Pongal 2023: Makar Sankranti is falling’luxurious‘The month of the Hindu calendar, when the sun begins its journey towards the north. This is a great opportunity for foodies to get all kinds of sweets from all over India during this time solstice The festivities are largely related to food and harvest traditions. pee in Bengal Til jaggery laddoos in Maharashtra and Karnataka, and for Pongal in Tamil Nadu. The harvest festival celebrated in the south is called Pongal. word in tamilpong‘ means ‘to boil’ or ‘to spill’. In this article we will talk about Pongal (South Indian festival – festive food with the same name as Pongal).Pongal Bhojanam‘ (Pongal lunch meal) recipe, and the significance of the four-day-long celebration in the South.
Pongal, also known as Thai Pongal, is celebrated on the day the sun begins to move north, similar to the popular harvest festival of the north – Makar Sankranti. time is called uttarayanam and is considered auspicious.
first day,enjoyerCelebrated on the last day of the month of ‘,’.Margazhi, On this day people buy new utensils and people clean and decorate their house. Also, there is a tradition of ‘burning’ things considered old to make room for new things. the second day is calledPerum Pongal‘, in which people worship Lord Surya Sun, Devotees decorate the central courtyard of their house beautifully kolams, is made of rice flour and encased in red clay. On this day people make Chakra Pongal (sweet Pongal dish) with newly harvested rice and jaggery early in the morning at sunrise, which is precisely the time when the new month is born.
it’s the third dayMattu Pongal’, in which cattle that help farmers in farming are worshipped. On this day the cows are bathed and decorated with vermilion and garlands and well fed. The fourth and last day is calledKannam Pongal, This is the part of the festival when families gather on the banks of the river and enjoy scrumptious food together. Apart from this, people also perform many traditional dances like kummi And kolattam, There is also a tradition of cooking newly harvested grain for the first time on this day. Filled with the rich and everlasting flavor of all festive food prepared for the auspicious occasion of Pongal.
Pongal Recipes: Here we are telling you about some such recipes which are a part of Pongal recipes.Pongal Sapad‘ either ‘Pongal Bhojanam‘ (Pongal lunch):
Food consists of sweet and salty Pongal, dry vegetable (Poriyal / Palya)vegetable gravy (Kuzhambu/Kura)Delicious pakodas, spicy salads, papads and pickles.
These dishes are usually made during Pongal, but can be made on the occasion of other festivals as well. The food is traditionally eaten on a banana leaf. Traditionally, eating on a banana leaf has immense health benefits.
1. Mendu Wada
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 25 minutes
material:
- White Urad Dal – 1 cup (soaked for 2 hours)
- Ginger – 1 (1 inch size)
- Green chili – 1 (finely chopped)
- Coriander leaves – small bunch (finely chopped)
Way
1. Soak the urad dal for about 2 hours. Filter the water from urad dal.
2. Now grind the lentils and ginger in a blender until you get a smooth batter. While grinding the lentils, keep in mind that you add some water. Take out the batter in a bowl.
3. To make the medu vada batter, add salt, green chilies and chopped coriander leaves and mix well.
5. Keep the vada batter covered.
6. To deep fry the medu vadas, heat oil in a pan.
7. Deep fry the vadas and serve hot and crispy.
2. Puzhi Kozhambu
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
material:
- Fenugreek seeds – 1/2 tsp
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- 1 sprig curry leaves, roughly torn
- Sambar Onion – 1/2 cup (cut into quarters)
- Tomato – 2 (not finely chopped)
- Elephant Yam (Senai Kizhangu) – 200 grams (peeled and chopped)
- Tamarind water – 1 cup
- Sambar powder – 1 tsp
- Jaggery – 1 tbsp
- Gingelly o – 1 tsp
- salt to taste
Way
1. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat; Add mustard seeds and fenugreek seeds to it and let them crackle.
2. Add curry leaves and onions and fry till onions are soft. When the onions are lightly cooked, add the remaining ingredients and ½ cup of water.
3. Cover the vessel and cook till the ingredients become soft and switch off the flame.
3. Thir Pachadi
Prep Time: 10 minutes
material
- Curd – 200 grams
- Onion – 2 (cut into cubes)
- Tomato – 2 (cut into cubes)
- Green chili – 2 (cut into small pieces)
- curry leaves, coriander leaves
- salt to taste
- Ghee – 1 tsp
- Mustard seeds
Way
1. Put ghee in a vessel and heat it.
2. Add mustard seeds, curry leaves, onions, tomatoes and green chillies and fry lightly.
3. Switch off the gas and add curd, coriander leaves and salt. Thayer Pachadi is ready to eat.
4. Avial
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
material
- Ghee – 1 tsp
- Coconut oil – 1 tbsp
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- salt to taste
- curry leaves
- coriander leaves
- All seasonal vegetables: Fresh green peas, broad beans, guar beans, carrots, beans, yams, baby yams, colocasia, sweet potatoes, potatoes, brinjals, drumsticks, raw bananas, mangoes. (Wash all the vegetables and cook them in steam.)
- Coconut – 1 whole
- small onion – 1 piece
- Green chili – 3 whole
- Ginger (1 inch)
- Cumin – 1 tsp
Way
1. Wash the vegetables and cut them into small pieces and steam them.
2. Grind coconut, shallot, green chilli, ginger and cumin to make a smooth paste.
3. Heat a teaspoon of ghee in a broad vessel, add mustard seeds and ground coconut masala. Cook them for a few minutes and then turn off the flame.
4. Add boiled vegetables, curd and washed curry leaves.
5. Lightly heat 1 tbsp coconut oil and add it to the avail, add salt, coriander leaves and serve hot.
5. Eggplant and Drumstick Sambar
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cooking Time: 10 minutes
material
- Toor Dal – 1 cup (boiled soft)
- Tamarind – equal to 1 small lemon (take out the pulp with 1 glass of water)
- Brinjal – 2 (cut lengthwise and cook in steam)
- Drumstick – 2 (cut into 3 cm length and cook in steam)
- Tomato – 2 (cut into cubes)
- 1 onion – cut into cubes
- Curry leaves – 12
- Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp
- Turmeric – 1/2 tsp
- Samar powder – 3 tbsp
- salt to taste
- Ghee – 2 tsp
- Mustard seeds – 1 tsp
- Asafoetida – 1/4 tsp
Way
1. Soak and cook toor dal for six hours.
2. Heat ghee in a vessel, add mustard seeds to it. Now add onion and curry leaves to it and fry it well in low flame. Add tomatoes and fry till soft.
3. Add asafoetida, turmeric powder and sambar powder and cook for a few seconds. Add tamarind pulp water, let it boil and add cooked and mashed dal, steamed drumstick and brinjal.
4. Let the sambar boil for another three minutes and then add coriander leaves and a little hing. Add salt as per your taste. Take it off the flame and serve it with hot rice.
6. Sweet Pongal
Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 30 minutes
material
- Rice – 1 cup
- Green gram dal – 1/3 cup
- Powdered jaggery – 1-1/2 cups
- Water – 5 cups
- Cashew – 1 tbsp
- Ghee – 1/4 cup
- Raisins – 1 tbsp
- Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp
Way
1. Fry the gram dal in a pan till it turns light brown.
2. Wash and soak the roasted lentils with rice for an hour.
3. Sieve the dal and rice.
4. Boil three cups of water and add dal and rice.
4. Cook for about 10 minutes.
5. Take a shallow pan and add ½ cup more jaggery. Melt the jaggery in it.
6. Remove the scum by filtering it and heat it once again till it thickens.
7. Now add the cooked rice-dal mixture and keep it on medium flame for a few minutes.
8. Fry cashews and raisins separately in ghee. Mix it in cooked pongal and add cardamom powder to it.
9. Your sweet Pongal is ready to eat.
Happy Pongal, everyone!
(Author’s Profile: The author is an expert in Ayurvedic cooking from The Art of Living and author of the popular work – ‘Sattva The Ayurvedic Cook Book’.)
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