A warm, soul warming dessert made with pearl barley and mung dal, sweetened with earthy jaggery and laced with fragrant ghee, this sweet pongal is every bit as delicious as it is nutritious.
You will need:
Pearl barley - ¾ cup, washed and drained
Mung dal - ¼ cup
Water - 3 cups
Jaggery - 1 cup, grated and lightly packed
Milk - ¼ cup
Cardamom powder - ½ tsp
Ginger powder (chukku podi) - ⅛ tsp
Salt - a small pinch
Ghee - 4 tbsp, divided
Cashew nuts - 12
Golden raisins - 12
How to:
Heat a deep pot or pressure cooker on medium heat. Dry roast the mung dal for a few minutes till you get a nutty aroma.
Add barley and water to the pot. If using a pressure cooker, cook for 3 whistles on medium-high heat and allow the pressure to be released naturally before opening the lid. If you are using an open pot, cook till the grains are very soft.
While grains are cooking, take the grated jaggery in a small saucepan and add ¼ cup of water. Dissolve the jaggery in water over medium heat. Set aside.
Once barley and dal get cooked, open the lid and mash the mixture lightly with a ladle. Strain the jaggery syrup right into the pot. Set the pot on the stove on medium heat and cook till jaggery gets combined with the grains and most of the liquid is absorbed.
Now add milk, cardamom powder, dried ginger powder and a pinch of salt. Bring to a gentle boil, taste and add more jaggery (or sugar) if needed.
Spoon in 3 tablespoons of ghee into the hot pongal. Pongal will be very soft and slightly glossy at this point. Remove from heat and keep covered.
Fry the cashew nuts and raisins in a tablespoon of ghee till golden brown. Add them to the hot pongal, mix and serve. Pongal can be served hot or warm. If you are refrigerating it, slightly re-heat with a few spoons of milk before serving.
Notes:
1. The same recipe can be used for rice pongal as well. Replace pearl barley with white medium-grained or short-grained rice and proceed as usual. Basmati rice is not traditionally used. 2. Jaggery can be found in Indian grocery stores. Traditionally, jaggery would have some impurities and this is why it had to be made into a syrup and strained before use. Nowadays, powdered jaggery is readily available and this can be substituted for jaggery in this recipe. Jaggery ranges in color from a deep red to golden yellow, so the color of the pongal will depend on the type of jaggery you use. If you cannot find jaggery, feel free to use brown sugar. 3. For vegans: Feel free to omit the milk in the recipe or replace it with coconut milk, and substitute ghee with a vegan alternative. Though the taste will not be the same, you will have the same soft creamy texture and get to enjoy this delicious dessert.
Recipe by At The Corner of Happy And Harried at https://www.happyandharried.com/2016/01/30/barley-chakkara-pongal-rustic-indian-pudding/