The rituals that make up the harvest festival hold a great deal of significance for me. It gives me an opportunity to pay obeisance to the land for it’s multitude of offerings and also throws light on how important it is to be involved in sustainable farming practices.
Last year, my pongal pots contained as many as three different grains each of which had it’s unique properties in terms of colour, texture and nutrition.
This year as the time draws nearer to keep ready the various ingredients required for the auspicious sweet rice offering I decide to use un-refined sugars to compliment the taste of the wholesome raw rice. The traditional sakkarai pongal is made using a nattusakkarai otherwise known as jaggery or vellum. It was when it came to making the white kalkandu sadham that I was stumped for natural sugar options.
This version of the pongal is known for it’s creamy white colour that is the result of the rice being cooked with white rock candy, milk and water. Having eaten bowlfuls at my grandmother’s home, this one is a firm favourite.
It is important that the natural sugar should in no way taint the original colour of this rice. The idea of substituting panam kalkandu in place of regular kalkandu dawned on me. This brown rock candy made from the sap obtained out of the flowers of the palmyra tree is natural and un-refined.I sometimes add a teaspoon of powdered panam kalkandu to a cup of hot milk along with a pinch of cinnamon. It’s a great beverage option especially when there is a slight chill in the air.
I came across this many years ago at a Chettinad feast. The minerals in this natural sugar are known to be beneficial in warding off coughs and colds. It also tastes delicious and is the preferred sweetener for many traditional South Indian payasams .
In rock form these look like uneven pale beige/ golden brown crystal. The best way to use is to powder it in a heavy duty blender and sieve it to remove the impurities. There’s usually bits of fine twigs or straw that may have fallen in the sap before the mixture was set to crystallise. Once powdered the intensity of the colour fades to a dull ivory. It dissolves easily and I wonder why I never thought of using it to make pongal before.
The joys of conscientiously sourcing ingredients are manifold. Not only is it about adhering to tradition it is also about good health. By all means let’s eat pongal, let us just make it the healthiest pot of pongal we have cooked. A festival is no excuse to binge on the unhealthy especially when the alternatives are just as appetising. I am off now to pick out the finest cashewnuts and the plumpest raisins, strands of aromatic saffron and fragrant rice in preparation for the big day, when we invoke the blessings of the sun for a bountiful harvest and offer our thanks for not going hungry. It is also a day to extend our thanksgiving and wishes to our hardworking farmers who deserve to prosper. Happy Pongal.
