Pongal (dish)
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| Course | Breakfast |
|---|---|
| Place of origin | Tamil Nadu, South India |
| Serving temperature | Sweet: rice, milk, jaggery, coconut pieces or mung bean Spicy: rice, pepper or tamarind |
| Main ingredients | Rice |
| Variations | Sakarai pongal, ven pongal, melagu pongal, puli pongal |
Pongal (Tamil: பொங்கல்) (Telugu: పొంగలి) is a popular rice dish in South Indian cuisine, and the Tamil cuisine of Sri Lanka. In Dravidian languages, the root pong or pongu means to " boil over" or "spill over".
There are two varieties of pongal, sakarai pongal (Tamil)/chakkera pongali (Telugu) which is a sweet, and ven pongal (Tamil)/nethi Pongali (Telugu), made from clarified butter. The unqualified word pongal usually refers to spicy pongal, and is a common breakfast food in several parts of India. The rice boiled with milk and jaggery during the Pongal festival is also called pongal - this is sweet pongal made specially in earthenware pots with a wood fire.
Types of pongal
Sakarai pongal
Sakarai pongal (lit. sugar pongal) is generally prepared in temples as a prasadam, (an offering made to a deity, as a thanksgiving). This type of pongal is prevalent in pongal festivals such as Thai Pongal) in Tamil Nadu, India.
Ingredients can include rice, coconut and mung bean. Sakarai pongal is traditionally sweetened with jaggery, which gives the pongal a brown colour, though it can be sweetened with white sugar instead. .
Ven pongal
Ven (white) pongal is a popular dish in South Indian homes and is typically served as a special breakfast in Tamil Nadu.
Melagu pongal
Melagu pongal is a spicy variant made with pepper, rice and moong daal.
Puli pongal
Puli pongal is a variant that is made with tamarind and boiled rice. It is not specifically associated with the Pongal festival and is often eaten for dinner in Tamil Nadu.
Festive importance
Every January, Tamilians celebrate Pongal, a harvest festival, where pongal (the dish) is cooked to celebrate the harvest.
Traditionally ancient Tamil people cook pongal before pooja and offer it to the deities.
External links
- Rava Pongal Recipe
- Sweet Pongal Recipe
- Detail pongal and coconut chutney recipe with photos
- Quick Ven pongal Recipe
- Milagu Pongal Recipe
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