Sweet Pongal-Rice and Split Green Gram Pudding

This is an easy to prepare and tasty dessert of the Indian state of Tamil Nadu.It is known by the name Chakkara pongal/Sakkarai pongal too.Here rice and lentils are cooked along with milk which gives a rich flavour to the dish and  which is cooked with jaggery/light brown sugar and enhanced with flavours of cardamom,saffron and nutmeg,even a pinch of edible camphor may be used,which I have not used here.This is specially prepared on harvest festival in the state of Tamil Nadu which falls in the month of January.A healthy dessert as jaggery is used for sweetness .I learnt to make this wonderful pongal from my dear friend Jaysree Venkat,whose many more recipes are in the queue .

Ingredients:
Rice                                                            1/2 cup
Moong daal(split green gram)       1/4 cup
Jaggery/light brown sugar             1.5 cups
Milk/ water                                            2.5 cups
Green cardamom                                3-4
Nutmeg                                                   2 pinches
Saffron(kesar)                                     2 pinches
Cashew nuts                                         1tbsp
Raisins                                                   1tbsp
Ghee(clarified butter)                     3-4tsp

Method:

• Wash rice and daal and put in pressure cooker with the mentioned portion of milk(can add water and reduce the quantity of milk )
• Pressure cook for a whistle and cook on sim flame for 5-8 minutes.
• Make sure for the soft texture of rice and daal,lightly mash it with the back of a laddle.
• Take a deep saucepan and add jaggery with little water and boil for 2-3 minutes.
• Add the pressure cooked rice and daal,with 2 tsp ghee and mix well,if very solid add some water.
• Cook for another 10 mts stirring in between.
• Add cardamom,nutmeg powder and saffron,stir and switch off.
• In a small saucepan heat the remaining ghee and roast the cashews and raisins and pour over the sweet pongal.