Sakkarai Pongal Recipe | Sugar Free Pongal Recipe Sweet

Vegan Sakkarai Pongal Recipe

A ghee-less, millet sweet pongal which makes for a healthy, guilt-free indulgence.

Pongal means festivity or celebration. Maybe this is why a bite of sakkarai pongal is like a celebration in your mouth!

Sakkarai Pongal is a traditional dessert. It is especially prepared during the Makar Sankranti or Pongal festival in Southern India. Traditionally, it is a preparation with rice, moong dal and jaggery. Today, many of us use sugar or refined jaggery, ghee and polished rice to make the sweet. However, there is a better way to enjoy the goodness and enhance health.

We have for you a dish that will melt in your mouth and leave you wanting more. A ghee-less, millet sweet pongal which makes for a healthy, guilt-free indulgence.

We use foxtail millet instead of white rice and date syrup. Ghee is an animal food and causes disease, so we have replaced it with finely ground coconut for a super rich and mouth-watering dish.

Enjoy this delicious sweet!

Whole Food Plant Based Sakkari Pongal Recipe

Course: Pongal Festival Dish, Dessert in Course 3 (Grain Dishes) at Lunch & Dinner Meals
Cuisine: Tamil Recipe from South India
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 30 minutes
Servings: 4 people

INGREDIENTS

2/3 cup Foxtail Millet
1/3 cup Paitham Paruppu / Pasi Paruppu / Yellow Moong Dal / Split Yellow Lentil
1 cup Date Syrup
1/2 tsp Cardamom Powder / Elaichi
2 tbsp Almond Butter
1/4 cup Mixed nuts
3 cups Water as required

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Soak Foxtail Millet and Paitham Paruppu / Moong Dal at least for 30 minutes. Drain the water (and use it for your garden!). Cook them together with 2 cups of water with a partially closed lid. Check on it once in a while an adjust water if required. Do not allow to boil over or get burnt.
2. Once foxtail millet and moong dal is cooked, remove from stove and mix in almond butter, date syrup and cardamom powder. Dilute almond butter with a little water before mixing to make this step easier.
3. Wait until it cools down completely. Garnish with mixed nuts. Serve Fresh!

Plant Based Chef Pro Tips for Best Sakkarai Pongal Recipe

1. Add cinnamon and cloves for a greater range of flavor.
2. Cooking foxtail millet and moong dal separately is safer if you don't have time to check on them often.
3. Cooking foxtail millet & moong dal in a mud pot is easier than a steel vessel, as it gets cooked evenly.
4. While partially covering the boiling moong dal and foxtail millet with a plate for sweet pongal recipe, it is wise to pour some water on the plate. If the plate remains cool, the boiling mixture will not boil over!

Nutrition Science Highlights for WFPB Sweet Pongal Recipe

1. Why not honey, sugar or jaggery? Sugar and Jaggery are processed foods. Although jaggery is healthier than brown sugar, which, in turn, is healthier than white sugar, all forms of processed foods are unhealthy when compared to whole plant foods. Honey is healthwise as good as jaggery, which isn't saying much. In addition to not being very healthy, honey production kills millions of bees every year, affecting our environment adversely. The best sweetener alternative is a whole fruit or dry fruit. The easiest method of using these is date syrup, as it does not involve peeling or chopping.
2. Why whole grains? Whole grains are healthier than refined grains such as white rice, refined flours, maida, rava, etc., as the bran layer is intact, with all its vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Whole grains have been found to be protective against a whole range of chronic diseases, including heart disease, diabetes, and lifestyle-related cancers.
3. Why cool grains? When cooked grains are allowed to cool on the counter or in the fridge, the starch crystallises to form resistant starch. This can be eaten by our good gut bacteria and also reduces the glycemic index (the rate at which glucose is absorbed), making the whole grain even healthier. For the same reason, parboiled whole grains can be used as well.
4. Why not dairy? Dairy products have been found to be associated with increased risk of chronic diseases, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension, obesity, asthma, PCOS, and heart disease. We can still enjoy our milk, cream, and butter though - as long as they are made from whole plant foods!
5. Why nuts instead of oil? Whole foods are healthier than processed foods. When nuts are pressed and oil is extracted, fiber and phytonutrients are lost, along with many other nutrients. Therefore, whole nuts are much healthier than oils, whether cold-pressed or refined. In addition, they provide the oil content we need to absorb fat-soluble phytonutrients from other whole plant foods! This may be why nuts are used to garnish nearly every traditional Indian dish!