Chakkarai Pongal

You guys might be wondering how come she is posting the recipe for Chakkarai Pongal a month after Sankranthi.. I thought it is better late (or little early for next Pongal...No No no..... Do we need a reason or festival to eat good Chakkarai Pongal?? The minute you think of Chakkarai Pongal..you are reminded of  Parthasarathy Temple (a famous temple in Triplicane , near Marina Beach, Chennai ,TN)...wondering what that means...any Chennaite would know it I guess!!... Chakkarai Pongal and Parthasarathy Temple go hand in hand....You should taste it atleast once in your life time...and that taste remains for ever...It will be loaded with cashew, raisins and dollops of ghee....Adhu dhan original Chakkarai Pongal...Probably I was thinking on these terms (thinking of Parthasarathy) that I felt the one I made this year also came close (can never beat that one!!) to what is made at the temple. 

As to how we make chakkarai pongal  back home on the day of Sankranthi...we make this in vengala panai ....  we mark it with the thiruman kappu (similar to the mark on the fore head of maha vishnu) and then tie it with a piece of  sugar cane (which is reaped only during that month), a piece of coconut, a banana and raw turmeric (which is also reaped during this time)...but when I make it here - all these go around my pressure cooker!! I have to find out from my mom or patti as to why we tie these around the pot. This Chakkarai Pongal is cooked with the new rice that was harvested that year entirely in milk (but here I pressure cook rice, dhal with enough milk). Back home after the jaggery is added and when it boils over ....all the kids gather around and shout "Pongalo Pongal" along with the playing of damaram (that damaru is also used on the day before  - for bhogi too ...when we burn the old stuff in front of the house...and this damaru is played...I guess to ring in the good things and to ward of evil!!)  As you finish the gosham of Pongalo Pongal accompanied  by the humble damaram...you will start hearing the same at your neighbour's house. You must visit the mada veedi and around the kulam (in Mylapore, Chennai , Tamil Nadu) ..to see the kolams (rangoli) drawn in front of the house and to witness the kolam competition, to do shopping for the karumbu (sugarcane), thoranam (decorative piece for the house during festivities), vazhai ilai (banana leaf) , pasu manjal and what not........Mylai (in short for Mylapore) holds a special place in my heart....nostalgic memories!! Having travelled from Triplicane to Mylapore...you must all be tired and starving...lets take a plunge into the ingredients for making the Sugar Pongal...

Rice - 1 Cup

Moong Dhal - 1 fist full (1 TBSP)

Jaggery - (we call it pagu vellam) - 1 1/4 cup

Water - 1/2 Cup

Milk - 4 Cups

Cardomom powder

Cashew, Almonds, Raisins

Ghee - 1/2 Cup

Nutmeg - 1/2 tsp

Wash rice and dhal. Add 4 cups milk to the rice and dhal and pressure cook it for four to five whistles.
Always roast cardomom in ghee and then grind it to get better results.
Take ghee in a heavy bottom pan and roasts the nuts and keep it aside (this way you need not use one more pan to roast them at the end for adding it in the Chakkarai Pongal).
In the same heavy bottom pan and add water. Dissolve Jaggery in it - allow it to thicken to one string consistency.
Add the cooked rice and dhal to the jaggery and mix well.
Add the ghee to the pongal and keep it in the stove for few more minutes.
Add the nutmeg, cardomom and the nuts.
The yummy sugar pongal is ready to be served.

Kesari

This simple desert is loved by one and all. This is a quintessential sweet in any wedding/birthdays/engagement etc. If we mention that I just got back from mappillai ayaipu (a function for welcoming the groom - the day before the wedding) to anyone …the typical question you hear is…sojji bajji saptiya (did u eat sojji and bajji)!!


I do not have a sweet tooth but this is still one of my favourites. I make this sweet all the time since preparaing time is less than half an hour. I do this mostly on pournami (New moon day).
Ingredients needed:
Rava – 1 Cup
Sugar – 1 ½ Cup
Water – 1 to 2 cups based on the texture of rava
Ghee – 1 Cup
Cardamom – 6
Raisins, Almonds and Cashew
Orange Food color
Saffron strands
Boil water and keep it aside.
Take a tsp of ghee and roast the cardamom. Cardamom smells good and gets easily powdered when roasted in ghee.
Take a tsp of ghee and roast the nuts and keep it aside. Heat a tsp of ghee and roast the rava till you get the smell. Turn off the stove and add water needed to cook the rava. If it is fine rava then less water is needed. Add the sugar and turn on the gas. Mix it well and start adding the ghee little by little.
Take the saffron strands and mix it well in milk. Add the saffron and cardamom to the kesari. Garnish it with cashew, almonds and raisins.
The yummy kesari is ready to be served.