Pongal is a popular rice based South Indian dish.

There are two varieties of pongal, namely, sakarai pongal (sweet pongal), kara pongal (spicy pongal), also called ven pongal in Tamil Nadu and Huggi in Karnataka. The rice boiled with milk and jaggery during the Pongal festival is also called Pongal.

Types of pongal

Sakarai pongal

Sakarai pongal is generally prepared in temples as a prasad (offering to God). This type of pongal is also prepared during the pongal festival in Tamil Nadu & Andhra Pradesh.

Sakarai means sugar in the Tamil language. It tastes sweet and contains ingredients like rice, sugar/jaggery, coconut pieces or moong daal. The sweetening agent in sakarai is traditionally jaggery, but sometimes candy sugar can be added. This makes a white looking pongal, but adding jaggery makes a darker brown coloured pongal.

Ven pongal

Ven pongal is a popular dish in South Indian homes and is typically served as a breakfast.

External links

• Pongal - sweet & savoury
• Sweet Pongal Recipe
• Venn Pongal Recipe
• Sweet Pongal With Jaggery for Sankranthi
• Vegetable Pongal - A Healthy Pongal Recipe