Pongal 2025: Dishes that will make your celebration more flavorsome
What's the story
Pongal, a colorful festival celebrated mainly in Tamil Nadu and other regions of South India, is being celebrated this year on January 14.
The festival marks the harvest of crops and the beginning of a new sowing season.
Lasting for four days, Pongal is marked by dance, music, decorations, and a variety of delicious dishes made especially for the festival.
Savor these offerings for a flavorsome celebration with family and friends.
Dish 1
Ven Pongal
The culinary side of Pongal is defined by a range of dishes, with Ven Pongal being a favorite.
This breakfast staple is prepared from lentils, rice, and spices, famous for its rich nutritional balance.
You can prepare this by cooking rice and lentils in water and adding tempering of ghee and spices of your choice.
Dish 2
Puliyodharai or tamarind rice
Another dish is puliyodharai or tamarind rice, which gives a tangy and spicy taste by mixing a host of ingredients.
To make puliyodharai, combine rice, curry leaves, spices, and cooked tamarind and jaggery in oil.
The dish is high in potassium, magnesium, and vitamin C, plus the tamarind's digestive help and antioxidant qualities make it a nutritious side dish.
Dish 3
Sakkarai Pongal
Sakkarai Pongal, aka Sweet Pongal, is a special dessert made for the festival.
The sweet dish consists of rice, lentils, ghee, and jaggery for sweetness.
Optionally, one can also add milk and cardamom to enhance its flavor profile.
In Hindu temples, this is customarily offered to Lord Vishnu as naivedhyam and later given to the devotees as prasadham.
Dish 4
Curd rice
Another popular dish is curd rice which has rice mixed with curd and tempered spices like mustard seeds and curry leaves.
This dish is full of subtle spices and flavors and is quite appetizing.
After the rice has been cooked in water, temper it by adding spices like mustard, jeera, curry leaves, and dried red chilies to ghee.
Once done, add the curd and stir the rice and curd together.