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Tag: Temple prasadam

  • Sakkarai Pongal

    Sakkarai pongal, or sweet pongal, is the dish at the centre of the Tamil harvest festival of Pongal. Freshly harvested rice is cooked with moong dal and jaggery in a new clay pot, often outdoors in the sun, and the moment it boils over is celebrated with shouts of pongalo pongal. It is also a common temple offering.

    The flavour is rich and sweet, with the earthy depth of jaggery, the fragrance of cardamom and a hint of edible camphor. Generous amounts of ghee give it a glossy, soft texture, while fried cashews and raisins add crunch and bursts of sweetness. It is festive and rich. Ghee is never measured sparingly here.

    Sakkarai pongal is eaten as a festive dessert or offering. It is best served warm, and a small spoonful of ghee on top makes it even richer. On the festival day, families cook it in a decorated clay pot outdoors, offering it to the sun god before sharing it. Leftovers are eaten cold the next day.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineTamil
    DietVegetarian
    CourseDessert
    Prep time10 minutes
    Cook time35 minutes
    Total time45 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMild
    DifficultyEasy
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsrice / moong dal / jaggery / ghee

    Ingredients

    • 1/2 cup raw rice
    • 2 tbsp moong dal
    • 2 1/2 cups water
    • 1/2 cup milk
    • 3/4 cup (150 g) grated jaggery
    • 1/4 cup water for jaggery
    • 4 tbsp ghee
    • 10 cashews
    • 1 tbsp raisins
    • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
    • A tiny pinch of edible camphor (pachai karpooram)
    • A pinch of nutmeg

    Method

    1. Dry roast the moong dal on low heat for 2 minutes until fragrant. Wash with the rice.
    2. Pressure cook the rice and dal with water and milk for 4-5 whistles until very soft. Mash lightly.
    3. Melt the jaggery in 1/4 cup water on low heat, strain to remove impurities, and simmer for 2-3 minutes until slightly thick.
    4. Add the jaggery syrup to the cooked rice and dal and stir on low heat for 5 minutes until combined and thick.
    5. Add 2 tbsp ghee, cardamom, camphor and nutmeg and stir.
    6. Fry the cashews and raisins in the remaining ghee until golden and plump, and pour over the pongal.

    Tips

    • Use a very tiny pinch of edible camphor; too much is overpowering.
    • The pongal thickens on cooling; add warm milk to loosen.
    • Dark jaggery gives a deeper colour and flavour.

    Serve with

    Served warm on its own or alongside ven pongal and vada.

  • Puliyodarai

    Puliyodarai, also called puli sadam or tamarind rice, is the most famous prasadam of Vaishnava temples in Tamil Nadu, and Iyengar families have kept the recipe as a point of pride. The heart of it is pulikachal, a tamarind paste cooked slowly in gingelly oil until thick and dark. Made in bulk, the paste keeps for weeks and turns leftover rice into a meal in minutes.

    The flavour is sour, spicy and slightly sweet, with a nutty depth from roasted sesame and fenugreek. Good puliyodarai is glossy and well coated, each grain brown and separate. It tastes better a few hours after mixing, which is why it is the standard food for train journeys and pilgrimages.

    At a glance

    RegionTamil Nadu
    CuisineIyengar
    DietVegan
    CourseRice
    Prep time15 minutes
    Cook time35 minutes
    Total time50 minutes
    Serves4
    Spice levelMedium
    DifficultyMedium
    Gluten-freeYes
    Key ingredientsrice / tamarind / sesame seeds / peanuts / gingelly oil

    Ingredients

    For the spice powder

    • 1 tbsp coriander seeds
    • 1 tsp chana dal
    • 1 tsp urad dal
    • 1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds
    • 1/2 tsp black peppercorns
    • 4 dry red chillies
    • 1 tbsp white sesame seeds

    For the pulikachal

    • large lemon-sized ball of tamarind (about 60 g), soaked in 1.5 cups hot water
    • 1/3 cup gingelly oil
    • 1 tsp mustard seeds
    • 1 tbsp chana dal
    • 1 tsp urad dal
    • 3 tbsp raw peanuts
    • 3 dry red chillies, broken
    • 2 sprigs curry leaves
    • 1/2 tsp asafoetida
    • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
    • 1.5 tsp salt
    • 1 tbsp grated jaggery

    For the rice

    • 4 cups cooked rice (from 1.25 cups raw), cooled
    • 1 tbsp gingelly oil

    Method

    1. Dry roast the coriander, chana dal, urad dal, fenugreek, pepper and red chillies on low heat for 4-5 minutes until golden and fragrant. Add sesame in the last minute and roast until it pops. Cool and grind to a fine powder.
    2. Extract about 1.5 cups of thick tamarind extract and strain.
    3. Heat the gingelly oil in a heavy kadai on medium heat. Fry the peanuts for 2 minutes until crunchy, then add mustard seeds and let them splutter.
    4. Add chana dal, urad dal and red chillies and fry until the dals are golden. Add curry leaves and asafoetida.
    5. Pour in the tamarind extract with turmeric and salt. Bring to a boil, then simmer on low-medium heat for 20-25 minutes, stirring now and then, until it reduces to a thick paste and oil separates at the edges.
    6. Stir in jaggery and 3 tbsp of the spice powder and cook for 2 more minutes. This is the pulikachal.
    7. Spread the cooled rice in a wide bowl, drizzle with 1 tbsp gingelly oil and add about 4-5 tbsp of pulikachal and 1 tbsp more spice powder.
    8. Mix gently with your fingers or a flat spoon until every grain is coated. Taste and adjust. Rest for at least an hour before serving.

    Tips

    • Leftover pulikachal keeps in a clean dry jar in the fridge for a month, provided it is covered with oil.
    • Cooking the rice slightly firm with a few drops of oil keeps the grains separate.
    • Do not hurry the reduction; undercooked pulikachal tastes raw and sharp.

    Serve with

    Appalam, vadam and a cup of curd or curd rice.