Temple Style Sweet Pongal is a popular Indian sweet recipe prepared mainly using three basic ingredients rice, ghee, and jaggery.
About the recipe
Sweet Pongal is a traditional dish offered in most temples to god in the form of naivedyam along with puliyogare and then distributed as prasad or prasadam to devotees.
Sakkarai Pongal is prepared on special days. For example, during Makara Sankranti or Pongal festival to celebrate the harvest, chakkara pongal is prepared using freshly harvested rice. During the celebration of Navratri, sweet pongal is prepared as this dish has goddess Durga's or goddess Lakshmi's favorite ingredients. This dish is also prepared on specific days at temples - i.e., Friday and Saturday at Lakshmi temples and on Saturdays at Balaji temples.
Sweet Pongal is also called as sweet khichdi in konkani, sakkarai pongal in Tamil, chakkara pongal in Telugu.
To get the authentic temple prasadam taste, you will have to use the amount of ghee mentioned in the recipe. Ghee plays a very important role, but if you want to make a light and healthier khichdi, then cut down on the amount of ghee as per your liking.
Ingredients
1 cup Rice
400 grams Jaggery
100 grams Ghee
1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
For Garnish
1 tablespoon Ghee
¼ cup Cashews
2 tablespoon Raisins
How to make Temple-style Sweet Pongal or Rice Payasam at home?
Nicely wash and drain the rice. Keep this aside. You can use regular rice that you use for cooking.
Add water (around 4 cups) to a pot and bring it to a boil on a medium-high flame. Add the washed and drained rice and cook on medium heat until it becomes soft. After the rice has cooked, drain all the excess water. For me, the cooking time was around 15 mins.
In a pan, add ¼ cup of water and cooked rice, and mix. To this, add jaggery and ghee and continue to cook on medium flame until jaggery melts and everything is well combined, maybe for 10 to 12 minutes. Check out the video here.
Add the cardamom powder and mix, and continue to cook for 5 mins.
In another pan on medium heat, add a tablespoon of ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add cashews and saute until it becomes light golden in color. Next, add raisins and saute for a few seconds. Switch off the flame.
Add this to the Sweet Pongal and mix. Switch off the flame.
Serve it warm as an after-meal dessert.
Variations
You can pressure cook ¼ cup of moong dal or ¼ cup of chana dal, or ¼ cup of green gram instead of making it only with rice if desired.
You can use sugar instead of jaggery. In this case, the taste and color will be different.
More Prasadam, Naivedyam Recipes
Instant Pot Sweet Pongal Recipe
Press the SAUTE button of your instant pot. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee to your steel insert. Now add cashews and saute until light golden in color. Press CANCEL and then add raisins and saute. This is done so that raisins won't burn. Transfer this to the plate.
Add the washed rice and 3 cups of water and pressure cook on HIGH for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
Open the lid, turn on the SAUTE mode, add jaggery with ¼ cup of water, ghee, and cardamom powder and stir until jaggery dissolves completely. Just cook until all the ingredients blend.
Press CANCEL, garnish with roasted nuts, and mix. Note - this pongal thickens as it cools down. Adjust the consistency by adding hot water before serving if desired.
Storage
Any leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 3 to 4 days. To reheat, add hot water to adjust the consistency of the sweet pongal and then heat on the stovetop or in a microwave until warm.
FAQ
Dark jaggery is the most preferred one. Dark jaggery gives the traditional taste and color that you are used to at temples. You can substitute it with regular jaggery. The taste and color will vary.
Yes. You can use sugar instead of jaggery. Again the taste, texture, and color will vary.
Yes, freshly grated coconut gives it a nice flavor. Add it along with jaggery. Alternatively, you can also toast coconut pieces with cashews and add them as a garnish.
I love the richness just from the ghee here. Milk adds additional richness to the dish. You can use half milk and half water if desired. Adding milk reduces the shelf life, so store any leftovers in the refrigerator.
2 Crushed peppercorns, 2 crushed cloves, and a pinch of edible camphor are added to give that traditional flavor.
Instead of rice, you can use millets, oats, and cracked wheat (or dalia). You can also reduce the amount of ghee and jaggery if desired.
Any variety of rice, short grain, long grain, or nonsticky rice, can be used. If you are making it during Pongal or Navratri, use freshly harvested rice if available.
Video
You can check the entire video on making temple-style sweet pongal here.
Temple Style Sweet Pongal Recipe | Sakkarai Pongal | Chakkara Pongal
Equipment
- 1 Pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Rice
- 400 grams Jaggery
- 100 grams Ghee
- 1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
For Garnish
- 1 tablespoon Ghee
- ¼ cup Cashews
- 2 tablespoon Raisins
Instructions
- Nicely wash and drain the rice. Keep this aside. You can use regular rice that you use for cooking.1 cup Rice
- Add water (around 4 cups) to a pot and bring it to a boil on a medium-high flame. Add the washed and drained rice and cook on medium heat until it becomes soft. After the rice has cooked, drain all the excess water. For me, the cooking time was around 15 mins.
- In a pan, add ¼ cup of water and cooked rice, and mix. To this, add jaggery and ghee and continue to cook on medium flame until jaggery melts and everything is well combined, maybe for 10 to 12 minutes. Check out the video here.400 grams Jaggery, 100 grams Ghee
- Add the cardamom powder and mix, and continue to cook for 5 mins.1 teaspoon Cardamom powder
- In another pan on medium heat, add a tablespoon of ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add cashews and saute until it becomes light golden in color. Next, add raisins and saute for a few seconds. Switch off the flame.1 tablespoon Ghee, ¼ cup Cashews, 2 tablespoon Raisins
- Add this to the Sweet Pongal and mix. Switch off the flame.
- Serve it warm as an after-meal dessert.
Instant Pot Sweet Pongal
- Press the SAUTE button of your instant pot. Add 1 tablespoon of ghee to your steel insert. Now add cashews and saute until light golden in color. Press CANCEL and then add raisins and saute. This is done so that raisins won't burn. Transfer this to the plate.
- Add the washed rice and 3 cups of water and pressure cook on HIGH for 10 minutes. Let the pressure release naturally.
- Open the lid, turn on the SAUTE mode, add jaggery with ¼ cup of water, ghee, and cardamom powder and stir until jaggery dissolves completely. Just cook until all the ingredients blend.
- Press CANCEL, garnish with roasted nuts, and mix. Note - this pongal thickens as it cools down. Adjust the consistency by adding hot water before serving if desired.
Video
Nutrition
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Anjali
This was such a simple dessert but tasted amazing! My whole family loved it!