Sabudana Khichadi : A Fasting Food

Sabudana khichadi is a light dish made with sabudana (sago), spiced lightly. This vegan and the gluten-free dish is extremely popular in India during the fasting season. This khichdi is extremely simple and yet so flavorful and use minimum ingredients. Sabudana Khichdi is one of the main fasting dishes from western India, especially from the regions of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan.

Sabudana Khichadi is one of the most popular comfort food in India. Beautiful tender tapioca pearls with crunchy roasted peanuts and sauteed with potatoes using spices and served with curd. It’s usually flavored with peanuts, chilies, cumin and curry leaves. It does not use a lot of spices because it is prohibited to be eaten during fasting time. 

What Is Sabudana? 

It is also known as Sago. Sabudana is a starch extracted from the spongy center, or pith, of various tropical palm stems, especially those of Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas. Sabudana is considered to be a healthy non- cereal food source. It is rich in carbs, fiber, and calcium. It can be included in the regular diet because it is starchy. It has many health benefits :

• It contains antioxidants.
• It is a good source of resistant starch.
• It enhances exercise performance.
• It reduces heart attack risk. 
• It is good for hair. 

While making sabudana khichadi people complain that it gets sticky. I think this is the biggest problem that everyone faces when making sabudana khichdi. The pearls just clump together and make a mess. 

Read More : The King Of Fruits : Mango

Tips To Make Non-Sticky Sabudana Khichadi

• Sabudana is of two types so khichadi try to use a smaller one. As the smaller sabudana is not sticky and gluey. If you don’t get that then you can use regular one also. 
• Soak the sabudana overnight. 
• Rinse the sabudana until the water turns clear to get rid of the starch.
• Always use a 1:1 ratio of sabudana and water. So for 1 cup of sabudana, use 1 cup of water to soak it.
• Once you add the sabudana to the pan, do not cook or stir it for too long. If you stir too much it will become messy. 

Try to follow these tips while making sabudana khichadi, you will have a perfect khichadi. In my khichadi, I have used potato, green chilies, cumin seeds, peanuts, and curry leaves. If you want to use you can add tomato to give tangy flavor. You can also add ginger and coconut for great taste. 

Sabudana Khichadi Recipe

Ingredients 

• Sabudana 1 cup
• Water 1 cup
• Ghee 1 tbsp
• Cumin seeds 1/2 tsp
• Potato 1
• Peanuts 2 tbsp
• Green chili 1
• Curry leaves 5-6
• Salt as taste
• Coriander leaves 1 tbsp

Method 

1. Rinse sabudana under water until the water turns clear. This is important to get rid of all the starch.
2. Transfer the rinsed sabudana to a large bowl and add 1 cup water to it. 
3. In the morning the sabudana would have soaked up all the water. But you still drain it using a colander just to get rid of any excess water.
4. To check if sabudana is ready to cook, press a pearl between your thumb and index finger. It should smash easily. Set it aside.
5. Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for a few seconds.
6. Then add the diced potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring often until potatoes are almost cooked. It’s important to dice the potatoes small here so that cook quickly.
7. Add the raw peanuts and for another 2-3 minutes.
8. Then add the green chili, curry leaves and cook for 1 more minute.
9. Add the drained sabudana to the pan along with salt and sugar. Mix until well combined.
10. Cook for few minutes until most of the sabudana pearls become translucent, stirring once or twice. Do not cook it for a long time else it will become sticky.
11. Remove pan from heat. Add coriander leaves and toss to combine.
12. Serve sabudana khichdi hot with chilled yogurt.