This Sweet Pongal is an easy and delicious South Indian sweet dish made with rice, moong dal, jaggery, ghee, dry fruits, and flavored with cloves, cardamom in an Instant Pot pressure cooker or Stovetop. Sweet Pongal is also known as Sakkare Pongal in Kannada, Sakkarai Pongal in Tamil, or Chakkara Pongal in Telugu.
This Sweet Pongal recipe is a popular dish in South India, especially Tamil Nadu. Sweet Pongal is made during the festival of Pongal (Makara Sankranti) or special occasions and is generally offered to god as prasadam in temples.
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Pongal is a multi-day harvest festival of South India, particularly in Tamil Nadu, that marks the first day of the sun's return journey to the northern hemisphere, widely known as Makar Sankranti in India. Typically celebrated on January 14, people prepare ven pongal and sweet pongal on this auspicious day.
If you want to make the savory version of the Pongal, check out the Instant Pot ven pongal and the thinai ven pongal (millet pongal) recipes.
You can prepare this simple and tasty sweet dish with a few ingredients like rice, moong dal, jaggery, milk, ghee, nuts, cardamom, cloves, or nutmeg. Traditionally, a pinch of edible camphor is added for additional flavor.
Interestingly, I never got to taste sakkare pongal at home, as my mother mostly made khara pongal with coriander coconut chutney during the festival. However, my aunt would always make delicious sweet pongal for Ganesh Chaturthi. I never missed a chance to grab an extra serving and savor every bite!
Today, I am sharing the one-pot sweet/sakkarai pongal prepared in an Instant Pot and stovetop pressure cooker below.
Ingredients
- Yellow Moong Dal - Use skinless split yellow moong dal.
- Rice - Traditionally, raw rice is used to make this dessert. I have used medium-grain sona masoori raw rice.
- Milk - I have used full-fat dairy milk. You can also make it with coconut milk, or almond milk, if you are a vegan, or replace milk with water. It tastes equally good.
- Jaggery (or Sugar) - The quality of the jaggery is an important factor in making a delicious sakkarai pongal. Some jaggery will give light color to the Pongal. Always use dark jaggery to get a nice brown color. I have used powdered organic jaggery. However, if you do not have organic jaggery then take a small pot, add ½ cup water, and the grated jaggery. Let the jaggery melt over low flame and use it for the recipe. If you do not have jaggery, replace it with brown or regular sugar.
- Nuts - Use roasted cashews & raisins for this sweet dessert. You can also use almonds.
- Cardamom Powder - I have used freshly ground cardamom from 3 whole green cardamom pods.
- Ghee - Adding a good quantity of homemade ghee, enhances the taste and texture of the Pongal. I highly recommend not cutting down the quantity of ghee for this recipe.
- Edible Camphor (optional) - a pinch of edible camphor (pacha karpoora) is added to get Temple-style chakkara/sweet pongal taste.
- Spices - cloves and ground nutmeg powder are added to enhance the taste. But it's optional.
How to Make Sweet Pongal in Instant Pot?
Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Heat one tablespoon of ghee. Then add 2 tablespoons cashew nuts, and saute them until they turn light golden. Then, add 2 tablespoons of raisins and fry until they swell and become plump. Remove and keep aside.
Next, add ¼ cup rinsed and drained split moong dal and roast for 30-45 seconds until the dal turns light brown or aromatic. Don't brown it.
Then add the ½ cup of rinsed sona masuri rice, 2 cloves, 1 cup of whole milk (or almond milk), and 2 cups of water. Mix well and deglaze the pot.
Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to the Sealing position. Cook on High Pressure for 9 minutes.
Once the pressure has released naturally, open the lid and mash the rice and dal mixture well.
Note: Be sure that the rice and dal are cooked entirely before adding jaggery because the rice won't cook after adding jaggery.
Turn on the SAUTE again, and add 1 cup of powdered organic jaggery with ½ cup of hot water. Mix until it blends well with the rice dal mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until it bubbles up.
Alternately, If the jaggery has impurities, take a small pot, add ½ cup of water, and add the grated jaggery. Let the jaggery melt over a low flame. Then, strain the melted jaggery syrup into the boiled dal and rice. (You do not have to boil the jaggery water until it reaches a sticky or string consistency).
Lastly, add roasted nuts, 4 tablespoons ghee, ½ teaspoon freshly ground cardamom, 1 pinch of nutmeg powder (optional), and 1 tiny pinch of edible camphor (if using). Mix well and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off. It will thicken and reach the right consistency as it cools down.
Note: If the sweet pongal is thick, add more hot water, and simmer for 1-2 minutes or till you get your desired consistency.
Serve Instant pot sweet pongal recipe hot.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Instructions
- Follow the same steps as the Instant Pot for a stovetop pressure cooker. Close the lid and put the whistle weight on. Cook for 3-4 whistles on medium flame and turn off the heat. Rest all the steps remain the same.
Serving Suggestions
Sweet pongal tastes great when served hot. Serve sakkarai pongal with ven pongal as a prasadam or dessert during the Pongal festival.
Storage Suggestions
- Fridge: Sweet Pongal tastes best when made fresh. However, leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 1-2 days.
- Reheat: When you are ready to serve, add a few tablespoons of water (or milk) to thin it and reheat it in the microwave or stovetop until warm.
- Freezer: I do not recommend freezing it as the taste, and the texture will not be the same.
Tips to make Best Sakkarai Pongal
- Roasting Moong Dal: Dry roast the mung dal for a few seconds until the dal turns light brown or aromatic. Do not brown it.
- Jaggery Color: The Chakkara Pongal's color depends on the jaggery's quality. Always use dark brown jaggery to get a nice brown color.
- Ghee: Do not compromise on the quantity of ghee. The more, the better.
- Rice Variety: Using medium-grain rice such as sona masuri is preferred to make traditional sweet pongal.
- Consistency: Sweet Pongal thickens a little on cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat them in a microwave or on the stovetop (add hot water if required to adjust consistency) just before serving.
Variations
- Lentil to Rice Ratio: The ratio of dal to rice is a personal preference. I have used a 1:2 dal-to-rice ratio. You can also add equal amounts of dal and rice.
- Other Grains: You can use the same recipe to make millet or sweet quinoa pongal. Just replace rice with millet or quinoa.
- Temple-style: Edible Camphor is to get the temple-style flavor to the Pongal, but it's optional. You can skip it.
- Jaggery Quantity: Increase or decrease jaggery as per your preference.
Recipe FAQs
The Traditional Chakkara Pongal recipe is not vegan. Adding milk while cooking rice and dal is optional. You can replace milk with water. But I highly recommend using milk as it enhances the taste. You can also use almond milk instead of dairy.
Ghee enriches the flavor of Pongal. However, you can replace ghee (clarified butter) with neutral oil.
You can replace jaggery with brown sugar or regular sugar, but it won't taste like the traditional Sweet Pongal recipe.
Follow the same recipe to make millet or sweet quinoa Pongal. You can also use Barnyard millet or Foxtail millet instead of rice.
Absolutely! You can add grated dry coconut along with roasted nuts in the end and give it a quick boil. You can also chop coconut into bite-sized pieces instead of grating it.
More Instant Pot Indian Desserts
Sweet Pongal (Sakkarai Pongal)
Equipment
Ingredients
- ¼ cup skinless split moong dal
- ½ cup raw rice
- 2 cloves (optional)
- 1 cup milk (use almond milk or coconut milk for vegan)
- 2 cups water + ½ cup extra to adjust consistency
- 1 cup jaggery (organic)
- 5 tablespoons ghee divided
- 2 tablespoons cashews
- 2 tablespoons raisins
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- tiny pinch edible camphor (optional)
- a pinch nutmeg powder (optional)
Instructions
Instant Pot Method:
- Press SAUTE on Instant Pot. Heat one tablespoon of ghee. Then add cashew nuts, and saute the cashews till they turn light golden. Then add raisins and fry until they swell and become plump. Remove and keep aside
- Next, add rinsed & drained moong dal and roast for 30-45 seconds until the dal turns light brown or aromatic. Don't brown it.
- Then add the rinsed rice, cloves, 1 cup of milk, and 2 cups of water. Mix well & Deglaze the pot.
- Close the Instant Pot with pressure valve to the Sealing position. Cook on High Pressure for 9 minutes.
- Once the pressure has released naturally, open the lid and mash the rice and dal mixture well.Note: Be sure that the rice and dal are cooked entirely before adding jaggery because the rice won't cook after adding jaggery.
- Turn on the SAUTE again, and add the powdered organic jaggery with ½ cup of water. Mix until it blends well with the rice dal mixture. Cook for 2-3 minutes, until it bubbles up.Alternately, If the jaggery has impurities take a small pot, add ½ cup of water and add the grated jaggery. Let the jaggery melt over a low flame. Then, strain the melted jaggery syrup into the boiled dal and rice. (no sticky or string consistency is required).
- Lastly, add roasted nuts, ghee, freshly ground cardamom, nutmeg powder, and edible camphor (if using). Mix well and cook for another 1-2 minutes. Turn off. It will thicken and reach the right consistency as it cools down.Note: If the sweet pongal is thick, add hot water, and simmer for 1-2 minutes or till you get your desired consistency.
- Serve Sweet Pongal hot.
Stovetop Pressure Cooker Method:
- Heat one teaspoon of ghee in a pressure cooker. Roast the rinsed & drained moong dal for a few minutes till the dal turns light brown or aromatic. Don't brown it. Then add the rinsed rice, cloves, milk, and water. Mix well.
- Close the lid and put the whistle weight on. Cook for 3-4 whistles on medium flame and turn off the gas.
- Once the pressure has released, open the lid and mash the rice and dal mixture well.
- Meanwhile, Take a small pot, and add ½ cup of water to the jaggery. Let the jaggery melt over a low flame completely (Note: No string consistency is required). Then, strain the melted jaggery syrup into the boiled rice and dal mixture.
- Mix everything well and cook for 2-3 minutes on medium-low flame until it starts to bubble up.
- In another pan, fry cashews and raisins in 1 tablespoon of ghee, and keep aside.
- Lastly, add roasted nuts, ghee, freshly ground cardamom, nutmeg powder, and edible camphor (if using). Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes. Turn Off the gas. It will thicken and reach the right consistency as it cools down. Note: If the sweet pongal is thick, add hot water, and simmer for 1-2 minutes or till you get your desired consistency.
- Sweet Pongal is ready to serve.
Video
Notes
Tips
- Roasting Moong Dal: Dry roast the mung dal for a few seconds until the dal turns light brown or aromatic. Do not brown it.
- Jaggery Color: The color of the Chakkara Pongal depends on the quality of the jaggery. Always use dark brown jaggery to get a nice brown color.
- Ghee: Do not compromise on the quantity of ghee. The more, the better.
- Rice Variety: Using medium-grain rice such as sona masuri is preferred to make traditional Sweet Pongal.
- Consistency: Sweet Pongal thickens a little on cooling. You can save leftovers in the refrigerator and reheat them in a microwave or on the stovetop (add hot water if required to adjust consistency) just before serving.
Variations
- Lentil to Rice Ratio: The ratio of dal to rice is a personal preference. I have used a 1:2 dal to rice ratio. You can also add equal amounts of dal and rice as well.
- Other Grains: You can use the same recipe to make millet or sweet quinoa pongal. Just replace rice with millet or quinoa.
- Temple-style: Edible Camphor is to get the temple-style flavor to the Pongal, but it's optional. You can skip it.
- Jaggery Quantity: Increase or decrease jaggery as per your preference.
Recipe FAQs
Ghee enriches the flavor of Pongal. However, you can replace ghee (clarified butter) with neutral oil.
Nutrition
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Shobha
Came out well.Everyone liked in the house Bhavana
bhavana
Thank you Shobha 🙂 I am very glad to hear that 🙂
Anonymous
Turned out good! Thanks
bhavana
Thank you 🙂