Andhra Chakkara Pongali Recipe (Sweet Pongal with Sugar & Milk)
Traditional Andhra style Chakkara Pongali (sweet pongal) prepared with raw rice, chana dal, milk, sugar and ghee.
Servings: 3
Ingredients
1 cup – 250ml
- ½ cup Raw rice (approx. 100g / 3.5 oz) (Use good quality Sona Masoori)
- 1 ½ tbsp Chana dal or Moong dal (approx. 20g / 0.7 oz)
- ¾ cup Sugar (approx. 150g / 5.3 oz)
- 3 tbsp Ghee (approx. 45 ml / 1.5 fl oz)
- 2 tbsp Grated coconut or dry coconut powder (approx. 15g / 0.5 oz)
- 5 nos Cashew nuts
- 1 tbsp Dry grapes (raisins)
- ¼ tsp Cardamom powder
- ½ cup Milk (approx. 120 ml / 4 fl oz)
- 2 cups Water (approx. 480 ml / 16 fl oz)
- a pinch Salt
Instructions
- Wash the rice and keep aside. Heat 2 tsp ghee in a cooker base. Roast the chana dal till golden with nice smell.
- Add 2 cups of water, washed rice and a pinch of salt. Mix well and cook for 2 to 3 whistles in low flame. Dal won't become mushy. It should be visible in the mashed rice.
- Add sugar, milk, cardamom powder and freshly grated coconut or dry coconut powder.
- Mix well and boil in low flame for 5 minutes. Make sure bottom is not burnt. Mix whenever needed.
- Remove when it's semi solid and keep aside. Roast the chopped nuts and dry grapes in the remaining 2.5 tbsp ghee. Roast till dry grapes puff up and cashew becomes golden.
- Add to the pongal. Mix well. If the pongal is too thick, add some boiled milk and bring to the desired consistency. You can reheat this pongal adding little water or milk and serve it after the pooja. It tastes fresh and good when served hot. Andhra style chakkara pongali is ready. Try this for festivals and enjoy !
Video
Notes
- For variations, you can add moong dal instead of chana dal.
- You can pressure cook the rice and dal adding milk instead of water. In that case, you should add nearly 3 cups of milk.
- Cardamom powder is a must. You can also add few saffron threads to make it rich.
- My neighbor told me to cook rice and dal in a pot adding milk. But I cooked them in a pressure cooker to save time.