5 recipes that you cant's miss trying on Pongal
The harvest festival of Pongal is here, and it is celebrated with great pomp and show in the southern states of India: Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Karnataka, etc. This year, the festival starts on January 14 and ends on January 17. This harvest festival pays gratitude to Mother Nature, and Tamilians celebrate it with some amazing food. Here are some must-try Pongal recipes.
Sakkarai pongal
Dry roast green gram in a pan and add it to raw rice. Wash the green gram and rice, mix well, and boil. Add grated jaggery and water to a separate pan and stir well. Then add the jaggery syrup to the dal and rice mixture and mash well. Add in ghee-roasted cashews, raisins, edible camphor, and green cardamom, cook well, and serve.
Murukku
This South Indian snack is healthy and is a must-have during Pongal. Mix rice flour, powdered urad dal, asafoetida, water, and salt and knead the mixture into a firm dough. Keep the dough aside for 30 minutes. Heat sesame oil and press out round murukkus in the oil using a cookie press. Cook the murukkus until crisp and light brown. And they are ready!
Paal payasam
The festival of Pongal is incomplete without savoring the creamy, warm, and luscious payasam. This dish is also offered as prasadam in temples across South India. Wash and soak rice in water for 30 minutes. Boil milk, add the rice to it, and cook well until soft. Add sugar and cardamom powder and stir well. Garnish with ghee-roasted cashew nuts and raisins. Enjoy!
Millet pongal
Soak yellow moong dal and millet in water overnight. Saute black pepper and cumin in oil in a pressure cooker. Add asafoetida, chopped ginger, and curry leaves and mix well. Add rinsed millet and dal and saute for two minutes. Pressure cook until four-five whistles. Heat together curry leaves, cashews, and cumin in avocado oil and add this tadka over the pongal. Serve hot.
Medu vada
A part of the traditional Pongal spread, these deep-fried fritters can be enjoyed with coconut chutney and sambar. Grind soaked and drained urad dal into a smooth paste. Add asafoetida, black pepper, and salt and mix well. Add ginger, green chilies, and coriander leaves and mix well. Shape the mixture into flat rounds with a hole in the center. Deep fry them and serve.
