Kali is a sweet dish prepared especially for the Thiruvathirai festival in the south Indian states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala. Devotees make this dish with rice and yellow split moong dal along with jaggery, and usually serve it with a seasonal speciality side dish known as Thiruvathirai Kootu made with a variety of tuber vegetables grown in the region.

Our ancestors have aptly developed this recipe combination with all the nutrition and flavors for breaking the fast that many women undertake during this festival. Let’s dive in…

Quick overview of how to make Kali

Kali is an easy one pot recipe and you can make it in under 30 minutes

• First roast and coarse grind grains (you can prepare this ahead of time)
• Then cook them until well done
• Next add sweetener and flavors
• Finally serve with accompaniments such as kootu

What you will need to make Kali

Ingredients

Note: 1 cup = 235 ml

1. 1 cup raw rice
2. ¼ cup split yellow moong dal
3. 2 ½ cups water
4. A pinch of salt
5. 1 cup jaggery
6. ½ cup coconut, grated
7. 1 Tbsp. ghee
8. ½ tsp. cardamom powder

Kitchen tools

1. Flat bottom pan
2. Flat ladle
3. Instant Pot / Pressure cooker / Wok
4. Blender / Food processor

A quick note on a couple of key ingredients

We need only two ingredients to make this recipe – rice and jaggery. All other ingredients are optional

Rice: South Indian variety of raw rice like ponni, sona masoori or matta work well for this. The consistency of the end product has to be slightly fluffy and not mushy like Sweet Pongal. Depending on what rice you pick, use water accordingly. For ponni and sona masoori, I use a rice to water ratio of 1:2

Jaggery: Sugarcane jaggery tastes best for this recipe. You can use powdered jaggery or jaggery blocks as long as you make sure the jaggery blocks do not have dust in them. If that is the case, melt the jaggery with a little water, filter the syrup, and then use it to mix into the cooked rice. If you need more information on this, look at my Sweet Pongal or Vella Aval recipes

How to make Kali (step-by-step instructions with photos)

Roast and Grind

Step 1 – Dry roast 1 cup raw rice with ¼ cup split yellow moong dal until the dal changes to light brown color. Set aside and allow it to cool down

Step 2 – Use a blender to grind the roasted grains to a coarse texture

Cook

Step 3 – Add the coarse ground grains from step 2 into an Instant Pot, add 2 ½ cups of water, add a pinch of salt, and cook in Manual High setting for 2 minutes with the valve in sealing mode.

If using a pressure cooker, cook for up to 2 whistles

Alternatively you can use a wok bring the water and salt to a boil and slowly add the ground grains and cook until well done

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Sweeten and Flavor

Step 4 – Add 1 cup crushed jaggery and mix until well incorporated. When the jaggery melts, mix it all together and in about 2 minutes it will thicken and become dry

📝 The texture of kali should be like that of a fluffy upma or cooked grains for a salad. It should not become mushy which will happen if you add too much water either in step 3 or if you attempt to melt a jaggery block with too much water

📝 Also, avoid making it too sweet unless you want to eat it alone. Since one typically serves this with kootu (a spicy vegetable mix), any excess sweetness will only increase the spiciness of the vegetables

Step 5 – Add ½ cup grated coconut, 1 Tbsp. ghee, 1/2 tsp. cardamom powder and mix everything together

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Step 6 – Enjoy your sublime Kali on Thiruvathirai or on any winter morning 😋

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