All three festivals of Pongal, Lohri and Sankranti have influenced a limited-edition menu at an Andheri restaurant, which is celebrating the harvest season. You thus get a mix of dishes like surti undhiyu, moong dal halwa and jalebi with malpua, and drinks including kesar lassi, all of which point towards the way different communities celebrate this season.
Time: 12 pm to 12 am
At: Rasotsav, Royal Sands Building, Andheri West
Call: 7208027824 
Cost: Rs 550

Sweet beginnings

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This restaurant that serves South Indian food is laying out an elaborate thali. It includes two versions of kosambari made out of channa dal and urad dal, pulliyogare (tamarind rice), chithranna (lemon rice), poricha kuzhambu (sambar), and belle obbatu, which is a South Indian version of pooranpoli. And as a sweet touch, every guest who walks into the eatery will be greeted with small pieces of sugarcane and yellu bella, which is made from white sesame, roasted channa dal and jaggery.
Time: 11 am to 10 pm
At: Thangabali, Manmohan Bhavan, Mahim West
Call: 9321845558
Cost: Rs 699

Home truths

Perimas Kitchen, a home-cooking venture run by chef Meena Subramanian, has a special Pongal menu for this weekend that has traditional delicacies including manga pacchidi, which is a sweet served on auspicious occasions; potato kara kari, where the spud is stir-fried with fresh ground spices; paruppa vadai, or crunchy lentil vadas; puli inji, a pickle made with ginger and green chillies in tamarind paste.
Time: 11 am to 9 pm
Log on to: @perimaskitchen on Instagram
Cost: Rs 1,600

Dressed the part

A popular eatery in Versova is all dressed up for Pongal, with traditional clay pots and white rangoli ramping up the interiors. They are also offering a limited-edition thali that has ven pongal, which is savoury, and chakkara pongal, which is sweet due to the inclusion of jaggery. 
Time: 11 am to 10 pm
At: The Tanjore Tiffin Room, Ratan Kunj, Versova, Andheri West
Call: 9820050591
Cost: Rs 550

Sakkarai pongal

Ingredients
>> 1 cup rice, washed 
>> 1/2 cup yellow moong dal (split), washed >> 1 cup jaggery, grated and melted>> 1 teaspoon cardamom powder>> 1/4 cup ghee

For seasoning
>> 2 tablespoons cashew nuts, halved
>> 1 tablespoon ghee

Method
Heat a pan on medium heat and roast the yellow moong dal until a lightly roasted aroma is released. Put the roasted moong dal and rice in a pressure cooker. Add three cups of water, and pressure-cook till two whistles. After the first one, turn the heat to low and simmer for four minutes and cook. Keep this aside. Melt the jaggery in half a cup of water. Allow the jaggery to come to a boil. Now, heat a tablespoon of ghee in a small pan and roast the cashew nuts until golden and crisp. Turn off the heat and keep aside. In the final steps, add the melted jaggery mixture and the roasted cashew nuts along with the 1/4 cup of ghee into the cooked rice and dal. Add in the cardamom powder. Stir well on medium heat for five minutes until the jaggery and cardamom powder gets well-blended with the rice and dal mixture. The pongal is now ready. Transfer it to a serving bowl.  

Chef Marina Balakrishnan, That Thalassery Girl