Kalkandu Pongal

I wanted to try this Kalkandu Pongal and made it on a Navaratri day for Neivedhyam.It tastes different from the sakkarai pongal using jaggery.Lets see the recipe.

Ingredients:

Raw rice	1 cup
Yellow moong dal(Pasiparuupu)	1 tblsp
Kalkandu + sugar(see note below)	1 ½ cups
Milk	2 cups
Water	2 cups
Ghee	6 tblsp
Evaporated milk (see note below)	¼ cup
Cashew nut and raisins	as needed
Saffron	a pinch
Nutmeg powder(optional)	a pinch
Cardamom powder	a pinch

Method:

• Fry raw rice and moong dal in a pan till it turns light brown. 
• Take the rice in a tall vessel,add 2 cups of water and 2 cups of milk and pressure cook for 4-5 whistles.Mash them with a ladle and keep aside.
• Heat a pan,add little ghee and roast cashews and raisins and keep aside.
• In the same pan add the kalkandu,sugar and little water and stir so that the kalkandu melts.Boil till it becomes sticky.Now add the cooked rice and mix well.
• The mixture will become watery,add the evaporated milk and mix well.Add ghee little by little and stir till the pongal thickens and is non sticky.Add the saffron,nutmeg and cardamom powders and mix well.Finally add the roasted cashews and raisins and drizzle 1 tblsp ghee on top.

Note:

• I have used 3/4 cup of kalkandu and 3/4 cup of granulated white sugar and you can make it with kalkandu alone too.
• If you don't want to use evaporated milk,use regular full fat milk instead.