Instant Pot Sweet Pongal Recipe
Sweet pongal is a classic south Indian sweet prepared with rice, moong dal, jaggery, dry fruits, ghee and flavoured with cardamom. This instant pot sweet pongal recipe is a keeper recipe for its efficient and hassle-free way.
Servings: 8
Calories: 413kcal
Equipment
- 1 Instant Pot
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250ml ; 1 Tablespoon = 15ml ; 1 Teaspoon = 5ml
- 250 gms (or) 1 cup Rice
- 125 gms (or) ½ cup Moong Dal
- 400 gms (or) 4 cups Jaggery Roughly broken, adjust to taste
- 3 Tablespoons Ghee
- 10 Cashew Nuts Each cut into half
- 20 gms Raisins
- 1 Teaspoon Cardamom Powder
- a pinch Edible Camphor
- 7 + ¼ Cups Water
- big pinch Nutmeg Powder
Instructions
- Rinse and wash the rice and soak it in sufficient water for 10 minutes.250 gms (or) 1 cup Rice
- Meanwhile, plug in an instant pot and press SAUTE button to turn the saute mode ON.
- Dry roast the moong dal for 5-8 minutes until it is fragrant and starts to turn golden brown.125 gms (or) ½ cup Moong Dal
- Press the CANCEL button and transfer the lentils to a bowl. Wash the roasted lentils and keep it aside to use later.
- Press the SAUTE button again and add the ghee.3 Tablespoons Ghee
- Once the ghee melts and is hot, add cashews, raisins and fry for a minute or two until the raisins swell and the cashews start turning light brown.10 Cashew Nuts, 20 gms Raisins
- Remove the fried cashews and raisins from the pot and keep them on a plate to use later.
- Drain the water from the soaked rice and moong dal. Add both of them to the pot.250 gms (or) 1 cup Rice, 125 gms (or) ½ cup Moong Dal
- Now add water and stir well.7 + ¼ Cups Water
- In a steel container put broken jaggery block and ¼ cup water.400 gms (or) 4 cups Jaggery, 7 + ¼ Cups Water
- Put the trivet and keep a steel container with jaggery.
- Close the pot with its lid, turn the pressure valve to the SEALING position.
- Press the PRESSURE COOK/MANUAL button, set the timer for 8 minutes at high pressure.
- Initially, the instant pot displays ON and the timer countdown starts once the pressure builds up.
- Once the timer goes off, let the pressure release naturally for 10 mins.
- After 10 minutes, turn the pressure valve to the VENT position, wait until the pressure is released completely and the small knob next to the pressure valve drops.
- Take the lid off the pot, remove the steel container with melted jaggery and the trivet.
- Now add the jaggery water, cardamon, nutmeg powder, edible camphor, fried cashews and raisins to the rice dal mixture.1 Teaspoon Cardamom Powder, a pinch Edible Camphor, big pinch Nutmeg Powder
- Stir well until everything incorporates well.
- Delicious sweet pongal is ready to enjoy!
Video
Notes
Roast: It is essential to dry roast moong dal as it gives pongal a good texture and taste.
Strain: Pass the jaggery water through the steel strainer to remove any debris if present before adding it to the cooked pongal.
Before straining, press the jaggery lumps with the back of the spoon to break them and then stir well. Lumps would be soft and it’s unnecessary to put a lot of pressure.
Edible camphor: It not only infuses nice aroma and taste but is used to replicate the taste of the pongal offered in south Indian temples. Skip it if you don’t have it on hand.
A pinch of edible camphor goes a long way to infuse the lovely flavour and elevate the taste of the pongal. Do not add too much as it overpowers the true flavour of sweet pongal.
Jaggery Lumps: It’s not really necessary to break jaggery lumps if you don’t want to strain melted jaggery.
Water Quantity: The amount of water required to make this Indian sweet dish differs depending on the type of rice you use. In this instant pot dessert recipe, I have used sona masoori raw rice.
Ratio: The rice and lentil ratio is a personal preference. I use 2:1 - 2 cups of rice and 1 cup of moong dal (1 cup of rice and ½ cup of moong dal). You may choose 1:1 or 3:1. It's absolutely a personal choice.
Consistency: Pongal thickens as it cools. So do not worry if the pongal looks overly thin and runny once you open the pot. Eventually, you will get the right consistency as it cools.
Deglaze the inner pot well prior to closing it with a lid to avoid the BURN message.
Cooking Time: It varies depending on the volume you cook and the type of water you use. Extremely hard water takes a long time to cook.
Total Time: The time set on an instant pot is not the total time taken to cook instant pot sweet pongal. The Instant pot takes its time to build the pressure depending on the quantity in the pot before the timer starts the countdown. So, the total time would be time to build pressure + timer countdown + natural pressure release time.
Rice Variety: Short grain rice such as ponni, sona masoori rice or jeera samba are used. However, use basmati or long-grained rice if you have them on hand.
Rice Water Ratio: Sweet pongal recipe requires a lot more water than normal rice or flavoured rice recipe. For 1 cup rice, 3.5 cups of water have been used to get the right consistency.
Ghee: A good amount of ghee is required to make this instant pot sakkarai pongal to get that gooey texture.
Nutrition
Calories: 413kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 7g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 15mg | Sodium: 18mg | Potassium: 61mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 43g | Vitamin A: 31IU | Vitamin C: 0.1mg | Calcium: 38mg | Iron: 1mg