Pongal is a popular harvest festival celebrated in the state of Tamil Nadu. It marks the start of the sun's return journey to the northern hemisphere and is known as Makar Sankranti in the rest of the country. Pongal is also the name of a dish prepared during the festival, which means "boiling over" or "spilling over" in Tamil. This name is meant to symbolize abundance and prosperity.
Pongal is a traditional dish made with the new harvest of rice, and sweetened with jaggery. During the festival, the Pongal dish is prepared as an offering to the gods and goddesses who helped with the bountiful harvest. The cows considered a vital part of farming are washed and offered the pongal. It is then shared by family and friends.
Balanced Nutrition and Better Health
Millets are a highly nutritious grain, containing a wealth of nutrients including iron, calcium, protein, vitamins, phytochemicals, and antioxidants. These nutrients make millet a great choice for supporting overall health and well-being.
Here are recipes for a healthier version of pongal that uses millet instead of rice.
Recipe for sweet pongal recipe with Barnyard Millet
Kuthiravalli Innipu pongal
To make this dish, you will need the following ingredients:
1. VEYR Barnyard millet ( Kuthiravalli unboiled): 1 cup Paasi paruppu (Yellow Moong dal) : 1/4th cup
2. Jaggery: 1 cup Cardamom powder : 1/4th tsp
3. Milk : 2 tblsp
4. Water : 5-6 cups
5. VEYR Cow Ghee: 4tblsp
6. Cashews & raisins : handful
Method of preparation
Dry roast paasi paruppu. Then, wash the dal and barnyard millet and boil them together in an open pot with water. In a separate pan, melt some Jaggery with a small amount of water and stir in some cardamom powder. Once the Jaggery is melted, mix it with the cooked millet. In a pan, heat some ghee and fry some cashews and raisins until golden brown. You can garnish the pongal with these before serving it.
Note: You can also make this sweet pongal with VEYR Foxtail Millet (Thinai Arisi)
Saamai ( Little Millet) milagu pongal
1. VEYR Little Millet (Saamai arisi) - 1 cup Yellow moong dal – 1 cup
2. Grated ginger – 2 teaspoon Pepper – 1 teaspoon
3. Jeera- 1 teaspoon
4. Cashew – 20 gms
5. VEYR Cow Ghee: as required
6. Salt - as required
Dry roast yellow moong dal.Then, wash the paasi paruppu and little millet. Start by heating a pressure cooker with ghee. Once the ghee is hot, add black pepper, cumin seeds, ginger, and slit green chilies. Stir these ingredients together. Next, add moong dal, and samai to the pressure cooker. Pour in 2 cups of water and mix in some salt. Bring the mixture to a boil, then close the pressure cooker and allow it to whistle 4 times over medium heat. Once the pressure cooker has finished cooking, allow the pressure to release naturally. Open the pressure cooker and mash the contents until they are well combined.
Celebrate the abundance of the harvest season with VEYR millets.
