Saturday, May 16, 2009

Akkaravadisal (Sweet Pongal) for my daddy

I thought of taking a short break after i posted couple of days back, but today is my dad's birthday and i miss him sooo much :((((





Here is me and my daddy...
♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Near or Far...You will always be in our hearts... ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥
I thought i will post his favorite sweet today for his birthday...
My dad loved traditional sweets and akkaravadisal is one of them. Akkaravadisal is similar to chakkarai pongal. Akkaravadisal, to my knowledge is the iyengar version of Chakkarai pongal and the difference that i know is, akkaravadisal is more gooey (kinda semi solid) and is cooked in milk. My dad was diabetic but he had a knack to make us give him the sweets, especially the traditional ones. He never got sneaky and knowing that we would scold him for eating too many sweets, he still managed to get what he wanted. Being a daddy's girl, i always gave in real quick and i would scold my mom (poor mom!) for making the sweet in the first place...

Here is the recipe to his favorite sweet :

Ingredients :
Rice - 1 cup
Moong daal - 1/3 cup
Milk - 2 cups
Water - 1 cup
Jaggery - as required ( i use cubes and it would've measured upto 3/4th of a cup, i think)
Ghee - 1 spoon
Cashews - a handful
Raisins - optional ( I hate raisins in any sweet and i dont add, but it is usually added :))
Cardamom powder - a pinch
Saffron - a pinch
Milk - another 1/2 cup.


Method :
Mine is a quick and easy way and i have no clue how my mom and mil make it. The first time i made it, it tasted great and i just continued making it this way and never bothered to check with either of them.

1. Pressure cook washed rice and daal with 1 cup water and 2 cups milk. Adding milk gives it a rich, creamy texture and hence you don't need to use litres of ghee to make it taste good.
2. In the meanwhile boil 1/2 cup milk with saffron and cardamom powder in microwave.
3. Once the rice and daal are cooked and the pressure is released, add the milk, jaggery pieces to the rice-daal and mix well. Cook once again in the pressure cooker for one whistle.
4. Once the pressure is released mix it well.
5. In a pan, heat some ghee (i only use 1 spoon) and roast cashews and garnish the pongal with cashews.


59 comments:

Gita Jaishankar said...

This is such a sweet post dear, akkaravadisal does look similar to pongal...I like the way you have made it using pressure cooker...I must try your version soon :)

Indhu said...

yummy... love this recipe... you are tempting me to make it myself :)

Unknown said...

WOW.. MY fav dish.. looks great & mouthywatering..

Priya Suresh said...

Wishing a happy birthday to ur Dad!!Just love this sweet pongal, delicious dish..Thats a wonderful post, lovely dedication Vidhya!

kittymatti said...

Akkaravadisal, authentic Iyengar thaligai.. Romba supera iruku! Looks great!

kittymatti said...

Your kids' birthday wish looks so cute!

Unknown said...

chakkarai pongal looks real yumm...didn't know iyengars called it akkaraivadisal..nice post..

Yasmeen said...

I miss my parents too...My best wishes for your dad:)
That's a cute picture of you and dad.love the sweet pongal:)

Vibaas said...

thanks all. Priya and Yasmeen, thanks for your wishes. My dad is no longer with us. He would've felt happy to see your wishes though...

chef and her kitchen said...

That is so sweet of you vibaas...Nice post...

ARUNA said...

that's an adorable pic of u and ur dad Vibaas.....and the recipe is just tempting!!

A_and_N said...

I love this too! I make it every once in a while just for myself :)c

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

delicious chakkara pongal.. and you r looking very pretty in that pic.

Ashwini said...

Birthday wishes to your dad. Miss my parents too. Nice mothwatering dedication.

Pooja said...

The sweet looks delicious! I'm not familiar with the name of the sweet and as you said it looks similar to sweet Pongal. Would love to try out this authentic dessert!

Uma said...

that's a sweet post Vibaas! A very nice way to remember your dad. Sweet pongal looks so mouth-watering :)

Parita said...

Thats wonderful post dear..heart felt..wishing ur dad a very happy bday..the sweet dish looks delicious..

Pooja said...

Happy birthday to your dad Vidhya..Delicious sweet..Looks tempting..

Ramya Vijaykumar said...

Happy bday to your dad and a perfect way to wish him on his bday!!! Pongal looks yummy!!!

Vrinda said...

I never tasted this Wseet pongal..I think its between moong daal and rice kheer,looks delicious and easy..Wishing a happy b'day to ur Dad...

Finla said...

Happy birthday to you dad, love the pic with dad and daughter.

veena said...

First of all Happy Birthday to uncle ..by the by the sweet looks very delicious ..i never tried this ..very new to me ..

Vishali said...

Vibaas dear....wishing ue pa a very happy birthday. u both look so nice togther....:). And, that sweet pongal looks so yum!

Mangala Bhat said...

Wow! such a sweet post dear ...lovely ..nice recipe too .
hey belated wishes to ur dady ...
:)

Ammu said...

Very sweet dear. Happy b'day to ur dad. Thats really cute entry.

Subhie Arun said...

thst is isuch sweet post dear....dish looks new to me//bt similar like ponggal..will try out ur version..thx 4 sharing

Cham said...

Happy Birthday to ur dad. Such a sweet post to ur dad and sweet look yum!

Lena Jayadev said...

Such a sweet post...i miss my parents too..
dish is superb and its one of my favorites...your recipe is bookmarked.. :)

Suparna said...

Hi Vibaas,
Very warm write up :) Belated b'day wishes to ur dad! it's very sweet of u to make his fav. dish on the special day. U look like a perfect dady's girlie in the snap :)
Lovely chashew adorned sweet pongal dear :)
Enjoy!
TC

Unknown said...

such a sweet post dear and that greating to taatha is cho cho cute ummmm Akkaravadisal looks mouthwaterin yum.

Deepthi Shankar said...

you look very pretty dear .. nice new version of pongal

Jeyashris Kitchen said...

being a dad's girl i could understand how much u feel on ur dad's birthday ,without him.Anyway his blessings will always be with u and ur family.
yummy dish,i love this very much that too with the creamy txture.

vandana rajesh said...

The pongal looks very good . A very happy bday to ur dad

Saritha said...

Belated wishes to ur dad,he has got a wonderful daughter.Ur dad will be happy by reading what u wrote abt him,do show him this post.Hugs to u and to ur dad :)

Pavithra Elangovan said...

Thats so sweet post dear. Belated Wishes from all our blogger friends to your father. Cute wishes from his grandson is so impressive. By the way akkaravadisal is looking so yummy and moreover it will be surely delish becos u made to ur father out of love and affection.

Unknown said...

Akkaravadisal is real yummy, just love it, it reminds me of my neighbour who lovingly will make this as well Seera Annam whenver i visit my parents in Chennai.

AnuSriram said...

Such a lovely post as sweet as ur akkaravadisal..... Nice picture of u and ur dad!

Cilantro said...

Belated wishes to your Dad. You have a nice collection of Tamil recipes. I like the Akkaravadisal at Srirangam Temple and Periyamma was best at making them.

Nithya Praveen said...

Hey,nice to see this recipe.I didnt know the difference with respect to chakkara pongal.Happy b'day to ur daddy.Making in the pressure cooker sounds so easy,shall try this.Now i hope u remember me:)

Dhanya Ganesh said...

That is so sweet of you dear to make something special for your dad for his birthday. I also miss my dad so much feel like going to India now. happy Birthday to your DAD. You have made a lovely dish.

Unknown said...

That is so sweet of u! Wishes to ur dad!

Sia said...

b'day wishes to ur dad and what a perfect way to celebrate it :)

Vikis Kitchen said...

Very touching post vibaas. Appa's love for akkaravadisal and the snap of u both is so sweet.
Nice recipe. Thanks for sharing this. Great help for me , every one here loves this kovil style akkaravadisal.
Happy weekend dear.

Chitra said...

nice post on ur dad's bday..I've seen this in a cookery show..have bookmarked this!thanks!!

Suganya said...

Nice sweet pongal recipe. I have also posted my version of it long back. Love it so much. YUM!. Convey my regards to ur dad....

Premyscakes said...

touching post dear. love your version of pongal.

Adlak's tiny world said...

so sweet of you vidya... yr appa, a nice gentle man. v too miss him here. vidhya used to tel abt him a lot.

akkaravadisal looks yum..

నల భీమ said...

Good Post!!

Gita Jaishankar said...

Sugar snap peas are tender peas in the pod...they can be had whole without peeling.

Indian Khana said...

Convey birthday wishes to your Dad dear...and pongal looks so gud

VIDYA VENKY said...

this is one of my favorite dishes..ur looks so yummy

Raks said...

Lovely Father and daughter :))

Even I hav wondered wats the dfference between sakkarai pongal and akkaravadisal...thanks for clearing!

I too don't like raisins in any sweet...my hubby dont like cashew either..I know this is too much ;D But I dont add both if I am making for him..;D

Malar Gandhi said...

Hey Vidhya that sounds so sweet of you, nice work by kiddos. Yeah love akkaravadisal...semi solid version with lots of ghee, yumm yumm. Well, I am daddy's lil girl too...same pinch. Wishes to Daddy.

Usha said...

The akkaravadisal does look a lot like pongal, sounds delicious !
Loved the picture of you with your dad, belated birthday wishes to your father !

Sweta (My Indian Dietitian) said...

Sweet pongal used to be the only way I would eat pongal as a kid-now I make only khara pongal.I'm sure to make this now that you've reminded me:)

Vijitha said...

Hey nice sweet for the bday. Nice pic too!

Andhra Flavors said...

Wishing a happy birthday to your Dad.
I too love traditional dishes.

Anonymous said...

Hi Vibha you really made me miss my daddy:-(...Keep up the good work!

Mahimaa's kitchen said...

saw this pic in some other site.

http://www.chennailivenews.com/Religion/Margazhi-Season/20090215110212/Chakkara-Pongal.aspx

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