Sabudana Khichdi :: Upma :: Sago pearls cooked with potatoes, peanuts and Indian spices

During Navratis, there are few staple dishes which are cooked in every household depending on the region, irrespective of the family members keeping fast or not. And its an absolute bliss to have them during that season. I specially loved Kanjak done on the last day of Nav-Ratri, when Maa used to make Puri -Halwa for kids and I used to sneak around for that first warm bite. Among those Fasting bites, Sabudana Khichdi was some how never made at our home. The only dish I knew of Sabudana was kheer made by these starchy balls. Luckily, now at least am known to some of the best tasting Sago snacks, this Khichdi / Upma being one of them

This Blog Hop Wednesday I have chosen this recipe from Smita’s blog Red Spice. She has few recipes but all made with intense love and passion. Do visit her blog for the wonderful experience.

Sabudana Khichdi is a high energy recipe and thats the reason its been cooked during fasts. The addition of Ghee provides it wonderful taste and aroma which will surely compel you not to stop and dig into this super tempting breakfast dish 🙂 Unfortunately, when I made it today the quality of Sago seeds I used was not good and they got a bit starchy and lumpy. But if you use good quality, the results would be quite different and grainy. And yes, the amount of ghee should be generous too, which I admit was not the case for me this time.

Sabudana or Sago in Hindi is a full of starch, extremely low in fat and protein. Sago/Sabudana pearls looks similar to Tapioca but both are different. Sago is made from the starch extracted from the pith (center) of the sago palm stems, while the Tapioca is produced from the dried cassava (manioc) root. In India, sabudana is used widely in fasting dishes and other recipes too. My mom makes sabudana khichadi, sabudana vada, papad, kheer, name a few.

Here is very simple recipe. Since this dish can be eaten in fasting days so no garlic-no onions. It’s very low fat meal and if you replace Ghee with Oil this turns vegan!

Ingredients:
1. 1 1/2 cup Sago seeds, soaked for 30-40 min
2. 2 tbsp Ghee
3. 1 tsp Mustard seeds
4. 1/2 tsp turmeric
5. handful of curry leaves
6. 1 tbsp peanuts
7. 1 large potato, chopped very fine
8. 2 green chilies, chopped small
9. Juice of 1 Lemon

Method:
Its very important to soak Sago seeds for right time. If you have got the small seeds, soak them for just 30 min and drain properly. If the seed are large in size, soak for 40-45 min.

Drain excess water and spread on a clean kitchen napkin. This step will ensure that the sago does not stick to each other when cooking.

Heat ghee in a pan, splutter mustard seeds. Add green chilies and curry leaves and saute for a min.
Add peanuts and fry for 2 min on low flame. Next, add chopped potatoes and fry till light golden.

Combine in turmeric and salt along with the drained sago pearls and cook for 5 min covered. You can garnish with a handful of coriander leaves. Serve it warm, else it will dry up.

Serve with crushed roasted groundnuts, and pour the lemon juice before serving.

My Notes:
Soaking time may differ because it really depends on quality of sabudana and water. I remember very correctly that my mom used to soak the sabudana in early morning of Monday if she is going to prepare for dinner. While here in the UK, I found that soaking time about 4-5 hours is enough. So, after some trial and error, you’ll know the perfect soaking time.

Be careful to add water while soaking. It is important not to over-soak. If you have added more water, your khichdi will be soggy and sticky.

Don’t tempt to add more oil in tadka as sabudana sucks no oil. You can use your non-stick pan here as the overall cooking time is very short.