This is a traditional dish across India and Sri Lanka and also an essential food in most Hindu celebrations.

Sweet pongal is an important part of the Thai Pongal festival. Thai Pongal is traditionally dedicated to the harvest and the sun, by farmers who depend on Mother Nature and her elements for a bountiful crop harvest of their staple food, rice. Farmers depend on the sun, the rain, the soil, water, and cows, buffaloes etc. Without any discrimination, people from all walks of life celebrate this festival to offer their thanks.

Pongal is a rice based dish, sweetened with jaggery and roasted cashew nuts adding to the aroma and crunchiness. It is also very easy to prepare and is a one pot dish.

Preparation and cooking time: 40 minutes

Diet: Gluten free, dairy free, vegan

Serving: serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup rice
• ½ cup roasted split mung dhal (yellow and de-skinned)
• 4 cups water
• 1 cup coconut milk
• ½ cup jaggery powder
• 1/2tsp roasted cardamom powder
• 20 cashews, split in halves
• 2tbsp raisins
• 2-3tbsp coconut butter

Instructions

1. Wash and soak mung dhal for 20 minutes.
2. Wash and rinse the rice until the water is clear.
3. In a small pan over flame, roast 4-5 cardamoms for 2-3 minutes in low flame and grind into powder.
4. In a pot add washed rice and mung dhal and cook with 4 cups of water. Stir occasionally to prevent the rice from sticking and burning at the bottom of the pan.
5. After the water has been absorbed, and when rice and dhal became soft, add coconut milk, jaggery and cardamom powder and mix well. Stir occasionally.
6. In a small pan add coconut butter and heat up. After the butter has melted, add cashew nuts and saute for a minute then add raisins and sauté for another minute.
7. Mix all the nuts and raisins with the pongal. It is now ready to serve.

Most kinds of non-sticky rices could be used for making pongal. The consistency of the cooked pongal should be a little stickier than normal rice, which is why more water is added during the preparation compared to cooking rice. Make sure the cooking time and water level is adjusted based on the texture of the rice.

If you can’t find roasted mung dhal, then place a pan on a medium high flame and sauté mung dhal until you get the fragrance. This will add more flavour to your sweet pongal.

You can also cook pongal in a rice cooker, which is very easy to do. Place the rice, mung dhal and add only 2½ cups of water. Once the rice is cooked add the coconut milk, jaggery and cardamom powder. Once the coconut milk has been absorbed by the rice, add sautéed nuts and raisins.