My 100th Post...Sakkarai Pongal...Iniya Pongal Nal Vazthukkal

 

அனைவருக்கும் எனது இனிய

 

பொங்கல்

 

 நல்வாழ்த்துக்கள் 

 

 



 

 

 

Wishing all the readers a very happy Pongal..This is the only festival at our parents home which they celebrate every year very grandly..The scenario is very different at my inlaws house!!I would love to recall my days where we celebrated pongal with such a huge happiness.This festival had been always very close to my heart and I really miss such a celebrations after my dad's demise..

 

I love to brief about how we celebrated pongal when we were young..The celebration mood just breezes out a week before pongal.When we were school goers we used to get excited about the new clothes and also about a week holiday for schools!!

 

Week before pongal my mom use to clean  the whole house thoroughly...She quotes a reason behind it!!During margazhi,due to cold weather there could be germs all over the house..So it is always essential to clean the house completely and throw away the old things!!Next thing is they use to paint the whole house and it looks perfectly like a new home!!

 

On the first day,Bogi early in the morning my mom wakes us up and asks us to burn all the old things(eco friendly things) in front of the house.We sit around the fire..Just like the bonfire!!.Then she cleans the place and designs a lovely rangoli...There is nothing more special on that day..except a school Holiday.They say that we should throw away all bad thoughts and start a new one!!

 

That evening my dad used to call all the kids(which include 3 of my cousins) to carry the sugarcane n vegetables from the shop.The travel(by walk)we make carrying the sugarcane(the long one)for 1 km was just unexplainable!!The happiness and the oneness that we share cannot be written here!!I really miss it!!

 

The night before pongal there were times when my mother use to put very big Kolam outside the house.She asks us to put the colours to it..It would take mid night for us to complete it..So excited about the new dress we don't even sleep at night..(Those were the days when my parents purchased new dress only 3 times per year..pongal,diwali,birthday...)

 

Have a look at the kolam which we made few years back infront of our house

 

 

 

I grew in a joint family and to celebrate a festival with many people around itself will make ur festival mood to go up...My mom makes arrangement at the entrance of the house to make pongal...She makes it with a newly bought Mud pot ..On the other side she keeps the sugarcane,Turmeric and other items ready for the celebration..She makes 2 types of pongal one the normal one and the other the sweet version which I had explained the recipe below...

 

For the lunch she makes delicious Sunda Pongal Kuzhambu which tastes awesome with the morning made pongal..After the pongal is made we shout Pongalo Pongal by showing the pongal to Sun.Chewing sugarcanes are always my favourite..They make the teeth very strong!!

 

For the next day,Mattu Pongal we use to visit a near by place where we can see a procession of all the beautifully decorated cows and Bulls...All their horns would be painted with dark colours and they had balloons tied up on their horns.They even feed cows with Kozhukattais/Rice dumplings.

 

 

On the last day of pongal celebration we use to go to the nearby village to watch Jalikattu...I get scared of the bulls and there were time when I use to cry to get away from watching it!!!

 

Those were the beautiful days...Loving to get back to my school days...

 

Traditional Pongal is made in mud pot but due to lack of time I had used pressure cooker to make pongal.

 

Getting  in to the recipe...

 

Ingredients:

 

1 Cup of Raw Rice

1/4 Cup of Moong Dhal/Pasi Paruppu

1 Cup of Jaggery heaped

2 Cups of water

2 Cups of milk

Roasted cashews and raisins

1/4 tsp of elachi powder

 

Procedure:

 

 

 

Roast the rice and dhal separately.Don't roast it much.Just when the ingredients get hot, switch off the flame.

 

 

 

Mix the dhal and rice and soak it for 15-20 minutes

Take a pressure pan.Add water and milk,a drop of ghee and bring it to boil.

 

 

When the mixture boils add the rice and dhal mixture(strain off the water added for soaking).

Pressure cook it for 2 -3 whistles accordingly.

In the meanwhile roast the cashews and raisins in ghee

 

 

Smash the cooked rice dhal mixture..keep it aside

In a pan add jaggery,water and bring it to boil.

When jaggery gets dissolved strain the jaggery water(this is to remove the impurities in the jaggery)

 

 

Again boil the jaggery water.Then add elachi powder,roasted cashews and raisins

 

Add the cooked rice and dhal mixture to the jaggery water and mix well.

Allow it to cook till the mixture gets mixed well

Add ghee and keep mixing well.

Serve it hot with hot methu Vada

 

Handy Tips:

 

• You can add 4 Cups of water instead of water+milk mixture..U can also vary it with 4 cups of milk alone to make it richer
• A pinch of Pachai Karpooram(edible one)can be added to taste it good
• Nutmeg powder can also be added.
• While serving add ghee
• This can be prepared with red rice(Kerala rice) too.It tastes very delicious with it
• Instead of 1/4 cup of Moong dal 1/2 cup can be added ..
• Don't roast raisins much
• The mixture turns thick on cooling.So adjust the consistency accordingly..