Sweet Pongal / Paramannam

Paramannam

Happy Dussera to all my viewers!!!!

According to Hindu tradition & spiritual customs Annam Payasam or Paramannam is a sweet dish which is prepared as an offering to God in almost every home in Andhra on most special occasions and festivals.

My mom cooks this paramannam every Saturday as nayvedyam to venkateswara swamy.

This is a traditional sweet, where the rice is cooked in milk and water and sweetened with jaggery and subtly flavored with cardamom.

Ingredients-

• 1 cup rice (Sona Masoori / Jasmine / any Long grain)
• 2 cups milk + 1 cups water
• 2 cups jaggery + 1/2 cup water
• ½ cup each – cashews and golden raisins
• ¼ cup – ghee
• 4 cardamom pods powdered

Directions-

1. In a pressure cooker, cook rice in milk and water to very tender for 4 whistles. (back home, usually, they cook in a milk and water in a big clay pot and will let the milk boil and overflow a little out of the pot which is considered as good and to this they add washed rice, I am cutting all this extra steps and making it a easy way)
2. In an another pot, melt jaggery in water and simmer to plain syrup stage.
3. Add cooked rice to jaggery syrup. Mix and cook on medium-low heat.
4. Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat ghee on medium heat. First fry cashews and then golden raisins to light gold color. Add the whole thing – ghee along with fried cashews and golden raisins to the rice-jaggery mixture.
5. Simmer on medium-low heat stirring in-between, until the rice comes together ( when cooled, it becomes more hard)
6. Just before turning off the heat, stir in cardamom powder and mix thoroughly. Serve warm or cold.

Sweet Pongal