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Monday, October 22, 2007

Aval Sarkkarai Pongal---RCI Tamil Festivals

The clock was ticking and with the passage of each day, I was getting nervous that I still had not found a recipe for RCI-Tamil Festivals, hosted by Viji of Vcuisine. I had promised her that I would not disappoint her, and every time I saw her post her entry for the event, I knew that it was high time I did something. So I started going through a lot of websites and blogs related to Tamil cuisine. I also searched Viji's blog for some recipes and realized that a lot of them were already posted for the event. Finally, I came across a couple of recipes that I liked and which I had never tried before. The final choice was made by hubby dear, which made my work easier, or else I would have spent another week trying to decide which one to make, and then I wouldn't have made it in time (not a very good thing) ;)
The recipe that I finally made is called 'Aval Sarkkarai Pongal' and I have taken this recipe from Menu Today. Pongal is a Tamil festival that is celebrated four days and generally falls in the month of January and it marks the favorable course of the sun. We know this as Makar Sankrant. More about Pongal here and here. Traditionally, Sarkkarai Pongal is made on the second day of Pongal known as 'Surya Pongal'. The word 'Ponga' means 'boil' and so 'Pongal' means 'that which is overflowing'. This dish is offered to the Sun God as thanks giving for the plentiful harvest. Sarkkarai Pongal is normally made with newly harvested rice and moong dal. Check the recipe here. The recipe that I tried involved Aval or Poha and that got me interested in it. It is very easy and quick to make and the texture of the Poha goes so well with the combo. I made my own variations to the original recipe and I made this for Dassera as neivadyam. This is going straight to Viji for RCI-Tamil Festivals.


Ingredients:(serves 2)
1 cup Thin Poha (Flattened rice)
3/4 cup Jaggery (grated)
A few pineapple chunks (i used frozen pineapple cubes that I got from Trader's Joe)
1 tsp Tup (ghee)
Few cashews
1/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/8 tsp kesar (saffron)
Grated coconut for garnish (optional)

Method:
Wash the Poha twice and then drain the water. In a kadhai, heat the ghee and fry the cashews. Remove and keep aside. Now to this kadhai, add the jaggery (The original recipe asks to soak the jaggery in water and then use the strained water. But I skipped this step and directly added the grated jaggery to the kadhai.) Let the jaggery melt and form into a thick syrup. Once you have the syrup, add the pineapple cubes to it and cook for a few minutes. Next, add the washed and drained poha. Mix well. I mashed the poha a little with the back of the ladle. Finally add the cardamom powder, kesar and fried cashews to the mixture. Garnish with grated coconut and serve hot!

The Verdict: This is a keeper recipe. The color of this dish is so enticing and the combo of jaggery and poha along with pineapple is heavenly!

Coming up: Something with Peach! :)

28 comments:

FH said...

Great entry. Sweet pongal looks yum!:))

Sharmi said...

very delicious looking and tempting! never heard of aval sakkarai pongal so bookmarking this. very lovely pic of mandir!

Finla said...

Yummy. I have never had them with pineapple chunks. It really looks so sweet i would love to get my hands on it :-)

Laavanya said...

Wow this looks very good. The addition of pineapple chunks must've been tasty and different. Am sure my husband will love this.

Apple said...

Lovely Recipe with Aval...looks so pretty with grated coconut and pineapples on top..

Siri said...

Yummy and Divine recipe indeed dear..:D love the pic of ur mandir.. lovely entry.:D

-Siri

Swaruchy said...

Looks very divine Tee......Its a nice mandir u got dear....loved it :-)

musical said...

Lovely recipe and great picture! Mandir is looking really pretty! i am still thinking about my entry.

Rina said...

Sekkarai Pongal looks so yummy, I have the same lined up for Diwali event.

Richa said...

that is one lovely combo, poha, jaggery & pineapple, so unique!
bookmark keli hee recipe :)
beautiful pics :) tu mazhi next post sathi utsukta vadhavlees ;)

Rajitha said...

looks great...now i want something sweet!!

remya said...

lovely dish....looks divine..

Suganya said...

Go on Tee. You rock on ;)

Pravs said...

oh so yummy aval sarkkarai pongal. Love jaggery sweetened sweets. I will def try this..so tempting.

Red Chillies said...

What a great recipe and that too poha and pineapple. BTW in your last photo for a second I thought you had placed "Ganapathi bappa" on the pongal but then realised it was cashew and pineapple :-)

TBC said...

I like anything with pineapple in it. In addition, this has jagerry too...yum, yum, yum!
Nice entry, Tee:-)

Viji said...

Tee, I have no words to express. Lovely and different entry. You will never go wrong with MT's measurement. She is too good in authentic recipes. Thank you. Viji

Namratha said...

Sweet pongal looks yummy!

Padma said...

Pongal looks divine. Hey you have a nice pooja place, Is that Maharaj Swami Samarth's Photo next to Ganapati? I too have one and a firm believer of Swami Samarth guruji!

TheCooker said...

pohe-gool-ananas combo: pharach chaan :) Diwalit nakki try kareen.

Menu Today said...

Hi,

Your version looks better than mine.
Adding Pineapple is great idea!!!

Laavanya said...

Hi Tee, I've tagged you for a meme... :)
Btw, waiting for your 'Peach-something'

Sonali said...

You better yourself everytime and with each entry. Great recipe. Amazing photos.

Ti said...

i never hear about this food but its look yummy.

Seena said...

I like jaggery, and would make without pineapple..it is new..will try it..

Dori said...

This sounds so good...all the yummiest flavors!!!

SeeC said...

The picture is absolutely awesome.
I am gonna try this tonight...i dont have pineapple...but will use raisins instead.
Thanks for sharing

SeeC said...

Hi Tee, I tried this in MW with raisins and turned out very well. Thanks :)