Sarkarai Pongal is a traditional sweet dish from South India. It is made during the Pongal festival, and symbolically offered to the sun god before being eaten. But you don’t have to go all the way to South India during the Pongal festival to enjoy this tasty treat. I’m going to teach you how to prepare it from the comfort of your own home.
This recipe calls for mung daal, which are mung beans that have been stripped of their hulls. These healthy legumes can be found in speciality vegetarian shops or speciality Indian shops.
You will also need to buy jaggery, a healthy natural sugar, to prepare this dessert properly. The refined white sugar you buy at the supermarket has been heavily processed with many chemicals. Jaggery, however, is naturally processed from sap, without any added stuff. This means it retains all its natural properties and minerals. And apart from being much healthier, it has a richer taste. Jaggery is a bit like buttery molasses.
Preparing Sarkarai Pongal with this sweet substitute will add authenticity to the dish, so it is well worth buying. And, as always, the ghee in this dessert can be substituted for regular butter.
To scoop up all the gooey sweetness in my recipe, I recommend this raisin bread.
Tags: almonds, cardamom, cashews, cinnamon, dessert, ghee, Indian food, jaggery, milk, Mung Daal, raisins, Rice, saffron, Sarkarai Pongal
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This looks a bit like rice pudding! (minus the lentils)
I like treats with dried fruit and organic ingredients bc it seems so much healthier than the processed garbage they sell at the market.