The second day of Pongal is dedicated to the sun God. For the prayer, a special harvest dish called the sakkarai pongal is offered. Made with jaggery, rice, turmeric and lentils in a clay pot, it uses paagu velam, a special variant of jaggery that provides the dark brown colour to the dish. Bapi Debnath, sous chef at Bandra's The Tanjore Tiffin Room, offers us a recipe that is quick and easy to make. "The dish gets thicker after cooling down. If it gets dry, add little ghee and milk while serving," he says.

Recipe: Sakkarai Pongal