SARKKARAI PONGAL

Pongal is a four-days-long harvest festival celebrated in Tamil Nadu. It is a traditional occasion for giving thanks to nature, for celebrating the life cycles that give us grain.

The first day is Bogi Pongal. All the houses from the richest to the humblest are thoroughly scrubbed and whitewashed. Homes are cleaned and decorated with "Kolam" - floor designs drawn in the white paste of newly harvested rice with outlines of red mud. Often pumpkin flowers are set into cow-dung balls and placed among the patterns. Fresh harvest of rice, turmeric and sugarcane is brought in from the field as preparation for the following day. The old clothes and materials are thrown away and fired, marking the beginning of a new life.

The second day, the Pongal day, is celebrated by boiling fresh milk early in the morning and allowing it to boil over the vessel - a tradition that is the literal translation for Pongal. People also prepare savories and sweets, visit each other's homes, and exchange greetings. Women wake up early on this day to create elaborate 'kolam' on the grounds in front of their doorway or home. Kolam is created with colored rice flour placed on the ground carefully by using one's hand. On this day the new rice is collected and cooked in pots until they over flow. It is this overflowing which means Pongal. This overflowing of rice is a joyous occasion, and the children and adults as well will shout out 'Pongal-o-Pongal!'

In and around Thanjavur area , Pongal and Ven Pongal are being cooked in a new mud pot which are decorates with turmeric leaves and kolam either inside the house, in a place called mutram which has the direct sunlight or in front of the house. Ven pongal which is cooked with raw rice, milk and shredded coconut and a paruppu kuzhambu which has some specific vegetables and a special poriyarisi maavu as the main spice are the accompaniments to Sarkkarai pongal.. Sugar canes and banana are served after the food.
The third day of Pongal is dedicated to cattle and is called Mattu Pongal which is a special day for the cows, bulls and the workers who are working hard in the paddy fields. The farmers honor their cattle friends by celebrating it as a day of thanks-giving to them. Rice, chicken and mutton varieties are cooked for them and the bulls and the cows are decorated lavishly. This is an enjoyment with children, especially in the villages.

The fourth day is called as the Kanni pongal. Variety rice dishes such as Tamarind rice, lemon rice, coconut rice, sesame rice, curd rice etc are cooked. The ladies will go the river side and enjoy the food there in the evening.
There are different versions of sarkkarai pongal and different kinds of paruppu koottu in all the parts of Tamilnadu. Here I am posting the recipes for Sarkkarai pongal and pongal curry.
 
SARKKARAI PONGAL:
 

Ingredients:

Raw Rice- 1 ½ cups
Green Gram Dal-half cup
Milk- 1 cup
Jaggery (powdered)- 3 cups
Ghee- half cup
Cashew nuts-2 tbsp
Raisins- 2 tbsp
Cardamoms (powdered)-2 tsp
Saffron- a pinch
Water-7 cups
Shredded coconut- half cup

Procedure:

Roast the green gram dal in a little ghee to golden brown.
Wash the rice with the dal and soak in the water for 10 minutes.
Heat 4 tbsp of ghee.
Fry the cashew nuts, raisins and the shredded coconut separately to golden brown.
Heat a vessel, pour the milk and the water and start to boil.
Add the rice and the dhal and cook until all the water is evaporated and the rice and the dal are well cooked.
In another pan, dissolve the jaggery in ¾ cup of water and cook on a low heat till the jaggery melts .
Strain the jaggery to remove the dirt.
Put the syrup once more on the heat and stir till it becomes slightly sticky [Kambi paagu.]
Pour the jaggery syrup to the cooked rice and cook for a few minutes until everything is well blended.
Add the fried nuts, coconut, saffron and the cardamom powder to the pongal and mix well.
Pour the ghee little by little and cook further for a few minutes.
Serve hot with melted ghee.