Sabudana Khichdi – Tapioca pearls tossed with crunchy peanuts and cooked with starchy potatoes, mild spices and topped with lemon juice; a perfect meal which keeps you and your tummy happy.
The sun is finally shining in our part of the world; Snow accumulated in my balcony finally melts down cleaning the dirt and painting everything as new. Since then I have tasted Sabudana Khichdi, I have fallen in love with this humble meal. I have prepared it twice before but then it became sticky once and overcooked for the second time. Though I loved it, I am scared of preparing it as I couldn’t do justice to the recipes. After going through many techniques and experimenting the same, finally, I have mastered to prepare sabudana khichdi in the right consistency in the right way. I fast on Thursdays and this has been my favorite breakfast on my fasting days. It keeps your tummy full till you break the fast because of the starch content in the tapioca pearls and potatoes.
Here are few of tried tricks and tips for the recipe
How to prevent my khichdi from sticking together?
This happens when you soak tapioca pearls in more than the required amount of water. It will turn mushy and sticky because of the starch content in the pearls.
The best thing to do is:
- Wash tapioca pearls thoroughly with water. I place them in the colander and washed in the running water for about 5-8 minutes until the washing water flows out cleanly. This removes most of the starch content in the pearls which prevents them from sticking while cooking.
- Secondly, soak sabudana in enough water to cover them. I added enough water to cover sabudana and ¼ inch more than the level of sabudana in the bowl. Soaking in a large amount of water will make them mushy.
- Another thumb rule to be followed is to drain off the excess water in the soaked sabudana before preparing Khichdi. I placed the soaked Sabudana in the colander and allowed it to drain down completely
- Last but not the least, cook with the very minimal amount of oil. I usually prepare khichdi in the non-stick pan where I have to add just a tablespoon of oil to prepare the Khichdi
There are many varieties of sabudana available in the stores and the soaking time of the sabudana depends on its variety. I usually soak sabudana overnight. I highly recommend soaking for about 4-5 hours before the preparation of the Khichdi
Ingredients:
- 2 cups Sabudana/Tapioca Pearls/Sago
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tablespoon Oil
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Ginger, finely chopped
- 3 Green Chilies, finely chopped
- 2 Potatoes washed and cubed (I used potatoes with skin and cubed)
- ½ cup Peanuts, roasted and grounded
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- Salt, as required (avoid if you are preparing for fasting day)
- Juice of half lemon
- Handful of Cilantro leaves for garnish
Method:
- Wash and soak Sabudana as mentioned above in the post, for about 5-6 hours
- Drain off the excess water from the soaked sabudana before preparation
- Dry roast peanut in a pan over medium heat and grind them into coarse powder once it is cooled down
- Heat oil in a non-stick pan
- Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and allow it to sizzle
- Add cubed potatoes and cook until they become tender and partially cooked. Ensure to toss them in between
- Meanwhile, combine the soaked sabudana, crushed peanut powder, salt, sugar and lemon juice in a large bowl. Keep it aside
- Add grated ginger and green chilies to the potatoes. Saute until the raw smell of the ginger goes off
- Now add the sabudana to the pan and combine them well.
- Cook over medium flame until the tapioca pearls become transparent and change from white color to transparency
- Ensure to stir the pearls occasionally
- Remove from the flame and garnish with chopped cilantro
- Serve warmly with yogurt
You can add pomegranate for additional taste. I love to eat sabudana khichdi as my breakfast as such but you can serve yogurt on the sides.
If you try the recipe, do let me know how they tasted in comments. If you like space, do like and follow my profile at here – Facebook, Google, Instagram
Thanks,
Karthi
