Pongala Payasam/ Chakkara Pongal/ Sweet Rice and Dhal Pudding

I found this recipe posted by Indianadoc last year when searching for naivedyam or holy offering to eat on Attukal Pongala. I decided to make this for Pongal this year. Pongal is a porridge made of rice and dhal with a choice of spices, nuts, herbs, fruits or vegetables. If it is salty it is VenPongal (meaning white pongal), if it is sweet it is ChakkaraPongal (or sweet pongal). Usually chakkarapongal is a brownish color from the use of jaggery, a type of raw brown sugar.

The original recipe for pongalapayasam shared by Indianadoc has coconut, which I think would be definitely added for Attukal Pongala, being a Kerala festival and the love for coconut has no bounds in God’s Own Country!! If you like to add shredded coconut, that can also be done, though this recipe has omitted that ingredient.

Ingredients:

3/4 cup Rice
3/4 cup Split moong dal
4 cubes Jaggery grated into 1 cup water (maybe ¼ cup powdered jaggery, if jaggery is not available use brown sugar or white sugar)
2 Bananas - small diced (1 to 1 ½ cup)
1/2 cup Cashew nut crushed
1/2 cup Raisins
1 cup Milk
3 tbspn Ghee (or butter)

Method:
1. Wash and rinse rice and moong dhal in water.

2. Slow cook the rice and dhal in 3 cups plain water, uncovered on medium heat.

3. While this is happening grate jaggery into one cup water. Stir this water and add to pot.

4. Cut the banana and add to pot.

5. In a separate frying pan, heat ghee and add the cashews and raisins to it, making it golden brown. Add this to pot.

6. Take ½ cup of the milk add to the pan to rinse ghee from frying pan. Add to pan.

7. Boil all items together until they are like a porridge. Dhal will appear to dissolve in the mix. Rice will soften and become mushy. During this process if too much water is boiling out, add ¼ cup at a time.

8. When it is done the mix should be pudding –like. It should not be a mass. It should not burn to the bottom of the pan. Take off flame and let sit so the flavors can mix. After ½ hour should be ready to eat. At this point, to moisten it add the remaining ½ cup milk- warmed.

**I have given this recipe label of low salt. I have not added any salt to this recipe. The salt would enter if the ghee/butter or nuts used have salt.

Total time to cook 30-45 minutes

Servings 10-12 (estimates – ½ cup servings)

Related Posts/Sites:
This recipe inspired by the one posted by Indianadoc in her blog post, Indian Potpourri-Recipes,Culture,Ethnicity: Naivedyam
Celebrating the Feminine Divine: Attukal Pongala in Kerala
Pongal Menu and Recipes list

Homemade Paneer

By: Jennifer Kumar

Yesterday, for the first time, I made homemade paneer, which is homemade cheese cubes.

For those who are wondering, "What is paneer, exactly?" I have an answer for you!
Paneer is tasty, fluffy cheese. It is similar to mozzarella but doesn't melt on pizza like mozzarella would. It is a cheese made in homes mostly in North India with milk and lemon juice. I prefer to substitute vinegar for lemon juice. I have never used lemon juice.

How is paneer eaten?
Once set, it will be fried. Some people like to eat plain, fried paneer. It is very tasty.
It can be added to many dishes, like palak paneer (spinach puree with cheese cubes), shahi paneer or paneer butter masala (onion cashew gravy with cheese cubes), matter paneer (peas and cheese cubes with gravy), paneer fried rice, and others I have yet to learn, also!

I used to purchase ready made paneer from the Indian store and thaw or fry. But, the taste was not really nice as I would like to have. So, I began to ask shop keepers and Indian friends how to make paneer. I was not given a recipe and proper method, but loosely advised that for each quart of milk, 1 1/2 teaspoons of vinegar is stirred into the milk upon boil. When I did this, few curdles came, but not enough.

So, I searched for a good youtube video which helped me. Basically, it seems this guy doesn't really measure vinegar and keeps pouring little at a time until all milk curdles and the curdles separate from the milk and the liquid left looks slightly greenish or yellowish.

It turns out by the time I got this consistency, about 3-4 teaspoons of vinegar were added. See the helpful video below. Look below the video for update recipe for homemade paneer with details and method!

April 18, 2009
Today I made paneer again. This is how I did it-

1/3 gallon milk (roughly)
2 tablespoons vinegar (or more)

Place milk in a pan and heat.
As it begins to boil, when the froth forms, turn off heat and put in a little vinegar.
What I usually do is take a spoon, stir milk and pour vinegar from the bottle in a thin stream until milk begins to curdle.
The curds will separate from milk, the whey or yellowish water will separate from curds.
Place cheese cloth or old, clean cotton sari or dhoti fabric in a strainer, strain the whey from curds.
Do not throw away the whey. What can be done with paneer water, or whey? Read below.
Press the curds in cheese cloth between two heavy objects and in such a way the moisture will drain from the curds, so that after an hour or so you will have a thick round piece of paneer.
Cut the paneer into cubes and fry in two- three tablespoons hot oil.

Paneer is now ready for your favorite dish or eat hot, fried cheese curds now! YUM!

Ever wonder what to eat palak paneer with? Eat with plain rice, roti, paratha or....rice pilaf. Make a rice pilaf with the left over paneer whey water.

Here's a recipe for Peas Pullao made with paneer water!!

Photos of mouthwatering paneer before and after frying

Delicious Living Magazine - How to Make Cheese in Less than One Hour