooked rice and lentils. Mix well to combine.
- If using grated jaggery, then in a separate pan, melt the grated jaggery with ½ cup of water. Once it dissolves completely, strain the syrup to remove any impurities.
- Gently mix this jaggery syrup into the cooked rice-dal mixture until well combined.
- Stir in cardamom powder, crushed clove and a pinch of edible camphor.
- Next, heat ghee in a pan and fry cashews until golden brown. Add the raisins and sauté until they puff up.
- Mix in the fried nuts, raisins, and ghee into the Pongal mixture.
- Serve this warm, aromatic South Indian festive Sweet Pongal with an extra drizzle of ghee for richness.