Pongal, Makara Sankranthi and Lohri are celebrated to mark the harvesting season in India. The festival also marks the Sun’s journey towards north, which means the winter season will be tapering off. On Makara Sankranthi day Surya Namaskar will be performed to mark the journey of Sun God followed by celebrations with tasty recipes! People celebrate the festival by preparing recipes that contain rice, wheat, jaggery (sweet Pongal), vegetables (sambar), sesame (sesame-jaggery laddu).

Sweet and spicy rice Pongal are specially prepared on Pongal day. There is also another version of Pongal prepared using broken wheat. It is generally served with a mixed vegetable curry called gotsu. We are presenting here recipes of broken wheat Pongal and gotsu for this Makara Sankranthi and Pongal celebrations.

1.       Broken wheat Pongal recipe

Ingredients

1.       Broken wheat – 1 cup

2.       Moong daal – ¼ cup

3.       Clarified butter (ghee)- 2 Tbsp

4.       Water – 3 cups

5.       Pepper – 1 tsp

6.       Cashews – About 12

7.       Cumin – 1 tsp

8.       Green chili (optional) – 2

9.       Finely chopped ginger- 1 tsp

10.   Asafoetida – few pinches (as per taste)

11.   Salt – as per taste

Preparation:

1.       Dry fry cracked wheat till it releases aroma (just like you fry for upma or uppittu).

2.       Soak fried cracked wheat and moong dal in a vessel for about 15 mins.

3.       Place a pressure cooker on medium heat -add 1 Tbsp ghee and fry cashew to golden brown. Add cumin, pepper, curry leaves, chopped green chilli and satue.

4.       When pepper splitter, add chopped ginger satue for few seconds, add asafoetida and turn off the heat. Transfer the tampering to small vessel

5.       Place pressure cooker on medium heat, add 1 Tbsp ghee and add soaked cracked wheat and moong dal mix. Add a cup of water and continue mixing.

6.       When it starts boiling, add salt and continue mixing, so that mix will not get lumps and not stick to the cooker. Close cooker lid. Wait for 3 to 4 whistles. Turn heat to low for couple of minutes and turn off the heat.

7.       Once cooker pressure released, transfer the contents to Pongal vessel, add tampering and another pinch of asafoetida and mix well. Add little water if it is too thick, mix and heat on low flame.

8.       Serve Pongal with hot gotsu.

2. Gotsu recipe:

Ingredients

1.       Small Indian eggplant – 4

2.       Potato – One medium size

3.       Carrot – 1

4.       Tomato – 1

5.       Onion (optional) – 1

6.       Moong daal- ½ cup

7.       Green chili -2 or 3

8.       Turmeric – little

9.       Coconut oil – 2 tsp

10.   Salt- as per taste

11.   Mustard – ¼ tsp

12.   Curry leaves- 1 sting

13.   Red chili – 1 cut into half

14.   Urad daal -1/2 tsp

15.   Asafetida – pinch

16.   Chopped ginger – ¼ tsp

17.   Chopped coriander – 2 Tbsp

Preparation:

1.       Pressure cook moong dal for minimum 3 whistles.

2.       Cut eggplant to slightly bigger size and rest of the veggies should be chopped to small pieces. (Onion is optional for festival day as many prefer not adding onion or garlic during festivals in the recipes).

3.       Heat a vessel on medium heat, add sesame oil and tamper using mustard, green chili, red chili, curry leaves, asafetida, chopped ginger.

4.       Add chopped vegetables to tampering, fry for about five minutes, add salt and  water to cook. Cook the contents till the potato and carrot becomes soft.

5.       Add cooked moong dal, turmeric, and little more water. Bring contents to boil.

6.       The consistency of gotsu will be like sambar.

7.       Add chopped coriander, coconut oil to hot gotsu and serve with Pongal.

Image credit: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/538320961684062940/ & https://www.pinterest.com/pin/348395721179657803/