Sabudana Khichdi is a delicious popular Indian dish made by cooking tapioca pearls (sago) with potatoes, peanuts, lemon, herbs and few spices. It is vegan, gluten free and mostly consumed during Navratri or Shivratri vrat (Hindu fasting).
This delectable sabudana khichadi (or Tapioca Pearl Pilaf / Pulao) is great option as breakfast or lunch and can be enjoyed with cilantro chutney and yogurt. It is simple, quick to make and enjoyed by people of all age groups.
Sabudana is also known as sago or tapioca pearls in english. To get perfect non-sticky khichri, it is important to soak sabudana properly such that each pearl is separated from one another.
Sabudana Khichri Ingredients:
Sabudana: In India, there are three sabudana sizes available in most grocery stores- small, medium & large. Use medium size sabudana for making khichdi. Please don’t use small size variety as they get mushy too quickly and may not give the same soft chewy texture.
Potatoes: They compliment the soft delicate texture of sabudana and make the khichadi more filling & satisfying to eat. I generally sauté them but you can even air fry potatoes or shallow fry for crunchy texture.
Nuts: Peanuts add a lovely nutty aroma and crunchy texture to pilaf. You can use raw / roasted peanuts or even cashews. If you are allergic to peanuts, please feel free to skip them.
Spices: The khichdi is seasoned with simple spices like jeera (cumin), red chilli powder, black pepper and rock salt. If you are not making this dish for navratri fast, then you can use regular table salt instead of rock salt.
Lemon & Herbs: The addition of fresh lemon juice & chopped coriander (or cilantro) adds earthy flavour, aroma & freshness to the dish. During summer season, you can even add few mint leaves.
Oil / Ghee: I have used cooking oil here to make sabudana pulao as I wanted to keep this recipe vegan (dairy free). You can make it in ghee too.
Different people have individual beliefs about what to eat or not to eat during Navratri fasts. You can skip or replace the ingredients as per your liking.
For example I have added red chilli powder but if you don’t consume it during fasting skip or replace it with black pepper. Some people even add curry leaves or ginger in this recipe, so it all depends what you want to add to this khichadi.
If you are not making it for vrat then you can add more veggies of your choice like tomato, capsicum, bell pepper, ginger, onion, peas etc. As sago mainly comprises of carbs, addition of some nuts and veggies balances the overall nutritive value.
Serving Suggestion: Though the khichdi tastes good on its own also but to make the meal more filling and wholesome, you can accompany it with yogurt (curd), greek yogurt or cilantro mint chutney.
Hope you would like this delicious & easy non sticky sabudana khichdi recipe. More navratri vrat sabudana recipes:
Ingredients:
- Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls) – 1 cup
- Water – 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp (divided)
- Cooking oil / Ghee- 2 tbsp
- Cumin seeds (Jeera) – 1 tsp
- Green Chilli (chopped) – 1
- Boiled Potatoes (chopped)- 1/2 cup
- Peanuts- 1/4 cup
- Rock Salt (Sendha Namak) – 1 tsp (or to taste)
- Red Chilli Powder – 1/4 tsp
- Black Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp
- Lemon Juice – 1 to 2 tsp
- Fresh coriander or cilantro (chopped)- 3 tbsp
Directions:
Step 1:
Rinse the sabudana well under running water first to get rid of dust. Transfer it in a container or bowl and add 1/2 cup water to it (The water should be roughly half the quantity of sabudana).
Cover and let it soak for at least 2-3 hours or you can soak it in air tight container in fridge overnight.
As you can see, after soaking the sabudana is perfectly non-sticky & soft. If your sabudana has not turned soft, add some more water & cover again for half hour to 1 hour.
Step 2:
Dry roast the raw peanuts in a pan for 4-5 minutes on medium low flame (till they get light brown spots on them). Let them cool down slightly. Coarsely grind in grinder jar or in mortar pestle. (In case you are using pre-roasted peanuts just grind them, no need to roast).
Step 3:
To the soaked sabudana, add these ground peanuts, rock salt, red chilli powder and black pepper. Gently mix with a spoon.
Step 4:
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to crackle, add chopped green chillies. Stir for few seconds. (If you want to add ginger paste or curry leaves, add at this step & stir fry for few seconds more). Add chopped potatoes and sauté for 1 -2 minutes.
Step 5:
Add sabudana in this pan and mix gently.
Step 6:
Add 3 to 4 tbsp water & cover with a lid. Let it cook on low flame for 3-4 min till sabudana turns translucent. Switch off the flame. Add lemon juice & garnish with chopped coriander or cilantro. Serve immediately.
Tips:
- Soaking sabudana correctly is the crucial step. If it is under-soaked or over-soaked, the khichdi will turn out unevenly cooked or sticky.
- I always take sabudana & water in 2:1 (approx). This ratio works perfectly & gives soaked sabudana which is not mushy or sticky.
- Though sabudana khichdi tastes best when fresh and hot but if there is any leftover you can store in fridge in airtight box. To reheat, add a splash of water and microwave for 50-60 seconds.
More navratri vrat recipes to try:
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