Sweet Pongal is made on Pongal Festival.Pongal is called farmers festival as giving thanks to Surya Bhagavan (Sun God) for giving a wonderful year for farmers for cultivation.Its a necessary to make this recipe on pongal day.
Pongal Arriving on the way ,lets make this traditional recipe .

About Pongal Festival:

Thai Pongal (தைப்பொங்கல்) or Pongal (பொங்கல்) is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamil people at the end of the harvest season. Pongal is a four day festival which usually takes place from January 13 to 16 in the Gregorian calendar i.e., the last day of the Tamil month Maargazhi to the third day of Tamil month Thai.
The second of the four days i.e., first day of the Tamil month Thai is the second and main day of the festival and this day is known as Thai Pongal. This day coincides with Makara Sankranthi which is a winter harvest festival celebrated throughout India. The day marks the start of sun’s six-month long journey northwards or the Uttarayanam.This also represents the Indic solstice when the sun purportedly enters the 10th house of the Indian zodiac i.e. Makara or Capricorn.
It is one of the most important festivals celebrated by the Tamil people in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, the Indian Union Territory of Puducherry and Sri Lanka.
In Tamil, the word Pongal means "overflowing" which signifies abundance and prosperity. On the day of Pongal, at the time of sun rise there is a symbolic ritual of boiling fresh milk in a new clay pots and when the milk boils over and bubbles out of the vessel, people shout "Pongalo Pongal!" The saying "Thai Pirandhal Vazhi Pirakkum" meaning "the commencement of Thai paves the way for new opportunities" is often quoted regarding the Pongal festival. Thai Pongal is mainly celebrated to convey the appreciation and thankfulness to the Sun as it act as the primary energy behind agriculture and a good harvest. It is the Surya Mangalyam. Tamilians decorate their homes with banana and mango leaves and embellish the floor with decorative patterns drawn using rice flour.
The history may well be more than 1000 years old although some are of the view that the festival is older than that. Epigraphic Evidence suggests the celebration of thePuthiyeedu during the Medieval Chola empire days. It is thought that Puthiyeedu meant the first harvest of the year. The link between that fast and today's harvest festival needs to be further researched. Tamils refer to Pongal as "Tamizhar Thirunaal" (meaning "the festival of Tamils") Makara Sankranti in turn is referred to in the Surya Siddhanta.
Thai refers to the name of the tenth month in the Tamil calendar, Thai (தை). Pongal in Tamil generally refers to festivity; more specifically Pongal means "boiling over" or "overflow". The boiling for the household. Pongal is also the name of a sweetened dish of rice boiled with lentils which is ritually consumed on this day. Symbolically, pongal signifies the warming i.e. boiling of the season as the Sun travels northward towards the equinox.


Ingredients:

Raw Rice - 2 cups
Moong Dal - 6 to 7 tbsp
Jaggery - 3 to 4 cups
Cardamom Pd - 1/2 tsp
Ginger Pd - 1/2 tsp
Cashew - 1/2 cup
Raisins - 1/2 cup
Coconut Cuts - 1/4 cup
Ghee - 1/2 cup to 3/4 cup

Method:

  1. Heat a pan and add 1/2 teaspoon of ghee and roast the moong dal till they turn golden brown color.

 2.Wash the raw rice twice or thrice and add 7 cups of water and roasted moong dal and pressure cook the raw rice along with the moongdhal in the pressure cooker and cook for 5 whistles. 

 3.After the rice is cooked, remove from cooker and mash it nicely and keep it aside.
4. In the pan, add jaggery and pour little water just to soak the jaggery . When the jaggery gets dissolved add jaggery to the mashed cooked rice with dal and mix well.Mix the rice using a spatula to spread the jaggery evenly by keeping the flame low.Add the ghee slowly and keep on stirring the sakkarai pongal for atleast 4-5 mins ( you can notice the  ghee in the pongal leaves the side of the vessel).


 5.Add Ginger Pd and Cardamom Pd while mixing.


 6.If you feel you need extra sweetness you can add jaggery to the pongal.But keep the flame in low throughout this mixing process or it will burn in the bottom.
7. Heat the pan and keep the flame in medium and add ghee and add broken cashews and raisins and fry them till the cashews turns golden brown color. Remove the fried cashews and raisins from flame and keep it aside.


 8.Then add coconut to the same ghee and fry the coconuts till they are brown,as shown in below photo.

 9.Add Cashew ,Raisins and coconuts to the pongal and mix well.


10. Sweet Pongal is ready.