It’s time for Pongal celebration, let me share something more along with a Pongal recipe. Pongal, a tamilian festival, celebrated by Tamilians all over the world. I would say it’s a tamilian Thanksgiving Festival. Pongal celebrated for four days, already I have shared about these four days celebration.

Let me share something related with today’s life, and this comes under the first day celebration and so called as “BHOGI”. On this day people discard the old belongings and assemble at dawn to light a bonfire in order to burn the discards. Also on that day the houses are cleaned, painted and decorated to give a festive look.

As of now to today’s lifestyle, we don’t paint the house or light bonfire and burn the discards. But we tend to clean the houses, cleaning the houses doesn’t mean only dusting, it means a lot – the most irritating thing are the cockroaches. Even when you crush them, they come back to you or scroll here and there all over the house. The most important place is the kitchen, where they reside. Not only on Pongal, but I use to clean the whole house or at least kitchen once in every month. As they run here and there all over the kitchen in the nights, nowadays the kitchen needs to be cleaned at least once in a week, as these cockroaches leads to food poisoning and further develops to a flu and then to a disease.

It’s better to spray Lal HIT(the red one), a product from Godrej – to kill the cockroaches, even the hidden ones. Once you are done with regular cleaning of utensils and moping of kitchen, spray the Godrej LAL HIT into sink, under gas cylinder and refrigerator at night. Its unique deep reach nozzle would help you reach every nook and corner of the kitchen. Now, sleep peacefully as it would kill all the cockroaches, even the hidden one.

Stay away from Cockroaches which causes food poisoning and later develops to a disease, which spoils your health, happiness and peace. #SayNoToFoodPoisoning

Now let me move on to the next day – Pongal. People celebrate by preparing Pongal and offer it to Sun God. As of today’s trend I prepared Pongal with few variety of millets along with green gram dal, jaggery, milk and ghee. Let us move on to the recipe…

Wish you all a happy and prosperous Pongal – PONGAL O PONGAL

Mixed Millets Pongal (sweet Pongal)

Mixed Millets Pongal

Mixed Millets Pongal

Ingredients:

• Millets (varagu, samai, kuthiravalli, thinai) – 1 ½ cups
• Green gram dal/Moong dal/Paasiparuppu – ¾ cup
• Jaggery (crushed) – 1 ¼ cups
• Milk – ½ litre
• Ghee/Clarified Butter – 4 tbsp
• Cashew nuts – 15 nos
• Raisins – 10 nos
• Grated coconut – ½ cup
• Salt – ¼ tsp

Millets and green gram dal together

All together

Getting cooked in ghee/clarified butter

Getting boiled with milk and water

Pressure-cooked

With milk and water

With jaggery

With grated coconut

With roasted nuts

Cashew nuts and raisins getting fried in ghee/clarified butter

Mixed Millets Pongal

Mixed Millets Pongal

Preparation:

• Clean and wash all the millets and green gram dal together, drain the water and keep it aside.
• Heat 2 tsp of ghee in a pressure-cooker, add in the cleaned millets and dal. Cook for few mins or until a good aroma comes out.
• Pour in ¼ litre of milk along with ¾ litre of water, sprinkle the salt, let it boil, cover with the lid and pressure-cook for 3 whistles (it should be mashed).
• Heat a tbsp. of ghee in a heavy bottomed vessel, transfer this pressure-cooked millets to it.
• Pour in the leftover milk and a cup of water, let it boil for 5 mins (It should come to mashing consistency).
• Add in the crushed jaggery and continue stirring it in low flame.
• Meanwhile, heat the leftover ghee in a kadai, cook the cashew nuts and raisins, until it turns golden brown.
• Add in the grated coconut to the millets, and continue stirring and cook for few more mins.
• Pour in ¾ th portion of the cashew nuts and raisins, to the millets along with the ghee, stir it well in low flame until the ghee gets blend well with the Pongal.
• Remove from fire and transfer it to another vessel.

Serve hot by topping the leftover fried cashew nuts and raisins.

Do check out my other pongal recipes in this link: https://madraasi.com/2015/01/14/pongal-recipes-wish-you-all-a-happy-pongal-with-madraasi/

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