Pal Pongal / Milk Pongal

This is a very traditional type of pongal recipe and very simple with only 3 ingredients.

Basically this pongal is prepared with new rice. This is more familiar with farmers of Tamil Nadu. As they make this at the time they harvest a new batch of rice. This pongal is considered as a very sacred type of food for them. They make this pongal and offer it to God(sun) as soon as they harvest the rice after all the hard work for a long time.

This is a savory type of pongal recipe. This can be accompanied with chutney or sambar.

Ingredients :

New rice - 1 cup (we are accessible to sona masoori rice only, so i used that)
Milk - around 8 to 9 cups (water can be added to dilute the milk to cut some calories)
Salt as required

Procedure :

Wash the rice and set it aside. Boil milk in a heavy bottom pan. When it starts to boil add the rice. Keep string in medium flame until the rice is completely cooked and the pongal looks creamy. (water or milk can be added if the mixture becomes very thick)

Finally add salt and served hot with chutney or sambar.

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Sheerannam

Well, Sheerannam is the next type of pongal in my set of pongal recipes. This is a anther type of sweet pongal made especially as a Neivedhyam / Prasadam.

Sheerannam is a very traditional recipe in many parts of south India. This is a creamy and rich dessert. The mace flavor make this as a unique dessert.

This is basically a sweet milk pongal. Milk pongal is a savory type of pongal which is also a very traditional type of pongal (Will try to post milk pongal soon). Sugar candy and flavorings are added to milk pongal to make sheerannam.

Normally to any traditional Indian dessert,cardamon is used as a basic flavoring. In sherrannam mace powder and nutmeg powder is added. They taste really good in this sweet. The sugar candy brings in the depth of natural sweetness. Another important flavoring in sheerannam is the saffron strands. Milk, sugar and saffron is the heavenly combination. This also gives a beautiful light lemon yellow color to the dessert.

Ingredients :

Rice - 1/2 cup
Milk - 5 cups
Sugar Candy - 1/2 cup(broken into small pieces)
Nutmeg powder - 1/8 teaspoon
Mace powder - 1/8 teaspoon
Saffron - 1/4 teaspoon(soaked in 2 tablespoon of warm milk)
Ghee - 2 tablespoon
Cashew nuts - few
Pistachio - few
Slivered almonds - few

Procedure :

Cook the rice in milk either on stove top in a heavy bottom pan or in the rice cooker.(I did it in the rice cooker)

After the rice is cooked well, add the sugar candy and stir well till the sugar candy is completed melted. Now add the saffron and milk mixture.

Next add the nutmeg powder and mace powder and stir well. Heat the ghee and fry the cashew nuts and add it to the pongal. Remove from heat and decorate it with pistachio and slivered almonds while serving.

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Sakkarai Pongal Recipe in pressure cooker | Sweet Pongal | Chakkara Pongal | Happy Sankranti

Happy Thai Pongal !!!

 
In my line of pongal recipes, Sakkarai pongal is the next one.

 

This is a very traditional sweet pongal recipe. No one in Tamil Nadu can celebrate pongal festival without this scrumptious Sakkarai Pongal. As the name indicated it a sweet and decadent dessert recipe. As this is a very common recipe in all parts of Tamil Nadu, each one will have their own way to prepare one. Though the ingredients are the same throughout, the procedure may differ from each person. Edible Camphor is the one ingredient which gives  Sakkarai pongal recipe a divine flavor. Next flavor enhancer is Nutmeg, it give a very nice aroma and flavor for sweet pongal.

Ingredients :

Raw rice - 1 cup
Moong dal - 1/2 cup
Jaggery- 2 cups
Water - 4 1/2 cups
Milk - 1 cup
Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg powder - 1/8 tsp
Ginger powder- 1/8 tsp
Edible camphor- tiny piece
Salt 1/4 tsp
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Cashews- 20
Raisins- 10

Procedure :

Dry roast 1/2 cup moong dal till it gets good smell Wash and soak 1 cup raw rice with roasted dal for 15 to 20 mins Add 4 1/2 cups of water and 1 cup of milk and close the pressure cook

Cook for 3 whistles

Add 2 cups of jaggery and 1/2 cup water and boil till it forms thick syrup Once the pressure is released open the cooker and slightly mash the cooked Pongal Add 1/4 tsp of salt and mix well Strain in the jaggery syrup and mix well and turn on stove to low Add 1/8 teaspoon of ginger powder, 1/8 tsp of nutmeg and tiny piece edible camphor In a small sauce pan add 1/4 cup ghee Once ghee is hot fry cashews, raisins and cardamom powder and add it to Pongal and cook for 2 mins until everything is mixed well

Step by Step Video:

Pongal With Gotsu

As we all are ready to celebrate Pongal festival in a week’s time, I thought of sharing a few types of pongal recipes. So I am kick starting with the most traditional one "Ven Pongal with gotsu".

Ven pongal and gotsu is the standard Saturday morning breakfast at my house, its are family's favorite food. Love to have pongal with hot ghee on top it with gotsu or sometimes with sambar, what’s more comforting than this for a weekend.

Ven pongal is a very traditional south Indian food. No restaurant menu card in Tamil Nadu is complete without pongal. Each restaurant have their own way of preparation, the recipe below is the way most of the families in Tamil Nadu make pongal at home.

Ven pongal is not only famous in restaurants, but it is very popular in many temples in south India. This pongal is offered to god as a Neivedhyam / prasadam. Love the ven pongal given at Tirupathi temple at Andhra. Mom makes it for Krishna Jayanthi / Krishnaastami also.

Ingredients For Pongal :

Raw rice / Sona Masoori rice – 1 cup
Moong Dal – ½ cup
Water – 4 cups
Ghee – 2 tablespoons
Whole pepper corns – 10 to 15
Cumin seeds – 2 teaspoon
Hing – 1 pinch
Cashew nuts – 10 to 15 broken
Ginger – 2 teaspoons finely minced
Curry leaves – 10 leaves
Salt

Procedure :

Wash and soak rice and dal for 30 minutes. Then measure water and mix the dal and rice. Add salt and hing powder. Now cook this mixture rice cooker or in normal pressure cooker. If using pressure cooker allow it cook for 3 to 4 whistle or sound.

In a separate tadka/ popu pan add ghee let it heat and add whole pepper corns then cumin seeds, when the cumin seeds turns light brown color add the minced ginger waiter for few seconds then add cashew nuts, hing powder and let the cashews fry and finally add the curry leaves and let it splutter then remove from the heat and add it to the cooked pongal and mix it well.

Ingredients For Gotsu :

Purple brinjal – 1 cup finely cubed
Moong dal – 1/ 4 cup
Hing – 1 pinch
Garlic – 2 pods
Onions – 1 lager diced
Tomato – 2 large diced
Green chili – 4 slit
Turmeric powder – 1 pinch
Chili powder – ¼ teaspoon
Salt
Oil – 2 tablespoon

For Tadka
Mustered seeds – 1 teaspoon
Curry leaves – 10 leaves

Procedure :

Cook and mash moong dal with turmeric, hing and garlic. Set is aside

In medium sauce pot heat oil add mustered seeds and curry leaves, let them splutter. Then add the onions and sauté it for few minutes then add tomatoes and fry. Then add the cubed brinjals and sauté it.

Now add salt, chili powder and fry. Pour 1 cup of water and cook the brinjal covered for 5 minutes, it should be almost mashable. Then pour the cooked dal mixture to the sauce pot and cook it for few seconds. Finally add some coriander leaves and mix well until every thing is combined. Serve it hot with pongal.




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Black Forest Cake

Hi Friends....

Wish U all a Very Very Happy New Year!!! So how are the new year celebrations going on for all. I celebrated with this Black Forest Cake. We had a friends get-together at my friends place, So I made Black Forest Cake to welcome this new year.

What could be more elegant for a new year party than a black forest cake. Every one remembers black forest cake for New year. In traditional black forest cake cherry liquor is added or sometimes rum is also added, as I am not big fan of using alcohol I have made it totally alcohol free. I have used cherry syrup in the place of cherry liquor.

Ingredients :

Chocolate Cake - 2 8" Rounds

For Cherry Syrup:
Cherries seeds removed - 1 cup
Sugar - 1/4 cup
Water - 1 cup

For Topping:
Heavy Whipping Cream - 2 cups
Powder Sugar - 1/2 cup
Clear Vanilla - 2 teaspoon
Whole cherries - 10 to 12
Chocolate shaving - 1/2 cup

Procedure :

Bake the cake and cool it completely. Keep it in the refrigerator for 1 hour.



For Cherry syrup: Remove the seeds form fresh cherries and add it to a pot with sugar and water and bring it to a boil. Cook the mixture until the cherries are completely cooked for about 5 minutes in high flames. Let the mixture cool completely.



For Whipped topping: Add the whipping cream to cold bowl(keep the bowl and beaters in the freezer for 30 minutes). Now start whipping slowly at the initial stage, then increase the speed and whip in high speed and start adding powder sugar 1 tablespoon at a time. Add vanilla. Whip until the cream is stiff. Cover it with a plastic wrap and store it in the fridge until used.





For Assembling the cake: Drain the cooked cherries from the syrup and mix it with 1 cup of whipped cream and set it aside for filling the cake.




Now cut the cakes in 2 layers each. Set the cake pedestal and lay the fist layer of the cake. With a pastry brush, brush on some cherry syrup. Then add the cherry and cream mixture and slather it on the top. Now add the second layer and repeat the same step. Do the same for the third layer also.

For the forth layer use the plain white whipped cream, as this is the outer layer. Then forest the whole cake with the plain whipped cream. Slather the sides of the cake with chocolate shaving(using a potato peeler shave room temperature chocolate for perfect curls) and decorate it as needed

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