Kesar Pongal

Kesar Pongal

Kesar Pongal is a pongal with good flavour, colour and taste. It reminds me of the pongal which was served in one of the perumal temples in NY state.
Ingredients
Rice - 1 Cup
Moong Dhal / Payatham Paruppu / Pesara Pappu - 3/4th of a cup
Kesar food Powder - 1 pinch ( If you have saffron, add 1 tsp of saffron)
Sugar- 3/4 th of a cup.
Elachi powder - 1 tsp
Crushed Pista Powder - 1 tbsp.
Pacha Karpooram / Borneo camphor in english - 1 pinch.
Ghee - 2 tbsp.
Cashew Nuts - 1 tbsp.
Method
1. Wash the dal and rice and cook in a pressure cooker for 3-4 whistles. Add 5 cups of water and cook it on a medium flame. Add a pinch of kesar food powder or 1 tsp of saffron to the mix before cooking.
2. After it cools down completely, open and mix it thoroughly.
3. Add powdered sugar, elachi powder, crushed pista powder,pacha karpooram at this point. Stir continously so that no lumps are formed, it does not get stick to the bottom.
4. Cook everything on a low flame at this point.
5. Add ghee and roasted cashew nuts to the pongal now.
6. Mix again and the kesar pongal is now read for neivedhyam.
7. Before serving, just pour little ghee on top of the kesar pongal.

Variations
I prefer not to add milk in this pongal, as it already has heavy dal in it.
You can add milk in your process if you like it that way.

Also, amount of ghee and sugar can vary based on your sweet tooth.