🍚 Pongal (Thai Pongal) Puja Vidhi — step by step
The household vidhi of the four days of Pongal — Bhogi (cleaning and bonfire), Thai Pongal (kolam at dawn, cooking the Pongal after sunrise — sunrise/Abhijit above), Mattu Pongal (cattle), Kaanum (gatherings).
How to do Pongal (Thai Pongal) — the steps
- Bhogi (day one): at dawn burn the old and broken things of the house (mats, clothes, brooms — not plastic or tyres) in a bonfire in the courtyard (a new beginning — 'Bhogi mandalu'), drums and songs; clean, plaster and whitewash the house, buy new clothes and pots, a mango-leaf toran; in Andhra-Telangana 'Bhogi pallu' (ber, flowers, coins) are showered on children; Indra puja in some homes.
- Thai Pongal — dawn: bathe before sunrise, new clothes; wash the doorstep and courtyard and draw a large **kolam** (rangoli of rice flour or colour — figures of the Sun, sugarcane, kalash), a ball of cow dung with a yellow pumpkin (parangikkai) flower at its centre; a hearth of bricks in the open (facing the Sun) in the courtyard or on the terrace.
- The Pongal pot: a new clay (or brass) pot — three stripes of turmeric, sandal and kumkum on it, a fresh turmeric-and-ginger rhizome (with leaves) and mango leaves tied at its neck; beside the pot a pair of sugarcanes, a banana leaf, coconut, banana, a picture of the Sun god (or face the Sun).
- Cooking the Pongal (after sunrise, before Abhijit ends — timings above): boil milk and water in the pot — the moment the milk **boils over** (auspicious towards the north or east), the whole family calls 'Pongalo Pongal!', conch or drum; then add the new rice (the first harvest), moong dal, jaggery, ghee, cashew-raisins and cardamom for sakkarai (sweet) Pongal; alongside ven (savoury — pepper, cumin, ginger) Pongal.
- Sun worship: on a banana leaf place the Pongal, sugarcane, banana, coconut and turmeric rhizome and offer them to the Sun — 'Suryaya Namah', the Aditya Hridaya or Sun mantras, camphor aarti; arghya to the Sun; the Pongal goes first to the Sun, then to the household deities, the cow and the crows (kanu), then to the family — a meal on banana leaves.
- Mattu Pongal (day three): bathe the cows and bulls, paint the horns and cap them with brass, garland and bell, kumkum and turmeric on the forehead, flowers on the neck; feed them Pongal, jaggery, sugarcane and banana, aarti; worship at the cowshed; in villages jallikattu (bull-taming) and manju virattu; feed the pets and birds at home.
- Kaanum Pongal (day four): visits to family and relatives, picnics by the river or seashore; **kanu pidi** — at dawn the women and sisters of the house place leftover Pongal, coloured rice (turmeric-kumkum), sugarcane and banana on turmeric leaves in the courtyard for the crows and pray for the long life and prosperity of their brothers (brothers give gifts to sisters); blessings of elders, new clothes.
- Closing: sugarcane chewed and shared, the kolam kept till the next day; the Pongal pot kept for the year's puja; leftover rice for the birds; wedding and new-work muhurats looked at from Uttarayana.
Puja samagri checklist
A new clay pot, a fresh turmeric-ginger rhizome, new rice and jaggery, sugarcane, kolam — the Pongal list (all four days).
- Pongal pot: a new clay pot (pongal panai) or brass, hearth bricks or a stove (in the open), firewood or dung cakes; turmeric, sandal and kumkum (stripes on the pot)
- A fresh turmeric rhizome (with leaves) and a ginger rhizome — to tie at the pot's neck, mango leaves, raw thread; a pair of sugarcanes, banana leaves, coconut, bananas
- Pongal ingredients: new rice (the fresh paddy harvest — pongal arisi), moong dal, jaggery (pongal vellam), cow's milk, ghee, cashew-raisins, cardamom, edible camphor (some homes); for ven Pongal pepper, cumin, ginger, curry leaves
- Kolam: rice flour or white powder, coloured powders, a dung ball with a yellow pumpkin flower (centre), marigold; doorway toran (mango leaves)
- Sun worship: a picture of the Sun or facing east, a lota for arghya, kumkum, turmeric, sandal, flowers, incense, camphor, aarti plate, bell, conch; the Aditya Hridaya booklet
- Mattu Pongal: paint for the horns, brass horn-caps, garlands, bells, flowers, Pongal, jaggery, sugarcane, banana, kumkum-turmeric for the cattle; a gift to a gaushala
- Kaanum / kanu pidi: turmeric leaves, coloured rice (turmeric-kumkum), leftover Pongal, sugarcane, banana — for the crows; gifts between brothers and sisters; new clothes
- Dishes: sakkarai Pongal, ven Pongal, vadai, payasam, avial or sambar, murukku, appam; sugarcane, banana, sesame-jaggery (ellu-vellam)
Sakkarai Pongal, ven Pongal, vadai and payasam, sugarcane and sesame-jaggery; the Sun's offering on a banana leaf
The offering of Pongal is Pongal itself — the boiled-over sweet (sakkarai) Pongal of new rice, moong, jaggery and ghee for the Sun, with ven (savoury) Pongal, vadai, payasam, sugarcane, banana and coconut; the whole family eats on banana leaves; on Mattu Pongal the cattle get Pongal, jaggery and sugarcane; on Kaanum the crows get coloured rice.
- Sakkarai Pongal: new rice + roasted moong dal in milk and water, jaggery, ghee, cashew-raisins, cardamom — boiled over in the pot; the Sun's main offering
- Ven Pongal: rice, moong, ghee, black pepper, cumin, ginger, cashew, curry leaves — savoury; with sambar and gotsu (brinjal or tamarind)
- The plate (banana leaf): both Pongals, medu vadai, payasam (vermicelli or moong), avial, sambar and rasam, appalam, banana, sugarcane, sesame-jaggery (ellu-vellam — Sankranti), panagam (jaggery water)
- Bhogi: dal-rice or Pongal after the bonfire, Bhogi pallu (ber) showered on children; Mattu Pongal: Pongal, jaggery, sugarcane and banana for the cattle; Kaanum: picnic food (kootu, vadai, curd rice), coloured rice for the crows
- Avoided: meat on Pongal day (most homes — though non-vegetarian food on Kaanum in some communities), haste in cooking the Pongal (the boiling over must be watched), forgetting the turmeric rhizome on the pot
Rules — do's and don'ts
✅ Do
- Cleaning and a bonfire of old (natural) things on Bhogi; on Thai Pongal the kolam at dawn, a new pot, the turmeric-ginger rhizome, the Pongal in the open after sunrise — 'Pongalo Pongal!' the moment it boils over
- The first Pongal to the Sun (on a banana leaf with sugarcane, banana, coconut), then to the deities, the cow, the crows and the family; the Aditya Hridaya or Sun mantras
- On Mattu Pongal bathe, adorn and feed the cattle and pets, give to a gaushala; on Kaanum the sisters' kanu pidi, family gatherings, blessings of elders
- Pongal from the new harvest's rice, jaggery and sugarcane where possible; share sesame-jaggery, speak sweetly; muhurats for new work and weddings from Uttarayana
- North Indian homes in Tamil Nadu / Tamil families in the North — both customs (khichdi + Pongal) together; explain the meaning to the children (thanks to the Sun, the farmer and the animals)
❌ Don't
- Burning plastic, tyres or rubber in the Bhogi bonfire (pollution — only wood, mats, cloth, dung); keep children and the elderly away from the smoke
- Cooking the Pongal without watching the milk boil over, or quarrelling and inauspicious words while cooking; forgetting the turmeric rhizome on the pot and the kolam
- Cruelty to animals in jallikattu or cattle games, harming the cattle with chemical colours on Mattu Pongal (use natural colours)
- Meat or alcohol on the main day (Thai Pongal) by tradition; throwing away Pongal prasad — give it to birds and cows
- Assuming Thai Pongal is always 14 January — the date shifts between 14/15 (sometimes 13/16) with the solar transit; see the date above
Vrat katha
The katha of Pongal (Shiva, Nandi and Basava): Shiva sent Nandi to earth — 'tell the people to eat once a month and take an oil bath every day'; Nandi said it the wrong way round — 'eat every day, bathe once a month'. Sh… Read the full katha →
Frequently asked questions
When is Pongal in {Y} — all four days?
All four days above: Bhogi (the day before Thai Pongal), Thai Pongal (Makar Sankranti — the Sun's entry into Capricorn, around 14/15 January), Mattu Pongal (the next day), Kaanum Pongal (the day after); the date changes every year by solar calculation.
What time and direction for cooking the Pongal?
After sunrise and before midday (Abhijit) — timings above; in the open facing east, before the Sun; milk boiling over towards the north or east is auspicious (Uttarayana); do not cook during Rahu Kaal (above).
How is sakkarai Pongal made?
1 cup new rice + ¼ cup roasted moong dal cooked soft in milk and water; add ¾–1 cup melted and strained jaggery, 3–4 spoons of ghee, cashew and raisins fried in ghee, cardamom; let the milk boil over in the pot first (the omen), then add the rice.
Why is a turmeric-ginger rhizome tied on the pot?
Fresh turmeric (manjal) stands for auspiciousness, purity and the harvest — the rhizome with its leaves is tied at the pot's neck (with a ginger rhizome), along with mango leaves; it turns the pot into a 'kalash'; sugarcane for prosperity, banana for good fortune.
What is the kanu pidi of Kaanum Pongal?
At dawn on the fourth day the women and sisters place leftover Pongal, coloured (turmeric-kumkum) rice, sugarcane and banana on turmeric leaves for the crows — a prayer for the long life and prosperity of their brothers; brothers give gifts to sisters; a day of family outings.
What is the difference between Pongal and Makar Sankranti?
The same solar transit (the Sun's entry into Capricorn) — Thai Pongal in Tamil Nadu (four days, the boiled-over Pongal), Makar Sankranti in the North (khichdi, sesame, holy bath, kites), Lohri in Punjab (the day before), Magh Bihu in Assam; Makar Sankranti has its own page with those customs.
How to celebrate Pongal in a North Indian home?
On the same day (Makar Sankranti) a kolam or rangoli in the morning, milk boiled over in a new pot and a Pongal of rice, moong and jaggery offered to the Sun (on a banana leaf with sugarcane and banana), 'Pongalo Pongal!'; alongside your own khichdi and sesame-jaggery; cow service the next day, then family gatherings — the spirit is the same: thanks to the Sun, the farmer and the animals.
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