Chakara Pongal

On the auspicious day of Pongal, celebrated as the "Harvest Festival" in Tamil Nadu, Chakara Pongal is a must-make dish for the festival. My husband is a big fan of any dish made with vellam(Jaggery) and as this is one easy-to-make food, I can make it in a jiffy. Here is the recipe for all the Jaggery lovers.

Preparation Time:20 mins ( rice and dal cooking time)

Cooking Time:20 mins

Ingredients:

• Jaggery - 2 big pieces or 8 small pieces (We get jaggery here in a box with about 16 pieces or so)
• Rice - 1 cup
• Moong Dal - 1/3 cup
• Ghee - as needed
• Water - 1/2 cup
• Cashews and Raisins - As needed

Procedure:

1. First wash the rice with water and keep it for 15 mins. Same with Moong dal too.
2. Pour water to the ratio of 2:1 rice and 1:1/3 ratio for moong dal.
3. Keep it in a pressure cook and electric cooker and let it get done.
4. While its near to getting done, boil water(1 cup) in a vessel. When it is boiling add Jaggery pieces and melt it. The jaggery should dissolve completely in the water and become of string consistency.
5. When the rice is done, mash it, and when the jaggery is also of the right texture, mix the rice-dal to the jaggery liquid.
6. Mix thoroughly. Add ghee to this as needed to get a better texture and taste.
7. Heat ghee in a small vessel, add cashews and raisins to this. When it tempers, add them to the final pongal.

Tips:

• For those calorie conscious people, you can use brown sugar instead of jaggery too .

Jhangiri

Preparation time:4 hours
Makes 15
Cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredient:

Urad dal - 1 cup
Sugar - 500 gm
Rice flour - 3 tsp
Orange food color - a pinch
Safforn (optional)
Water
Oil

Procedure:

1.Soak the urad dal for 4 to 5 hours.
2.Grind smoothly to form a paste,without adding water. If it is very difficult to grind, water can be sprinked.
3.Mix rice flour and orange color with the grinded paste.
4.Prepare sugar syrup by heating 500ml of water with sugar.
5.When the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add saffron.
6.Take a small plastic bag, make a hole in it.
7.Heat oil in a pan.
8.Stuff the paste in the plastic bag and squeeze it directly in oil to form jhangiri .Fry in medium flame.
9.When jhangiri turns dark orange ,remove them and add in sugar syrup.

Jhangiri  will be ready to eat in half an hour.

Note:  A thin skewer can be heated for a second in flame to make the hole in plastic bag.
          The number of jhangiri depends upon the quality of urad dal.

Gulab Jamun

Preparation time:10 mins
Makes 30 balls
Cooking time: 25 mins

Ingredient:

Gulab jamun powder - 250 gm
Sugar- 700 gm
Cardamom powder-1/4 tsp
Saffroon- a pinch(optional)
Oil
Ghee
Water

Procedure:

1.Sieve the powder and make sure there are no lumps in it.
2.Add 3/4 cup of water and make a smooth dough.
3.Allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
4.Prepare sugar syrup by heating 750ml of water with sugar.
5.When the sugar dissolves, remove from heat and add cardomom powder and saffron.
6.Make small and smooth balls from the dough.
7.Fry in ghee or oil.
8.When the balls turn golden brown , remove from oil and allow it to rest for 3 minutes.
9.Add thsese fried balls in syrup.
Jamuns will be ready in four hours.

Note: Jamuns can be fried in oil or ghee or equal amount of both.

Sabudhana Kheer/ Jow arisi payasam

Preparation time:2 mins
Makes 2 cups
Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredient:

Milk - 2 1/2 cups
Sugar- 10 tsp
Cardamom powder- 1/4 tsp
Raisins - 2 tsp
Cashewnuts - 7
Ghee   - 1 tsp
Jow arisi (Sabudhana/tapioca pearls)- 5 tsp

Procedure:

1.Heat ghee in a pan , fry cahewnuts and raisins and keep aside.
2.Boil milk and add soaked jow arisi  in it.
3.When jow arisi becomes tranparents,its cooked.
4.Add sugar and cardamom powder.
5.Boil until you get desired consitancy.
6.Add fried nuts and raisins.
Garnish with Pistachios

Note : Jow arisi can be soaked for 10 minutes to half an hour.

Rava Ladoo

Preparation time:2 mins
Makes 10 balls
Cooking time: 15 mins

Ingredient:

Semolina - 1 cup
Sugar - 1 cup
Raisins - 2 tsp
Cashewnuts - 7
Cardamom powder - 1/4 tsp
Ghee    - 4 tsp

Procedure:

1.Heat ghee in a pan , fry cahewnuts and raisins and keep aside.
2.Heat ghee in same pan and fry semolina, until nice aroma comes out.
3.Now add sugar and mix until it becomes sticky.
4.Remove the pan from heat and add cardamom powder and fried raisins and nuts.
5.Make small balls and allow it to cool.