Indian festive traditions: Pongal | Chicago Loves Panini

This week, I am averting the winter blues and I am staying warm and comfortable (against the freezing cold outside, brrrr!) by making one of India’s most famous celebratory desserts, with a special meaning and a thought-provoking symbolism: Sweet Pongal.

Indeed, while here we are still in the midst of winter, in South Asia, nature begins to awaken: “As the cold winter days give way to the promise of spring, India lights up with the vibrant celebrations of its harvest festivals—Lohri in Punjab, Makar Sankranti in North India, and Pongal in Tamil Nadu. These festivals mark the agrarian community’s gratitude for an abundant harvest and are celebrated with distinctive rituals, music, and, most importantly, food” (hindustantimes.com)

I am a big fan of Indian cuisines, and I occasionally re-post relevant recipes on my blog and my Instagram channel. Hebbar’s Kitchen is one of my favorite sites, and I was excited to see that Archana (who manages the site with her husband Sudarshan) had just published a Sweet Pongal Temple Style recipe.

As Archana explains, Sweet Pongal “is a traditional rich and creamy South Indian dessert recipe made with a combination of rice and moong dal with the sweetness of jaggery. Sweet Pongal, or the most commonly known as Chakkara Pongal or Sakkarai Pongal, is a Tamil Cuisine delicacy. It is typically prepared during the Makara Sankranti or Pongal festival and served as a Prasadam with other festival delicacies.”

According to Archana, “There are many different ways to make this simple, Sweet Pongal Recipe. The traditional Sakkarai Pongal is made with a simple combination of rice, moong dal, jaggery and ghee with cardamom toppings. It can be extended by adding coconut to make it rich and creamy. Further, the rice can be skipped, and thick Poha can be added to make it a rice-free ponga recipe. Lastly, you can use a range of millets and broken wheat if you need a healthy variant.”

Archana does use coconut in her recipe, which I didn’t have. As per her recommendation, I also replaced jaggery with brown sugar, which I made in-house by adding 1 tbsp blackstrap molasses to 1 cup granulated sugar. I made Pongal on the stove top, mixing the moong dal and the rice gently from time to time, allowing the rice to release its starchy creaminess little by little. I was amazed by the ensuing luxurious texture. No milk, but plenty of ghee along with plump raisins, cloves, freshly ground cardamom and candied cashews coated in the molasses sugar syrup, came together to deliver spoonful upon spoonful of decadent wholesome sweetness, echoes of a blissful harvest in the midst of winter.

I thought of Sweet Pongal while driving in my car this morning. Snowflakes were coming thick and fast, clumped together, falling off the trees on my path, beaten by the winds. And yet, my mind was someplace else, in fields of clear blue skies and fresh harvests enmeshed in the beauty of community and belonging. I started laughing as a snowblower drove past me and left a thick layer of powdery snowflakes on my windshield. Me, happy at 10 degrees F?

The days and nights are snowy now, but soon enough, the journey will resonate with sunshine. In the meantime, a bowl of Sweet Pongal is all that’s needed to quench my thirst for joy and summer. I am laughing at you, winter, and I am loving you – unexpectedly.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep,

But I have promises to keep,

And miles to go before I sleep,

and miles to go before I sleep” – Robert Frost, Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

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