Ingredients and method to make Ellu Sakkarai Pongal/ Sweet Sesame Rice.
1 and 1/2 cups of cooked rice (either brown or white) (I used brown)
6 tbsp brown sesame seeds (til/ ellu)
1 cup grated jaggery (see notes)
2 tsp clarified butter (ghee/ nei)
5 cardamom seeds powdered fine
Optional garnish
1 tsp clarified butter/ghee/nei
1 tbsp broken pieces of cashew nuts (kaju)
Pressure cook rice until soft. I used brown rice, so for about 1/2 cup of uncooked rice I used about 1 cup of water. If you are using white rice, cook as per manufacturers directions. Some kinds of white raw rice require about 1.5 cups for 1 cup of rice and some require 2-3 cups of water. Remove from heat.
Dry roast brown sesame seeds until they turn a little more brown and keep aside. When cooler grind the sesame seeds into a reasonable powder, it does not have to be very fine.
In a large heavy bottomed pan place the grated jaggery with cooked rice and place on medium to low heat. Keep stirring frequently until the jaggery melts and allow the mixture to simmer for a few minutes.
When the mixture begins to thicken slightly, add powdered sesame (til/ ellu) and mix well.
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Add clarified butter and cardamom powder to this mixture and keep stirring it on low heat.
When the mixture starts thickens a little more, remove from heat. Do remember that once it cools a little it thickens a bit more. If you plan to garnish, heat clarified butter in a small pan. Add broken cashew pieces to it and stir until the cashews turn an even reddish color. Remove and pour entire mixture on the pongal.
Serves about 2
Notes:
If you like your sweets very mild, then you might want to reduce the quantity of jaggery to about 3/4 cup .
