The Chakkara Pongali I Could Never Recreate
There are some recipes we try to recreate. And then there are some moments we spend years trying to taste again. For me, Chakkara Pongali will always be one of those moments. Whenever I think of it, I don't think of rice, jaggery, ghee, or cashews first. I think of Lord Venkateswara Swami. Now, I know many people associate him with laddus, Tirumala trips, and long darshan queues. But somehow, for me, Chakkara Pongali became the memory that stayed. Perhaps it is because whenever I think of Venkateswara Swami, I think of Krishna. And whenever I think of Krishna, I think of a friend. Someone I can speak to. Someone I can complain to. Someone I can laugh with. Someone who quietly listens. That is the feeling I have always carried. Growing up, Tirumala was not a place we visited very often. But there was a beautiful TTD temple in Hyderabad that became a part of many family memories. Several of our relatives got married in the Kalyana Mandapam beside the temple. Whenever there was a wedd...