Quinoa Sweet Pongal with Khajur Ka Gud( Date jaggery)

January is a month of Pongal festival. Pongal is the Harvest  festival of South India. Rice is cooked  with milk in new pots  until they boil over.  Then we add some jaggery  or sugar for sweetness.  This is called Sweet Pongal.  This Pongal is offered to god as Naivedyam and distributed to family and friends.

Today we are starting with 3rd week of BM 36. And my theme for this week is Pongal varieties. For day 1, I made Sweet pongal, it is  usually made with rice, milk and jaggery.  To try something new, I made it with Quinoa, rice and chana dal, with Khajur ka Gud.

Khajur ka gud or jaggery is different from the regular jaggery with is made with sugarcane. Khajur ka gud is made with dates and is very soft. Its in dark brown in color, melts quickly  and has a very different  taste. This jaggery is mostly used in Bengali Cuisine.

Here goes the Quinoa Sweet Pongal with Khajur ka gud.......

We need:

Quinoa 1 cup
Raw rice 1/4 cup
Chana dal 1/4 cup
Khajur jaggery ( dates jaggery) 3/4  cup
Ghee / Butter 1/ 4 cup
Cashew nuts  10
Raisins 15
Milk 1 1/2  cup
Water 3 cups


Method:


Wash quinoa, rice and chana dal together and transfer to presser cooker.
Add 3 cups water and 1 cup milk.
Mix well, cover and cook till 3 to 4 whistles.
Remove lid mix with spatula once and now add grated date jaggery( khajur ka gud).

Mix and cook till jaggery melts completely.
Now add rest of the milk ( warm milk).
Give it a stir and remove from stove.
To garnish, heat small pan and melt ghee or butter.
Add cashew nuts and roast till golden brown.
Now add raisins and saute till they puff up.
Remove and add to  pongal.
Serve hot or cold.
This pongal is good for another 2 days if refrigerated.

Check to see what my fellow bloggers are cooking for BM 36.