Huggi / Sweet Pongal

Most kids love sweet dishes... and I was no different when I was one. My mom tells me that when I got back from school daily, I would stand at the gate of our house and ask my mom, "Amma, en sweet maadidiya nange ivattu?" Meaning, what sweet have you made for me today? I believe I used to enter the house only after she told me what she had made for me that day :D..... Such was my love for sweet dishes....Huggi was one of my favorites( Huggi!! Yes, that's what sweet pongal is called in Kannada). I loved the taste of melted dollops of ghee on the sweet rice and dal dumplings!!

One more reason why I loved huggi so much was.....My mom used to often tell me a story called "Huggi ya holay" (meaning, a stream of huggi). It was about a woman who tried making huggi with a stolen magic pot, and how she forgot the mantra that would stop making huggi .... The pot started overflowing and slowly the the whole village was filled with delicious huggi and blah blah blah....

And every time I ate huggi, I imagined I was eating it out of the magic pot from the story... and that made me like it even more!!!! Silly, I know.. But hey, I was still a kid !! :) Anyway, coming back to the recipe.... I am posting this on the request from one of my readers and also a good friend, Vimala. I hope you like it!

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Ingredients:

1 cup Yellow moong dal

1 cup White rice

1-2 tbsp Dry/Desiccated Coconut, grated/powdered ( Kobbari / Copra)

1.5- 2 cups Sugar OR Jaggery (OR as per taste)

1/2 tsp Elaichi/Cardamom powder

1/2 tsp Black peppercorns, coarsely crushed (optional)

2 cups Milk (optional)

1 tbsp Cashews and Raisins

1-2 tbsp Ghee/ Clarified butter

A pinch of turmeric

Method:

1. Dry roast yellow moong dal for a couple of minutes, or until it slightly changes color and the raw smell disappears; Do not let it turn brown, though.
2. Wash white rice under running water, a couple of times and combine the roasted dal, crushed pepper and turmeric; Add about 3.5-4 cups of water... At this point, you could substitute half the quantity of water with milk (i.e about 2 cups of milk and 1.5-2 cups of water);
3. Pressure cook the rice dal mixture until done ( It takes about 4 whistles in my cooker); Do not worry if it gets over cooked.... the dal and rice blend well when they are a little overcooked.
4. Take the sugar/jaggery in a pan; Add enough water to JUST cover the sweetener. Boil on low-medium heat until all the sugar/jaggery is dissolved. Note: I personally prefer using sugar bcause it gives a pleasant color, but the jaggery version tastes great too!
5. Add the dal-rice mixture, copra and half the ghee; Mix well and remove from stove.
6. Heat 1 tsp of ghee and roast the raisins and cashews until golden brown; Add to huggi and mix well.
7. Transfer into separate bowls and serve hot, topped with a generous dollop of ghee!!!

Prep Time: About 30-40 mins.

Serves: About 3-4 people.