Sakkarai Pongal (in pressure cooker)Recipe

Todays post is sakkarai pongal I know that everybody is familiar with this dish and this being pongal time all would have got enough of it but still I want to have a note of it in my little space.Hope every one would have had a great time with family and friends,especially in Tamil Nadu kids are having a whale of time enjoying their pongal holidays.In our house we have the custom of making sakkarai pongal and vadai on the day of pongal.I usually follow the short cut method of pressure cooking which is easy and time saving.Traditionally this pongal is prepared in a new earthern pot.Usually everyone adds only few spoons of moongdhal to the pongal but we use rice and dhal in the ratio 2:1,Amma does it that way so I follow the same ratio.

Sakkarai pongal is a favorite among kids and it is a whole meal by itself with carbs , protein ,vitamins and minerals. Moong dhal is easy to digest and attributes to the protein component. Jaggery is rich in iron,vitamins and minerals. Jaggery is said to have properties that aid digestion of food.A small piece of jaggery after a heavy meal helps in digestion.A friend of mine suggested that I include recipes that make up a healthy breakfast for kids.This pongal also comes under that category,it is a one pot meal and also loved by children,so mothers need not go around the kid to feed the breakfast.Now to the recipe.

Sakkarai Pongal Recipe- Ingredients

Raw Rice - 1 cup
Moong Dhal - 1/2 cup(yellow,split)
Jaggery- 1 1/2 cup(grated)
Cashew - 10
Raisins - 10
Elaichi - 3 nos
Ghee - 4 tbsp
Salt - a pinch

Method:

1. Wash and pressure cook the rice and dhal together in 3 cups of water with a pinch of salt for three whistles(please adjust according to your cooker).
2. Now in a pan heat jaggery with the crushed elaichis in 3 tbspn of water till the all jaggery melts and you get a thick syrup.Strain this syrup into another bowl.
3. Once the rice ,dhal mixture is ready mash it well and add the jaggery syrup to the cooker ,mix well and cook till the jaggery and rice mix come to a boil add 2 tbsps of ghee and keep stirring else the pongal may get burnt.Heat 2 tbsps ghee in a pan ,fry the cashews and raisins and add it to the pongal.Serve hot.It tastes equally yummy even at room temperature.

My Notes:

• You can increase or reduce the amount of jaggery as per taste.
• The colour of the pongal depends on the jaggery used ,paagu vellam gives good color.
• You can decrease the amount of water if you don't want your pongal to be gooey .
• The use of cashews and raisins is optional and can be omitted if you don't like it.
• A pinch of salt is added to the rice dhal mixture to avoid/reduce spill over,moongdhal has this quality. A tip from a chef was to add a pinch of salt to any sweet dish to enhance the taste.
• You can reduce the amont of ghee but this sure compromises on the taste.

Atta Laddoo Recipe

We went to visit my parents .I wanted to make something simple and light for my parents,so decided to make these atta laddoos.First I was sceptical about making laddoos with wheat flour/atta as I thought it would have the raw smell of atta,but some how decided to go head with this and my hesitation did prove me wrong, the laddoos came out well.Later I repented for making it in such a small quantity and everybody loved it.I got this recipe from sharmis passions,but increased the sugar quantity as we prefer sweet on the higher side.The laddoos came out in a melt in mouth consistency and the addition of powdered nuts added to the taste,just loved the idea of adding powdered nuts yummm. The sun here was playing hide and seek hence the difference in colour in the two photos.

Whole wheat flour has numerous health benefits.It is rich in dietary fibre which reduce the risk of colon cancer.Whole wheat flour which has high amounts of betaine and choline reduces the risk of heart diseases and Osteoporosis.Addition of the nuts added to the goodness.Pistachios are source of iron which helps in increasing the haemoglobin and RBC level in the blood.Cashews are a rich source of magnesium which keep our nerve system relaxed and reduce muscle spasms. Badam is vital for brain development and also regulation of cholesterol.

Atta Laddoo Recipe - Ingredients

Atta/Whloe Wheat flour - 1 cup(I used Aashirvaad atta)
Sugar - 3/4 cup
Ghee - 1/4 cup
Cashew - 10
badam - 10
Pistachios - 10

Method:

1. Dry roast all the nuts in a kadai ,see to it that they don't change colour.This step is to ensure that the are nuts crisp to get a fine powder.Transfer it to a plate.In the same pan dry roast the atta /whole wheat flour till it changes colour.This may take around 8 to 10 minutes depending on the quantity you are using.Do this step in low heat and constant stirring to avoid the flour getting burnt.Keep it aside.
2. Now powder the cooled nuts to a fine powder and transfer it to a bowl.In the same mixie jar you can now powder the sugar to a fine powder.
3. Now mix well the roasted atta ,powdered sugar and nuts powder in a wide bowl .Heat the ghee and add it to the atta mix , make laddoos and enjoy them.

My Notes:

• You can reduce the amount of sugar if you prefer your sweets on the milder side.
• Amount of ghee used may increase to 1/3 of a cup depending on the atta used.
• If you use home made atta the laddoos may turn out in brown shade.
• You can add elaichi powder to the mix before adding ghee and mix it well.Actually I forgot to add it.
• Adding nuts is your choice you can omit them completely or just add chopped nuts.
• Mine was a small quantity so I added all the ghee at the same time if doing in large quantity do so in batches.
• You can sieve the atta flour before roasting but I didn't

Carrot Halwa (Gajar ka Halwa)Recipe

I become nostalgic when I think of carrot halwa, amma used to make it with regularly. Those days we did not even know that red carrots did exist ,no google no blogs. Amma came to know of this carrot halwa through a neighbour.From then she used to make it for us now and then .I was a big fan of this halwa(till today I am) even though I was not fond of milk.Its winter time and we see the red carrots or Delhi carrots in the market, my kiddo was at the back of me to post a sweet recipe for Christmas and New year . So thought of posting a sweet for New year and prepared this . Amma used to make this in the pressure cooker, but I used a non stick kadai.It is a very humble dish which calls for ingredients that are available easily in every house.Wish you all a Happy New year and may this year bring in all the joy.

Carrot Halwa Recipe- Ingredients

Red Carrots - 1 cup grated (about 250 grams of carrot)
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Milk - 3/4 cup
Cashew - 10
Ghee - 2 tbsp

Method:

1. Heat 1 tsp ghee in a kadai , fry the cashews and keep it aside.In the same kadai add some more ghee and add the grated carrots and saute well till raw smell leaves.
2. Now add the the milk and cook till all the milk is absorbed.You can add the sugar and stir well till it mixes well with the carrot and milk .Stir till everything comes together and reaches the halwa consistency
3. Garnish with roasted cashews and serve hot or cold.It tastes great when served with vanila icecream(Yum).

My Notes:

• You can reduce the amount of sugar if the carrots are sweet.
• Using condensed milk enhances the taste, you can reduce the milk to 1/2 cup and add 2 tbsp of condenced milk.
• You are free to add kesar colour if you want your halwa to be bright.(I didn't)
• We can try this halwa with regular carrots but colour may differ.