T
oday is the 14th
of January, 2013 and a very auspicious day that is much celebrated across most
states of India. Depending on where it is celebrated, this festival is known as
Lohri, Bihu, Makara Sankranthi and Thai Pongal.
Astronomy and
astrology is an intrinsic part of Hindu life and important astronomical events
are woven into Hindu celebrations and festivities. This day, Makara Sankranthi,
marks the beginning of the Sun’s transit from the Tropic of Cancer northwards
towards the Tropic of Capricorn (Makara) or from the “Dakshinayana” to the
“Uttarayana”. This day (from the 13th
to the 15th of the month in other parts of India) is celebrated as
the end of winter and beginning of warmer days in the North. It is also a
celebration of the winter harvest and a Thanksgiving of sorts.
It is also the
first day of the Tamil month of “Thai” (pronounced short to rhyme with “thigh”)
hence the name Thai Pongal. “Pongal” means to “boil/ spill over” and in
Tamilnadu, this day is typically started with heating milk in a auspiciously
decorated clay pot until it boils and spills over. This is supposed to
symbolise the beginning of a warmer weather and a hope that the coming year
would “overflow” with peace and prosperity.
In Tamilnadu,
Pongal is actually celebrated over 4 days. The first day is celebrated as
“Bhogi”. A sort of ritualistic spring cleaning is done and all old and useless
things in the house are cleaned out and piled outside. Homes are painted and
decorated. Even domestic cattle (usually cows) have their horns painted in
beautiful patterns. Early in the morning on “Bhogi”, everyone gathers around
and the mound is lit into a bonfire.
The second day
is “Thai Pongal” (which is today) when milk is ritually boiled and spilt, and
rice and split moong lentil dish cooked with milk is prepared in two versions –
sweet and savoury. The sweet version is Chakkarai/ Sakkarai Pongal (cooked with
jaggery) and the savoury one is called Venn Pongal.
The third day is
celebrated as “Maatu Pongal”. “Mattu” refers to cows and they were considered
not only very important in an agricultural society where they not only provided
milk and organic fertilizer (cow dung which was also dried and used to burn in
fires)) but were used on the farms and in the fields. They were the wealth of
the farmer. The cows are decorated in bright colours and flowers, and ritually
honoured. In the countryside, this is day for cattle races and “Jallikattu”
which is bull taming sport.
The fourth day
is “Kaanum Pongal” and is a day for family get-togethers and reunions or
visiting family and friends. “Kaanum” means seeing and traditionally it was a
day for the farming families (especially landlords) to thank all who would have
helped and supported them through the harvest, with gifts of clothes, money and
food.
As PalakkadIyers, we celebrate Pongal but a lot differently from the way it is celebrated
in Tamilnadu. We celebrate only the Makara Sankranthi day and it is a simple
affair. Makara Sankranti is also a time to remember departed ancestors, so all
male members in our community who have lost one or both parents perform the
“Tharpanam” which is a ritual remembrance of ancestors.
We don’t do the ritual boiling over of milk but we make Pongal, the sweet and savoury rice and lentil preparations, and offer it to God after which the family enjoys it for breakfast.
We also celebrate “Maatu Pongal” the next day. Traditionally, when keeping cows at home was a part of life, they were washed, decorated and fed Pongal and bananas. Since cows are not a part of urban life, we only do the ritual feeding of crows with rice (cooked the previous day) and yogurt, coconut, jaggery and banana, with some turmeric and betel nuts, all placed on pieces of banana leaves in the backyard. This is done early in the morning, only by the women and girl children of the house.
We don’t do the ritual boiling over of milk but we make Pongal, the sweet and savoury rice and lentil preparations, and offer it to God after which the family enjoys it for breakfast.
We also celebrate “Maatu Pongal” the next day. Traditionally, when keeping cows at home was a part of life, they were washed, decorated and fed Pongal and bananas. Since cows are not a part of urban life, we only do the ritual feeding of crows with rice (cooked the previous day) and yogurt, coconut, jaggery and banana, with some turmeric and betel nuts, all placed on pieces of banana leaves in the backyard. This is done early in the morning, only by the women and girl children of the house.
Ven Pongal is very
popular in Tamilnadu even on non-festive days and often served as breakfast. It
is not a spicy rice preparation and pairs well with any gravy dish that’s a bit
spicy and tangy. Traditionally, it is usually served warm with coconut chutney
and sambhar (a tangy vegetable and lentil curry) or a similar gravy dish that
is tangy. Here however, I’m serving mine here with a non-traditonal (for us)
Gojju/ Gotsu.
There are a
couple of things to keep in mind while cooking Pongal, whether sweet or
savoury.
1. Use a short or medium grained raw rice
(not boiled or parboiled) to make Pongal. Sona Masuri is good variety of rice to
use. Do not use Basmati or any long grained or aromatic rice to make it. There
is a misconception amongst people who are not familiar with Indian cooking that
Indian rice dishes need to be made with Basmati rice for authenticity.
You
will rarely find Basmati rice used in South Indian cooking except for Biryani,
Pulaoor perhaps Phirni.
2. Pongal, when it is cooked, resembles
Italian risotto. It should be moist, but not wet and definitely not dry. If
your cooked rice and lentil looks dry, you can add a little milk to make it
moist.
3. These are celebratory dishes and so use
quite a bit of ghee. A little skimping on the ghee is fine, but if you don’t
use enough, it will make a difference in the taste, and texture. There is also
no tempering with mustard seeds here.
4. You will find a lot of variation in the
recipes for Ven Pongal all of which are probably authentic but differ depending
on who is cooking them. However all will have rice, split moong lentils, cumin,
black peppercorns and ghee.
5. This version is the one that my mother,
and her mother before her, cooked. In this version the peppercorns are usually
left whole but you can coarsely crush them open if you prefer. Keeping them
whole means your Pongal will not be too spicy, and those who don’t want the
“fire” can pick them out while eating.
6. Traditionally, the only fat in this dish
is ghee. In Tamilnadu, I have eaten this many places with lots of ghee which is
not a great way to eat this dish, but it seems to help keep the “moist” texture
of the dish.
A
better way to cook Ven Pongal is to add a little ghee to the rice and lentils
while they’re cooking. This helps the sticky rice from clumping together when
cold. The best way to eat Ven Pongal is warm as soon as it is cooked.
Here is my
recipe for Ven Pongal, and if you scroll further down you’ll find the recipes
for the coconut chutney as well as the Tomato Gojju/ Ghotsu. You can find the recipe for Chakkarai/Sakkarai Pongal (Rice and Lentils Cooked in Jaggery and Ghee) here.
Venn Pongal (South Indian Rice & Split Lentil Risotto)
Ingredients:
1 cup short
grain raw rice (sona masoori is good)
1/2 cup split
yellow dal (moong dal)
1 tsp ghee
3/4 cup milk (or
more if required)
About 5 cups
water*
Salt to taste
(this dish should be salty enough to just about taste it in the rice)
4 to 5 tbsp ghee
(clarified butter)
1 1/2 tsp cumin
seeds
1 1/2 tsp whole
black pepper (or coarsely crushed if you prefer)
1/4 tsp
asafoetida
2 sprigs curry
leaves
Method:
Heat the 1 tsp
of ghee in a pan and roast the split moong lentils, over medium heat, stirring
constantly until the lentils give off an aroma and start turning golden brown. Do
not brown the lentils. Take this off the stove and cook the roasted lentils and
rice together with the milk, water and salt either on the stove-top, MW or in a
pressure cooker until they’re well cooked and bit mushy. If your rice-lentil
mixture seems a little dry add a bit of milk to make it moist.
*Traditionally,
freshly harvested rice is cooked for Pongal. New rice requires more water than
aged rice. So the amount of water needed to cook your rice will depend on the
variety of rice and its age.
In a small pan, heat
the ghee (do let it become smoking hot), and add the cumin seeds. Stir a couple
of times and add the asafoetida powder and black peppercorns. Stir once and
turn off the heat. Add the curry leaves. Stir once or twice and once they crisp
up, add this seasoning to the rice-lentil mixture.
Mix well, and do
not worry if the rice looks mushy; it’s meant to be that way. Serve hot with Coconut
Chutney and Gojju/ Ghotsu or Sambhar. This recipe serves 3 to 4 when served
with other accompaniments.
It has been ages
since I participated in the few blog events that I used to enjoy being a part
of. This month Susan hosts the 55th edition of her “My Legume LoveAffair” and I’m sending my Ven Pongal her way.
Tomato Gojju/
Gotsu (Spicy Tomato Chutney)
A Gojju is a
side dish from the Indian state of Karnataka. It is a dish of vegetables in a
gravy and a nice blend of spicy and tangy from the tamarind used in it, with just
a hint of sweet. Gojju is made with vegetables like okra (vendakkai), bitter gourd
(parikkai/ pavakkai,) capsicum/ green bell peppers, onions and even pineapples
among others.
In our home we
make something similar to Gojju, but we call it “Puli Pachadi” where “puli” is
“tamarind”. A Puli Pachadi can be made with and without coconut.
This is a Tomato
Gojju and requires no tamarind as the tomatoes themselves provide the tang
here. You can also add onions to this dish for a twist, but we don’t use onions
in festive cooking so I’m leaving it out in this recipe. You can also run the tomatoes in a blender so
that you have chunky tomato pulp which cooks faster. Do not purée the tomatoes.
Tomato Gojju/
Gotsu (Spicy Tomato Chutney)
Ingredients:
2 tsp oil
1 tsp mustard
seeds
1 1/2 tsp split
black gram lentils (urad dal)
1 1/2 tsp Bengal
gram lentils (chana dal)
2 sprigs curry
leaves
1/4 tsp
asafoetida powder
1/2kg ripe
tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp turmeric
powder
1 tsp chilli
powder
2 tsp Rasam
powder (or 1 tsp of Sambhar powder +1 tsp of coriander powder)*
1 tbsp powdered
jaggery
Salt to taste
2 to 3 tsp
chopped fresh coriander for garnishing
Method:
*You can use
commercially available Rasam powder or Sambhar powder for this.
Heat the oil in
a heavy bottomed pan. Add the mustard seeds and stir. Once they splutter, add
the black gram and Bengal gram lentils and stir occasionally, over medium heat,
till they start browning. Now add the asafoetida powder and curry leaves. Stir
a couple of times and add the chopped (or chunky) tomatoes.
Turn up the heat
a little and add the turmeric and chilli powders, and the salt. Also add about
a 1/4 cup of water and once everything comes to a boil, tuen the heat down to
medium-low. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally until the tomato is cooked,
and the liquid has come down by half.
Add the powdered
jaggery and the Rasam powder/ Sambhar + coriander powder. Stir well and cook
for another couple of minutes, then take it off the heat. The finished Gojju/
Gotsu should have a semi-solid consistency.
Transfer to a
serving bowl and garnish with chopped fresh coriander and serve. This recipe
will serve 3 with other accompaniments. You can serve this also with Indian
breads like chapattis and parathas, and dosas.
A Simple Coconut
Chutney
Coming from a
part of India where coconuts are very much a part of the landscape, it is
little wonder that we use a lot of coconut in our traditional cooking. In the
good old days before the advent of high-rise living, every self-respecting
Keralite has at least half a dozen coconut trees around his house. Many of us
may no longer have the convenience or even luxury of a home grown coconut, and
have to buy them at the market or store.
One of the
simplest coconut dishes in Kerala is the coconut chutney. There are literally a
thousand different ways to make coconut chutney depending on what you put into
it. It can be a thick chutney (called Thogaiyal/ Chammandhi) or a more semi-liquid
variation which accompanies most South Indian “tiffin’ like Idlis, Dosas, UppumaKozhukottai, etc.
Coconut chutneys
can be made in a variety of flavours, but at the simplest, it is made by
grinding together only freshly grated coconut and green chillies with a little
water and tempered/ seasoned with mustard seeds, lentils (urad dal) and curry
leaves in coconut oil. It is a chutney that is full of the flavour and taste of
coconut, featuring it at its best.
This particular
recipe is Coconut Chutney at its simplest and best. You can add a little bit of
fresh coriander leaves (and sliced onions too) to the coconut while grinding it
for variation. If you would like to use a little less coconut in your chutney, reduce
the coconut to 2 cups and grind about 1/2 cup of pan roasted Bengal gram/
Dhaliya (not the Bengal gram lentil) to the coconut while grinding. Some people
choose to add a bit of tamarind or even raw mango if it is the season for an
interesting twist in taste.
A Simple Coconut
Chutney
Ingredients:
3 cups fresh
grated coconut
3 green chillies
(or to taste)
Salt to taste
1 1/2 tsp
coconut oil (or flavourless cooking oil)
1 1/2 tsp
mustard seeds
1 1/2 tsp split
black gram lentils (urad dal)
2 red chillies, each broken into two or three
1 sprig of curry leaves
Method:
Put the coconut
and chillies in the bowl of your mixer/ grinder/ blender and grind to a smooth
paste with a little water at a time(not too much) to a smooth paste. Transfer
this to a serving bowl.
Heat the coconut
oil, add the mustard seeds and let them splutter. Then over low heat, add the
lentils and let them become a golden brown. Add the broken chillies, stir once
or twice and turn off the heat. Add the curry leaves and once they crisp, add
the seasoning to the chutney. Mix in and serve.
This recipe
should serve3 to 4.
Here’s wishing
everyone who celebrates Makar Sankranthi and Pongal,
that the coming year brings
you
Happiness, Peace & Prosperity.
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