Relish the soft light toothsome texture of Kovil sarkarai Pongal which is ultimately sweet and melts in your mouth especially when served in a traditional Thonnai...
An Introduction about Kovil Sarkkarai Pongal:
A slight twist from the original South Indian sweet pongal gives you the delicious kovil style sarkarai pongal. With an inclusion of just one or two aromatic agents, we get the shimmery kovil sarkarai pongal, a scintillating dish much adored for its divinity and authenticity.
India has a rich culinary heritage dated back thousands of years and when we take a sneak peek into its journey, traditional cuisine occupy a prominent place which has withstood the test of time. Prasadh offered in temples comes under this distinctive category and each state and each temple has its own holy food for its deity and revered since ages. Every temple has its own ritual of preparing this sacred offering to God and deliberately take sincere effort to make it unique and exemplary. Every day the prasadh is prepared with strict austerity and offered to the deities with utmost reverence. Undoubtedly, each and every prasadh has its uniqueness and deliciousness which enchants the devotees since several decades. There are quite a lot of offerings which are famous and sarkarai pongal is one of the enthralling prasad that is offered in many temples day in and day out. Rather than making it the usual way, in temples they have a unique way of making this sarkarai pongal.
What is all about the traditional kovil sarkkarai Pongal?
Much interestingly, the difference starts from the utensils used to make this authentic dish. Unlike at homes where we use either stainless steel or non-stick pans or pressure cookers, in temples they use huge bronze, copper, or brass cooking pots which makes a huge difference in aroma and flavor. Be it urulis, pots or dabaras, vessels made of castIron, clay or bronze are used widely and for placing the offerings to God, mostly silver, brass and copper metals are used. Usually temples have their own set of vessels and each temple has a separate room called Madaipalli or Amudu Mandabam where they used to store all the provisions, cooking utensils, water etc., and mostly it will be located near the well. Common public is not allowed to get in, and fondly I remember very well that every time when I come around the kovil praharam with my gandma, I would be curious to look into the Madapalli at least once ( and till now its a dream) just to see what Pokisham (treasure) they have inside the less ventilated room.
What makes the Kovil Sarkkarai Pongal Unique?
Apart from the reverence we have for the Prasadam, it certainly has astounding taste which many of us would agree. Certain nuances are observed in the preparation and the addition of exclusive ingredient like edible camphor makes all the difference. At some temples they add a little copra which also tastes phenomenal and gives a twist to the whole dish. Milk is not usually added in kovil sarkarai pongal and therefore it has the prominent taste of jaggery and ghee and have a deep brown or light brown color depending upon the tinge of the jaggery. Cardamom is also added liberally to make it all the more delectable.
What are the therapeutic properties of edible camphor?
Since ancient times edible camphor has been used in Ayurveda to treat digestive issues and to reduce obesity. It also reduces inflammation, cold and cough besides stimulating hormones in the body. It aids in treating diarrhoea and has expectorant properties. It also helps in expelling the toxins from the body thereby reducing unnecessary fats and fluids. In ancient medicine, it has been used to treat convulsions like nervous disorders and epilepsy since ages and it is one of the oldest condiment in the Indian cooking. It has been used as a flavoring agent in dishes, paan and other mouth fresheners. However, one should know the ways and means of its usage and proportion as well to enjoy its benefits to the fullest. It is our responsibility to know more about these treasured ingredients, their unique properties, their prominence in the ancient cooking and should definitely pass it on to the younger generations through authentic recipes and methods. Let us dive into the pool of treasured Indian cuisine and dig out some authentic recipes and dishes.
Here comes one such valuable recipe of Kovil Sarkarai Pongal which can be made with just a handful of ingredients at home:
Ingredients Required To Make Sakkarai Pongal Recipe :
How To Make Sarkkarai Pongal Recipe :
Take the measured quantities of raw rice and moong dal in a vessel and pour in two to three cups of water and let it soak for about half an hour approximately.
Heat a heavy bottomed pot in the stove and pour in two and a half to three cups of water and let it boil for a while.
After three to five minutes, just add the soaked rice and dal into the vessel and stir in continuously.
Maintain the flame in low medium flame and keep stirring.
Leave on in between for a minute or two and repeat stirring.
When the rice and dal gets cooked, the water gets absorbed completely and the whole lentil is thickened.
Just to ensure that the rice is being cooked up completely, take out a little rice with a spoon and feel it with your finger. If it gets mashed up well, you can conclude that the rice is being cooked up completely. This is the stage where you have to add the jaggery.
Boil the jaggery with a little water for a minute or two. After it melts down completely, pour it over a filter to get rid of the impurities and add the diluted jaggery into the vessel.
Keep stirring and let the jaggery gets seeped into the rice thoroughly. Now the rice turns shimmery with a brown shade and gets a little loose and diluted. At this juncture, just lower the flame and allow it to cook undisturbed for about seven to ten minutes roughly. Pop the lid on if necessary.
When the rice attains the desirable thickness, just sprinkle in a little cardamom powder along with a pinch of edible camphor. Stir in altogether so that the flavor of cardamom and edible camphor spreads evenly. Let the flame continue to be in low flame during the whole process.
Heat a small pan and squirt in two or three tablespoons of pure ghee and when it melts down, toss over the cashews into the pan. When it turns golden brown, throw in the raisins and when it pops up, add the grated copra and when it turns aromatic turn off the flame and add the rustle up the aromatic spices altogether and plop in. Now the luscious kovil sarkarrai pongal is ready. Serve it in a fresh or dried plantain leaf to get the authentic flavor and a native touch.
Some Useful Observations:
* Usually raw rice (preferably new rice) is used to make kovil sarkarai pongal as it is said to be auspicious for making prasadam (offerings).
* New raw rice gives the desired mushy consistency for making sarkarai pongal rather than old rice. Its size is rather bigger than the regular raw rice and its texture is quite mushy after cooking. Apart from making sweet pongal we can make milagu pongal, curd rice, bisi bele bath, akkaravadisal, kalkandu sadam, paal sadam, cherukku rasam pongali with this pudu pacharisi. You will get an excellent finish and I always have one or two kilograms of this raw rice in my pantry to make these dishes and half the job is done in choosing the right rice for the appropriate dish and you will gain this easily by experience.
* Edible camphor is the key ingredient of kovil sarkarai pongal and just a tiny pinch of adding this aromatic ingredient makes all the difference. However certain nuances must be followed while adding the aromatic agents because it may eithermake or mar the entire dish in an instant.
* Similarly, adding a tiny bit of roasted nutmeg gives an unique aroma to the sarkarai pongal which makes it all the more exclusive but it is absolutely optional. My mom used to add it in Kovil Sarkarai Pongal which always gave an unique lingering flavor. If you are a lover of authentic Indian delicacies and desserts, certain aromatic agents like edible camphor, nutmeg, saffron, dry ginger and dried coconut must always be present in your staples to favor quick and easy preparation.
* Originally at temples they use cow's ghee to prepare sarkarai pongal as it is considered to be more tasty and auspicious as well. Some of us may not like the flavor of cow's ghee and in that case we can use any ghee of our choice.
Ingredients
Directions
Take the measured quantities of raw rice and moong dal in a vessel and pour in two to three cups of water and let it soak for about half an hour approximately.
Heat a heavy bottomed pot in the stove and pour in two and a half to three cups of water and let it boil for a while.
After three to five minutes, just add the soaked rice and dal into the vessel and stir in continuously.
Maintain the flame in low medium flame and keep stirring.
Leave on in between for a minute or two and repeat stirring.
When the rice and dal gets cooked, the water gets absorbed completely and the whole lentil is thickened.
Just to ensure that the rice is being cooked up completely, take out a little rice with a spoon and feel it with your finger. If it gets mashed up well, you can conclude that the rice is being cooked up completely. This is the stage where you have to add the jaggery.
Boil the jaggery with a little water for a minute or two. After it melts down completely, pour it over a filter to get rid of the impurities and add the diluted jaggery into the vessel.
Keep stirring and let the jaggery gets seeped into the rice thoroughly. Now the rice turns shimmery with a brown shade and gets a little loose and diluted. At this juncture, just lower the flame and allow it to cook undisturbed for about seven to ten minutes roughly. Pop the lid on if necessary.
When the rice attains the desirable thickness, just sprinkle in a little cardamom powder along with a pinch of edible camphor. Stir in altogether so that the flavor of cardamom and edible camphor spreads evenly. Let the flame continue to be in low flame during the whole process.
Heat a small pan and squirt in two or three tablespoons of pure ghee and when it melts down, toss over the cashews into the pan. When it turns golden brown, throw in the raisins and when it pops up, add the grated copra and when it turns aromatic turn off the flame and add the rustle up the aromatic spices altogether and plop in. Now the luscious kovil sarkarrai pongal is ready. Serve it in a fresh or dried plantain leaf to get the authentic flavor and a native touch.
