Sabudana/Tapioca Khichadi
Sabudana Khichdi is made from sago/tapioca pearls, we call them sabudana! We make Sabudana Khichadi usually during religious fasting days like Navratri or Mahashivratri. These are two religious fasting days that come to my mind. Or just in general while fasting people would eat this as substitute food. But, its not strictly fasting food, you can enjoy it anytime without any occasions.
It really makes great dinner option or even lunch option. Its filling on its own. We serve it with yogurt. Did you know, its vegan and gluten free too!
Every time I make Sabudana khichdi, I must adjust the soaking time. You will also have to keep this mind while soaking them. In India, Sabudana needed more time and water to soak up.
The ones I buy here in US, I just need to soak them up for 1-2 hours. Sometimes even less time is required. They soak up so quickly. My suggestions would be soak them for an hour and then check if they have softened up by taking few random pearls and pressing them between fingers. You don’t want to over soak them. They will break down and make sticky khichadi.
It’s a very easy and flavorful recipe, not at all spicy. The combination of cumin seeds, curry leaves, green chilies, peanuts is such a delight.
The major issue people have while making this dish is the clumping, stickiness of sabudana pearls. It happens if more water is absorbed as it is also high in starch. Luckily, I have never had any problems of chewy, sticky khichadi. Its not bad, its just that people prefer fluffy and separate pearls.
Personally, I feel there are two main things to keep in mind to have clump free less sticky khichadi
- Soaking and draining process.
- Using good number of crushed peanuts, it helps in the tapioca pearls not sticking to each other. Some recipes call for whole peanuts, but they won’t help. It is the crushed peanuts that will help with separating the tapioca.
Tips/Things to keep in mind
. Rinse the sabudana to get rid of the starch until the water turns clean and clear. This way we know, the starch is removed.
. Soak the sabudana anywhere between 1 hour to 4 hours again as I mentioned earlier, it depends on the sabudana. Some soak up and fluff up in less time and some just take longer time.
. Drain the water from sabudana and spread it out on a cotton kitchen towel. They should have swelled up after soaking and have softened up. You should be able to smush it by your fingers to test.
. If you love peanuts, then use a little extra. My recipe calls for a lot for that reason. It helps in soaking up extra starch and helps in keeping the grains separate. If you don’t want too much peanuts still you can get good results.
Sabudana Khichadi
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup sabudana sago/tapioca pearls
- 2 tablespoon oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 3-4 curry leaves
- 1-2 green chili chopped
- 1 medium potato chopped
- ¾ cup roasted and coarsely peanuts
- salt to taste
- 1 teaspoon sugar optional
- Juice of 1/2 lemon
- 1/3 cup or less chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Rinse sabudana under running water until water looks clear.
- Transfer them in a bowl to soak up along with approx. 2 cups of water. Sabudana should be submerged in the water.
- Once they have soaked up all the water and look swelled and softened up. Drain any excess water if there is any left. Lay them out on cotton kitchen towel or in a colander for 10-15 minutes.
- Lightly roast peanuts in a pan on medium heat until they have some brown spots. Cool it down and roughly crush them using a food processor. Leave it aside.
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle.
- Once it sizzles, add the curry leaves, green chilies and potatoes. Let the potatoes cook until tender. I use a lid to cover the pan, so they cook faster with the steam. But, be careful not to burn them. Keep checking on them and stirring in between.
- As potatoes look cooked, add the sabudana/tapioca pearls.
- Followed by crushed peanuts, salt and sugar. Mix it well. Cook for few minutes until most of the sabudana pearls become translucent stirring once a while. You do not need to cook any further once they turn translucent.
- Turn off the heat. Add lemon juice and cilantro stir it up.
- Serve sabudana khichdi hot/warm with cool plain yogurt or as it is.
XO, Devangi