Happy Pongal!!!!!

Happy Pongal and Makara Sankranthi!!!!

Bogi Pongal is on 13th January 2009
Pongal is on 14th January 2009
Kanum/Mattu Pongal is on 15th January 2009

Pongal is a harvest festival for Tamilians. This festival is celebrated by all Hindus in South India called Tamilians. Pongal means overflowing.......They cook rice mixed with jaggery and milk which is very delicious. While cooking they allow it to overflow. In villages they cook in open place near temple. Group of people cook together and pray to god for the prosperity. Decorate house with kolams.

Celebrate this festival with family buying new clothes and enjoying. Children love to munch sugarcane.

In Karnataka it is called Makara Sankranthi. They have customs of distributing till seeds mixed with jaggery, ground nuts, dry coconut and sweetened jeera. They also make sugar candies in different designs like round, chariot, birds, etc which is yummy.

Traditional method of preparing pongal

Ingredients
Rice – 2 cups
Green gram(Moong dal) – ½ cup
Jaggery - 3 cups
Ghee – ½ cup
Cashews and Raisins – 6 each
Water – 6 cups
Milk – 1 cup
Grated coconut – 1 cup

Preparation Method
Keep the Oven clean with kolam (design)
Add Milk in a vengala panai (Bronze pot)
Tie the Manjal Kombu(Turmeric plant) to the Panai(pot).
Wash rice and green gram(moong dal). Add it to panai with water.
Rice and green gram to be cooked soft.
Keep a separate vessel with little water and add jaggery. Once it is dissolved, filter the mud particles and make the liquid to form little thick in consistency.(If u like more sweet you can add more jaggery) Now add it to cooked rice and mix well. Allow it to boil well for some time in medium flame. Keep stirring.
Keep kadai in oven and add Ghee. After it is hot add Cashew and raisins. once its brown. Remove from fire and garnish to pongal.

Sweet Pongal or Sakkare Pongal is ready to serve. It is offered as Nyvedyam to Lord SURYA BHAGAVAN on this day.

Simple Method of preparing Pongal

Cook rice and moong dal in cooker till soft so keep additional water. In a bowl keep little water and add jaggery to it. once its dissolved, filter it in a strainer. Now mix the cooked rice and dal mixture to jaggery and cook well. Keep it in a low flame. Add ghee for taste.

Garnish with fried cashews and raisins in ghee.

Quick pongal is ready to serve.

Happy Pongal and Sankranthi Shubashayagalu!!!

I wish all my readers a very Happy Pongal. Pongaloo Pongal......

Bogi Pongal is on 13th January 2010.
Pongal is on 14th January 2010. Auspicious time for keeping Pongapanai is between 7.30am to 10.00am(IST) later Amavasya follows.
Kanum/Mattu Pongal is on 15th January 2010.

Its also Solar Eclipse on 15th Jan 2010 from 11am to 3.30pm(IST).

To read more about the festival and for Chakkare Pongal recipe click here. and for dishes prepared on Pongal.

Will come back with my Pongal celebrations.

Happy Pongal and Paruppu Vadai/Dal Vada Recipe!!!

Wish you and your family a very Happy and Prosperous Pongal and Sankranthiya Subhashayagalu. Pongaloo Pongal!!!

For Sakkarai Pongal recipe click here

To know more about this festival click here

To know about dishes prepared on this day click here

Today I prepared Pasi Paruppu Payasam and Paruppu/Dal Vadai for the Bhogi Festival which is the first day of Pongal. This recipe is pending is very long time in my drafts.

Paruppu Vadai/Dal Vada is prepared on all auspicious ocassions without onion and garlic.

Here goes the recipe

Ingredients

Kadalai Paruppu/Channa Dal  3 cups

Dry Red Chilli 2 nos(as per your taste)

Inji/Ginger a small piece

Asafotida/Hing 1/4 tspn

Curry leaves/Coriander leaves  few chopped

Salt

Little water

Oil for deep frying

Optional

Paasi Paruppu/Moong dal  2 tspns(soaked separately)

Grated coconut  2 tspns

Preparation Method

Soak kadalai paruppu for 4 to 5 hours in water.

Then add coarsely with salt, red chilli, ginger in mixie or blender without adding much water to paste.

Transfer it to wide bowl, add rest of the ingredients and mix well.

Heat a kadai with oil take small balls, flatten in on hand and drop in oil slowly.

Deep fry them till brown.

Paruppu Vadai is ready to serve. You can serve hot or cold. I like it cold it tastes great.

This recipe alongwith my Pongal recipe is going to Pongal Feast Event by Kurinji and Deep Fried Snacks by Radhika.

Notes : Adding Paasi paruppu/Moong dal makes crispier and coconut gives nice flavour.

Celebrate Sweets Sugarless Event Roundup!!!

Dear Friends,

Hope you all had great Pongal and Sankranthi. I had wonderful festival with my family and friends.

After the successful roundup of Only Greens Event , now its my turn for Celebrate Sweets  Sugarless roundup. I would like to thank Nivedita for giving an opportunity to guest host her event. I received 42 entries. Thank you for the support and participation. Do leave a comment or mail me to know incase I have missed any of your entry, which is not intentional. Will update it. 

Jaggery

Oats Paniyaram by Umm

Thirattupaal by Nivedita

Maadli or Maaldi by Nivedita

Laapsi by Sheetal

Moong Sabu Kheer by Sravani

Steamed Sweet Dumpling by Nivedita

Sesame Seeds Poli by Nivedita

Biscuit Poli by Nivedita

Dry Fruit Sweet Paniyaram by Kurinji

Aval Sweet Pongal by Kurinji

Coconut Laddu by Kurinji

Wheat Flour Sweet Paniyaram by Kurinji

Sweet Pongal by Kurinji

Kozhukattai by Sangeetha

Sesame Brittle by Sangeetha

Suzhiyam by Sangeetha

Barley Sweet Pongal by Priya

Chikki by Supriya

Colostrum Milk Pudding by Supriya

Panchkadayi by Supriya

Sweet Chana dal Khichidi by Supriya

Sweet Moong dal Khichidi by Supriya

Nei Urundai by Jaleela

Appam by Saraswathi

Condensed Milk

Yogurt Dessert by Akheela

Rabri by Pavani

Milk Coconut Laddu by Ambreens

Eggless Vanilla Cake by Harini Jaya

Peanut Butter Chocolate Fudge by Priya

Apple Milk Dessert by Saraswathi

Xyliton

Sugarfree Badam Halwa by Sadhana

Dates

Sugarless Date Cookies by Harini Jaya

Mascarpone Olive oil Anise cookies by Swathi

Sugarless Banana Walnut Bread by Harini Jaya

Bread Dates Laddu by Harini Jaya

Honey, Dates and Oats Paniyaram by Gayathri

Carrot Dates Halwa by Nivedita

Molasses

Eggless Sugarless Chocolate Cake by Priya

Candy Sugar

Kalkandu Pongal by Revathi 

Sugarless

Sugarfree and Butterfree Fruit and Nut Cake by Jagruthi

Dates Walnut Eggless and Sugarless by Santosh

Please accept this participation award in the event.

Don't forget to download this blog on Nokia Ovi Apps click here Its free!!!

Cheers,

Saraswathi

My Pongal Celebrations and Ellu Sadam/Sesame Rice Recipe!!!

Hope you all are having a long weekend for Pongal. Heres my Pongal celebrations photos.. I had decorated with Rangoli then did all traditional puja.

I also prepared Kanum Pongal with Kalanda Sadam(Coloured Rice) today.

Dishes were

Puliyogare (Tamarind Rice)
Thenga Sadam(Coconut Rice)
Ellu Sadam(Sesame Rice)
Elamichai Sadam(Lemon Rice)
Rice Payasam

Heres the recipe for Ellu Sadam/Sesame Rice.

Courtesy - Mother in law

Ingredients
Ellu(White Til/Sesame Seeds) - 100gms
Urad dal - 50gms
Dry Red Chilli - 4 nos(As per taste)
Hing/Asafotida - a pinch
Salt

For Seasoning
Gingely oil - 2 tspns
Mustard - 1/4 tspn
Urad dal - 1/4 tspn

Preparation Method
Dry Roast Ellu till its light brown.
Then add 1/2 tspn oil in a kadai, roast urad dal, dry red chilli, Hing till brown.
Allow it to cool.
In a small mixie grind urad dal, salt, and dry red chilli in whipper to a fine powder.
Then add ellu(sesame seeds) and grind twice to a coarse powder.
Prepare rice and allow it to cool.
Then Season it with oil n mustard. Then mix this powder and Serve.

Happy Weekend.

This recipe is going off to Cooking with Seeds by Priya and APS Rice by Anitha.