Sweet Pongal with Rose Chikki

Methods

• 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.
• 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.
• Heat ghee in a third non-stick pan.
• Add saffron, cardamom powder and nutmeg powder to green gram-rice mixture, mix and cook till most of the moisture is absorbed.
• 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.
• 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.
• Place a silicon mat on the worktop, pour this mixture on it and spread. Let it cool down and almost set.
• Cut it into roundels with a medium sized cookie cutter and let them set fully. Remove the chikki roundels and discard the excess.
• 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.