Pongal in Tamil Nadu
 
            Pongal in Tamil Nadu is celebrated to mark the withdrawal of the southeast monsoons as well as the reaping of the harvest. Pongal is strictly a rural festival. The Sun is worshiped for its rays are responsible for life on earth. It is the biggest harvest festival, spread over four days. The name of the festival is derived from Pongal, a rice pudding made from freshly harvested rice, milk and jaggery.

The first day, Bhogi Pongal, is a day for the family. Surya Pongal, the second day, is dedicated to the worship of Surya, the Sun God. The third day, Mattupongal is for worship of the cattle. In Chennai (Madras), a rath yatra procession is taken out from the Kandaswamy Temple. In Madurai, Tanjore and Tiruchirrapalli, where Pongal is known as Jellikattu, bundles of money are tied to the horns of bulls and villagers try and wrest the bundles from them. Community meals are made from the freshly gathered harvest and enjoyed by the entire village.


Pongal in Gujarat
 
           In Gujarat, Pongal day is celebrated as Makar Sankranti. Here, kite-flying is a major event for this day. Traditionally celebrated on the 13th or 14th January, it is a day when every family can be seen outdoors 'cutting' each other's kites. Kites of myriad hues, shapes and sizes decorate the skies from dawn to dusk during this festival. The vast panorama of the sky dotted with thousand of kites becomes a wonderful sight to see.

The International Kite Festival is held at the capital city Ahmedabad on January 14 to coincide with the festival of Uttarayan or Makar Sankranti. The people of Gujarat celebrate Uttarayan with a lot of enthusiasm and all business comes to a grinding halt for 3 to 4 days. It is also a celebration to mark the end of winter. The excitement does not end with nightfall, which is the time for illuminated box kites, often in a series strung on one line, to be launched into the sky. Known as "tukals", these add a touch of splendor to the dark sky. 

  Pongal means the "boiling over" of milk and rice during the month of Thai. Since I am a Tamilian and my Husband is a Gujarati, I have shared the pongal festival of those two cultures. This is one of my favorite sweet pongal recipe. I made this few times now but i felt something was missing. As I was in India last year I got a chance to get the recipe from my mom. When I tried this recipe it tasted just the way mom prepares. Well, I have made this recipe in pressure cooker, but it can also be prepared traditionally by boiling the rice, dal in a pot and adding the jaggery to it.





Ingredients :

1/2 cup Rice
2-3 Tblsp Moong Dal
1/2 cup heaped Jaggery
2 & 1/2 cups Water
3 Tblsp Ghee
Pinch of Salt
5-6 Cashews
1 Elaichi
1 Clove




Method :