Chakkara Pongal

I remember my childhood days when my mom used to give us Chakkara Pongal as prasadam after her Friday puja. We used to wait patiently for her to finish the puja so that we could taste the ghee flowing chakkara pongal...

My mother in law also makes it very well and she makes it as a dessert for large family gatherings.

Ingredients:
Rice – 1 cup
Yellow Moong Dhal – ¼ cup
Jaggery – 2 ½ cups
Water – 3 ½ cups
Milk – 1 cup
Cashew nuts – a few
Raisins – a few

Ghee - 4 tablespoons
Saffron – a few strands (optional)

Procedure:
Mix the rice and the dhal and pressure cook them with the water and milk till the rice is really soft.
Fry the cashews in 1 teaspoon ghee and keep it aside.
Add the cooked rice and dhal to the kadai along with the powdered Jaggery. Keep stirring continuously.
Soak the saffron in 1 tablespoon of hot milk.
Add 3 - 4 tablespoons of ghee, fried cashews and saffron and mix well.
Remove from the kadai and serve hot.