Sweet Pongal with Rose Chikki

Method

1. Dry-roast split green grams in a deep-non-stick pan till light brown. Drain soaked rice and add to the pan and mix. Add milk, mix and cook for 15-20 minutes.
2. To make jaggery syrup, heat jaggery in another non-stick pan. Add some water and cook till jaggery melts. Add the syrup to green gram-rice mixture, mix and cook for 1-2 minutes.
3. Heat ghee in a third non-stick pan.
4. Add saffron, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to green gram-rice mixture, mix and cook till most of the moisture is absorbed.
5. Add cashewnuts and raisins to hot ghee and fry till golden. Add it to green gram-rice mixture with the ghee and mix well. This is pongal.
6. To prepare rose  chikki, heat castor sugar in a fourth non-stick pan and cook till it caramelizes. Add rose petals and rose syrup and mix well.
7. Place a silicon mat on the worktop, pour this mixture on it and spread. Let it cool down and almost set.
8. Cut it into roundels with a medium sized cookie cutter and let them set fully. Remove the chikki roundels and discard the excess.
9. Fill 4 ceramic serving bowls with some pongal. Place one rose chikki disc on top of pongal in each bowl taking care that it covers the pongal completely. Serve immediately.

Additional Tips and Tricks