Sabudana khichdi

Sabudana khichdi as it is commonly called in India is nothing but a kind of upma made with tapioca pearls or sago. It’s usually made during fasting days. Sabudana is gluten free and vegan too. Its rich in folate and vitamin B6. It helps in digestion and good for muscle growth. It can be used in various forms. One can make sabudana kheer, sabudana vada, sabudana pancakes, sabudana tikkis etc. The main trick

in making a perfect sabudana khichdi lies in soaking the sago. Its always better to soak it for 6-8 hours. The perfectly soaked one should be soft and easily crushed. This doesn’t require a lengthy cooking time. Make sure to be gentle while handling these pearls once you add it to the potato mixture. Too much stirring will result in a gooey and sticky mass.

To make the dish more flavourful you can add boiled or parboiled potatoes. However, since it’s usually made during the fasting period, we refrain from adding onions. It’s actually a mild dish which is easy to be digested. Also, the lack of strong spices justify the fact that it’s consumed during fasting. One can garnish the dish with freshly grated coconut. You may also replace the normal salt with rock salt (sendha namak or upwaas ka namak). In the coming days, I shall post some more fasting recipes 🙂

Ingredients:

• Sago/sabudana 1/2 cup
• Salt to taste
• Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
• Curry leaves few
• Green chilies 2-3
• Ginger a small piece
• Roasted peanuts 2 tbsp
• Potato 1 (optional)
• Grated coconut 1-2 tbsp (optional)
• Refined oil 1 tbsp
• Lemon juice 1 tsp
• Coriander leaves for garnish

Method:

• Wash and soak the sabudana for 20 minutes. Drain the water and keep aside for 4-6 hours. If it looks very dry, sprinkle some more water. It should be nicely puffed up and soft from the centre.

• Chop the potato into cubes, green chilies and ginger finely.
• Parboil the potato pieces in boiling water for 3-4 minutes.
• Crush the roasted peanuts till they are a bit coarse.

• Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds.
• When they crackle, add curry leaves, green chilies and ginger.
• Add the potato pieces and saute well. Fry till the potato pieces are golden in colour.

• Now add the soaked sabudana, salt and crushed peanuts.

• Sprinkle some water, cover and cook for five minutes.
• Add lemon juice and garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.

• Serve it hot with curd or a banana 🙂