Sakkarai pongal

This sweet, buttery dish is made with freshly harvested new rice, jaggery and ghee (clarified butter), with the addition of dried coconut, sesame seeds, raisins, milk, and cashew nuts. Sakkarai pongal is traditionally prepared as an offering to the Sun God during Makar Sankranti, a three-day harvest festival in mid-January, celebrated in the states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh. The rice is typically cooked outdoors over a fire, with the cooking pots turned to the East, where the sun rises, and it is also customary to allow the dish to pongal, meaning to boil over during cooking, which symbolizes an abundance of food. This creamy, aromatic porridge is traditionally served alongside savory donuts called vadas and coconut chutney.