sweet pongal recipe | sakkarai pongal recipe | chakkara pongal with detailed photo and video recipe. a popular sweetened rice based dish from south india which is also hugely popular in srilanka and thailand especially with the tamil community. there are several names across south india and it is also known as huggi in kannada or in karnataka. the dish is specifically made during the pongal festival with moong dal, jaggery and rice with freshly harvested grains.
basically the festival of pongal or makara sankrati is celebrated from january 13th to 16th of every year. the occasion is to celebrate the harvest season and about thanksgiving to nature by cooking new rice or freshly harvested grains. the word ‘ponga’ basically means overflowing and is referred to overflow cooking style in an earthly pot with wood fire. moreover widely sankranti is celebrated on january 14th, but each day to this 4 day festival has a significance and celebrated with unique recipes. but sakkarai pongal recipe or chakkara pongal is a common recipe prepared every day throughout and is served with other desserts and savouries.
some important tips and points to be considered while preparing sweet pongal recipe. firstly and traditionally sweet pongal is always prepared from jaggery which also makes it more flavourful. but as an alternative, you can also use white crystal sugar or brown sugar as a replacement if you do not have jaggery. secondly, i have used normal daily use sona masuri rice to this recipe and i recommend the same. also make sure it is cooked well before jaggery syrup is added to it otherwise it may not mix well. lastly, the temple style chakkara pongal recipe typically contains camphor added to it in a small quantity. if you wish to have authentic one, feel free to add a crushed small portion of it at the end of recipe.
finally i would like to highlight my other indian sweet recipe collection for festival with this post of sweet pongal. it includes recipes like sooji ka halwa, sabudana kheer, rice kheer, malpua, besan laddo, rava ladoo, balushahi, boondi laddo, karanji and obbattu recipe. in addition do visit my other recipes collection like,
sweet pongal video recipe:
recipe card for sakkarai pongal or sweet pongal:
sweet pongal recipe | sakkarai pongal recipe | chakkara pongal
Ingredients
for pressure cooking:
- ½ cup rice, soaked 15 minutes
- ¼ cup moong dal, soaked 15 minutes
- 2¼ cup water
for jaggery water:
- ¾ cup jaggery, gud
- ¼ cup water
for frying dry fruits:
- 2 tsp ghee
- 10 whole cashew / kaju
- 2 tbsp raisins / kishmish
- 1 clove / lavang
other ingredients:
- ¼ cup water, to adjust consistency
- 2 tbsp ghee
- ¼ tsp cardamom powder / elachi powder
- small piece edible camphor / pacha karpooram
Instructions
- firstly, in a pressure cooker take ½ cup rice and ¼ cup moong dal (both soaked for 15 minutes)
- add in 2¼ cup water and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
- make sure the dal and rice is cooked completely.
- further in a pan take ¾ cup jaggery and ¼ cup water.
- keep stirring till the jaggery melts completely.
- now filter the jaggery water into cooked rice-dal mixture.
- add ¼ cup water or more adjusting consistency as required.
- simmer for 2 minutes or till jaggery combines well with rice-dal mixture.
- add in 2 tbsp ghee and give a good mix till the sakkarai pongal turns glossy.
- now in a small kadai heat 2 tsp ghee and fry 10 whole cashew, 2 tbsp raisins and 1 clove.
- pour the fried cashews and kishmish into sweet pongal.
- also add ¼ tsp cardamom powder and small piece edible camphor. mix well.
- finally, sweet pongal / sakkarai pongal is ready to offer to goddess.
how to make chakkara pongal with step by step photo:
- firstly, in a pressure cooker take ½ cup rice and ¼ cup moong dal (both soaked for 15 minutes)
- add in 2¼ cup water and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.
- make sure the dal and rice is cooked completely.
- further in a pan take ¾ cup jaggery and ¼ cup water.
- keep stirring till the jaggery melts completely.
- now filter the jaggery water into cooked rice-dal mixture.
- add ¼ cup water or more adjusting consistency as required.
- simmer for 2 minutes or till jaggery combines well with rice-dal mixture.
- add in 2 tbsp ghee and give a good mix till the sakkarai pongal turns glossy.
- now in a small kadai heat 2 tsp ghee and fry 10 whole cashew, 2 tbsp raisins and 1 clove.
- pour the fried cashews and kishmish into sweet pongal.
- also add ¼ tsp cardamom powder and small piece edible camphor. mix well.
- finally, sweet pongal / sakkarai pongal is ready to offer to goddess.
notes:
- firstly, adjust the jaggery based on sweetness you are looking for.
- also filtering jaggery water is optional, you can skip this step if jaggery is clean.
- additionally, use homemade fresh ghee for more flavour and aroma.
- furthermore, adding milk while cooking dal – rice is optional, it enhances the flavour of pongal.
- finally, adjsut the consistency of sweet pongal / sakkarai pongal as it thickens once cooled.
I tried ur recipe on Pongal festival. Turned out gr8
You are welcome Swapna
I tried this yesterday…it tasted yummy…Thanks a ton Hebbar’s Kitchen
thank you very much
Looks Amazing. Just a small suggestion. For cooking dhall and rice, instead of using just water, try to use milk and water combined. Milk will gives a rich taste and creamy texture to pongal.
Thanks.
thanks for sharing variation
Comments are closed.