Author Notes
Inspired by a classic 'prasad' (religious offering) of 'Shakkarai pongal' , this dish is tailormade for the delicious sweet corn that is native to the US of A.
Shakkarai Pongal is a dish made to Celebrate the harvest festival of 'Makar Sankaranthi' in Southern India. The Festival occurs in mid January and also commemorates the return of the sun to the northern Hemisphere after the winter solstice. Made with newly harvested rice & dehusked mung, Pongal literally means 'to boil over/ overflow' thus wishing that fortunes smiles upon everyone.
Corn being a staple in traditional American Cuisine, I cannot think of a better way to utilize this manna of a crop into a dessert that signifies bounty & prosperity. —Panfusine
Ingredients
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1 cup
Fresh yellow sweet corn off the cob
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3/4 cup
Arborio rice
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1/3 cup
muscovado sugar or jaggery (gud)
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5-6
pod cardamom, seeds crushed
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3 cups
whole or 2% milk
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10-12
strands of saffron
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2 tablespoons
melted ghee
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2 tablespoons
cashew nuts broken
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2 tablespoons
Raisins
Directions
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Wash the arborio rice well, combine with the shucked corn and 2 cups of the milk & cook in a heavy bottom pan till the rice is well cooked and mushy. (you may alternatively pressure cook it)
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Warm the extra cup of milk. Remove 1/4 cup of this and dissolve the strands of saffron. Add back into the milk & set aside.
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Add the sugar/jaggery and the cardamom powder to the rice & corn mixture and combine till the sugar melts. Adding the extra saffron infused milk, Continue cooking the pudding on a low flame, till it thickens.
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In a separate skillet, heat the ghee and fry the cashew nuts & raisins till golden brown. Stir into the pudding & serve warm or cold as per your preference.
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