What's cooking? ITC Kitchens of India

What’s Cooking?

-          ITC Kitchens of India

The festive season is in the air. So I dust off my crabby head to see if I can rustle up a dish that my

daughter will love.

I share with you one of my daughter’s favorite sweet dishes for the festive season.

 Follow it exactly for best results.

Shakarai Pongal

(Sweet Rice)

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

Raw rice – 1 cup

Deep brown gud – to taste (my daughter likes it less sweet. So I measure with care

Moong dal – ¼ cup

Milk – 1 litre

Cashew nuts – 100g

Ghee – 2 tablespoons

Coconut scrapings – ½ cup

Powdered Elaichi – 2 tsp

Powdered pachchai karpoor – a pinch

Method:

Roast the moong dal on a heated pan till the raw smell goes and keep it aside.  

Cut the cashew nuts into halves and fry in a teaspoon of ghee till light brown and keep it aside.

Wash the rice thoroughly and add 4 cups of milk. Cook the moong dal and the rice in separate containers in the pressure cooker. For best results, simmer until soft.

 Mash the moong dal until it is a soft mass and add it to the rice all the time ensuring that it is a homogeneous mixture.

 Take a pan and add a little bit of water. Add the gud to it and allow it to simmer.

 Add the coconut shavings to it. When it thickens slightly add it to the rice mixture and mix thoroughly. Add the ghee to it and mix well. 

Garnish it with elaichi powder, pachai karpooram and the fried cashew pieces.

 Give it a robust mix and serve hot.

Or else…

…Call the grocer and ask him for a packet of ITC Kitchens of India’s Jodhpuri Moong Dal Halwa. 

Cut and pour the mixture in a pan and follow the instructions.

Labor: No pain, no sweat

Time taken: 5 minutes

Happiness quotient: Bliss

Any guesses what I’m going to do this festive season? (Wink, wink)

Hint: the answer is in the brackets!

Don’t forget to write the answer in the space below.  A FREE packet of ITC Kitchens of India awaits those who get it right!

Coming up next is a lazy housewife’s guide to Gajar ka Halwa. Look out for it…