Traditionally sweet Pongal is prepared by boiling everything together in a thick-bottomed pot or pan until the rice and dhal along with milk and sweetener is cooked and soft and mushy.
Then cashews and raisins are roasted under low flame in the ghee until they are golden brown and then this is poured over the pongal. You can also cook the pongal in a pressure cooker.
Add the rice and dhal, and 2 cups of water with a pinch of salt and cook for 3 whistles for 10 minutes.
Once the pressure is released, add the milk, sweetener, cardamom powder, and ghee-roasted cashews and mix everything well, and let it cook for 5 more minutes until the desired consistency is reached.
Alternatively, this pongal can also be cooked in rice cooker.
The method is the same as in a pressure cooker but the dhal needs to be parboiled before adding in the rice.