Varagu sakkarai pongal/Kodo millet sweet pongal is a healthy pongal to try for sure. Happy Pongal to all my readers. Let health & happiness overflow 🙂 Pongal-o-Pongal !!
Thanks to my friend Mrs.Revathi Prabahar, who avidly bought & meticulously brought this cute lil pot all the way from India, just for me 🙂
Click here for varagu venpongal recipe. Click here for more Pongal special recipes.
varagu sakkarai pongal recipe – Stepwise pics follow the below printable description:
- Kodo millet/varagarisi - ½ cup
- Moong dal/paasi parupu - 2 tbsp
- Water - 2 cups
- Jaggery - ¾ cup tightly packed
- Water - ½ cup
- Cardamom powder - ⅛ tsp
- Ghee - 1 tbsp
- Cashews - 10
- Raisins - 10
- Grated coconut - 2 tbsp
- Milk - ¼ cup
- Ghee - 2 tsp
- Dry roast 2 tbsp moong dal(paasi parupu) in low flame until color changes mildly. Take ½ cup kodo millet along with roasted moong dal in a bowl.
- Wash twice or thrice. Transfer the millet and dal to a pressure cooker, leaving the sand/stones settled in the water.
- Add 2 cups water and pressure cook in high flame(knob #8) for 3 whistles.
- Stir once. If you like mashed pongal, then just mash it well with ladle. In a pan, add ¾ cup jaggery along with ½ cup water.
- Add a generous pinch of cardamom powder and let it boil until jaggery dissolves well. Filter the syrup for impurities.
- Add filtered syrup to pongal.
- Add a tsp of ghee and cook in medium flame for 10 mins. Then, add ¼ cup milk(this is optional).
- Again add a tsp of ghee to pongal and cook in low flame for 5 mins. In a separate pan, add a tbsp of ghee and fry cashews & raisins. Take off raisins as soon as it puffs up. Take off cashews once slightly browned.
- Keep aside fried cahews and raisins. In the same pan, in remaining ghee, add 2 tbsp grated coconut and fry for a minute.
- Add ghee-fried coconut, cashews and raisins to varagu pongal.
2.If you want your pongal to be grainy, then reduce ½ cup water and opt for 2 whistles.
3.If you don't like milkish pongal taste, pls skip milk.
4. The color of pongal depends upon jaggery color. Get deep-colored jaggery(paagu vellam) for thick color.
Preparation – How to make varagu sakkarai pongal?
1.Dry roast 2 tbsp moong dal(paasi parupu) in low flame until color changes mildly. Take 1/2 cup varagarisi(kodo millet) along with roasted moong dal in a bowl.2.Wash twice or thrice. Transfer the millet and dal to a pressure cooker, leaving the sand/stones settled in the water.
3.Add 2 cups water and pressure cook in high flame(knob #8) for 3 whistles.
4.Stir once. If you like mashed pongal, then just mash it well with ladle. In a pan, add 3/4 cup jaggery along with 1/2 cup water.
5.Add a generous pinch of cardamom powder and let it boil until jaggery dissolves well. Filter the syrup for impurities.
6.Add filtered syrup to pongal.
7.Add a tsp of ghee and cook in medium flame for 10 mins. Then, add 1/4 cup milk(this is optional).
8.Again add a tsp of ghee to pongal and cook in low flame for 5 mins. In a separate pan, add a tbsp of ghee and fry cashews & raisins. Take off raisins as soon as it puffs up. Take off cashews once slightly browned.
9.Keep aside fried cahews and raisins. In the same pan, in remaining ghee, add 2 tbsp grated coconut and fry for a minute.
10.Add ghee-fried coconut, cashews and raisins to varagu pongal.
                 Kodo millet sweet pongal is ready.. Serve hot or warm..
Tips/Tricks in making varagu sakkarai pongal:
- If you want the moong dal to be slightly crunchy in your pongal, then roast it till mild color change. If you want it to be mashed, then roast for 1 minute and remove before color changes.
- If you want your pongal to be grainy, then reduce 1/2 cup water and opt for 2 whistles.
- If you don’t like milkish pongal taste, pls skip milk.
- The color of pongal depends upon jaggery color. Get deep-colored jaggery(paagu vellam) for thick color.
Nutritional Benefits in varagu sakkarai pongal
Kodo Millet/Varagu – Protein, Vitamins B, Fibre, Iron, Calcium, Phosphorus & other minerals
Split yellow moong gram – Proteins, Dietary Fiber, vitamin B, Potassium, Calcium, Folates, Magnesium, Manganese, Phosphorous, Zinc, other minerals and essential amino acids
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