Sabudana Khichdi Recipe

closeup photo of sabudana khichdi in a cream plate.

4.91 from 80 votes

Sabudana Khichdi is a fasting savory dish made with soaked tapioca pearls (sabudana), mixed and cooked in a ghee sautéed mix of cumin seeds, green chillies, boiled potatoes, roasted crushed peanuts and edible rock salt (sendha namak). It is usually had during Hindu fasting days like Navratri, Ekadashi, Mahashivratri. It is also a gluten-free recipe.

Prep Time20

Cook Time5

Total Time25

Course: Snacks

Cuisine: Maharashtrian

Diet: Gluten Free, Vegetarian

Difficulty Level: Moderate

Servings:

Calories: 577kcal

Author: Dassana Amit

Ingredients

1 cup sabudana - sago or tapioca pearls, 150 grams
water as required, to soak sabudana
2 potatoes - medium-sized
½ cup peanuts - roasted
8 to 10 curry leaves - optional
1 teaspoon grated ginger - optional
1 green chili - chopped or ½ to 1 teaspoon
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ cup coconut - grated, fresh - optional
½ to 1 teaspoon sugar or as required
½ to 1 teaspoon lemon juice (optional) or as required
3 tablespoons peanut oil or ghee
rock salt - edible and food grade, (sendha namak) as required
1 to 2 tablespoons coriander leaves - chopped, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Preparation

Rinse sabudana very well in water. Then soak sabudana overnight or for 3 to 5 hours.
After the sabudana has soaked well enough, check if they have become soft or not.
To do this take a few pearls and press them with your fingers. They should get mashed easily.
If you feel some hardness in the center of the sabudana pearls, then add a few tablespoons of water in the bowl. Cover and leave to soak for 30 minutes more.
Drain the soaked sabudana very well of all the water and set aside.
Boil the potatoes and when warm peel and chop them.
In a pan, dry roast the peanuts till browned and when cooled make a coarse powder in a mortar-pestle or in a dry grinder.
Mix the coarsely powdered peanuts, salt and sugar with the drained sabudana.

Making sabudana khichdi

Now heat peanut oil or ghee. Fry the cumin first till they crackle and get browned on low to medium-low heat.
Now add the curry leaves if using and green chillies. Fry for a few seconds and then add the grated ginger if using.
Both curry leaves and ginger are optional and can be skipped.
Saute for a couple of seconds till the raw aroma of the ginger goes away. Now add chopped boiled potatoes and saute for a minute.
Add the sabudana. Keep on stirring often on a low heat for about 3 to 5 minutes.
When the sabudana loses their opaqueness and starts becoming translucent they are cooked.
Don't overcook as they might become lumpy and hard.
Turn off the heat and add lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
While serving garnish with a few coriander leaves and drizzle with some lemon juice. You can even add some grated fresh coconut on top.
Serve Sabudana Khichdi hot or warm as is. Or you can serve with a side of sweetened curd or a satvik coconut chutney made with fasting ingredients.

Video

Notes

Rinse the sabudana pearls very well in water to get rid of excess starch.
Depending on the quality of sabudana you soak them in less or more water or for less or more time. If the sabudana is not soaked properly and if the center is hard then it won't cook well. For a good texture and taste in the khichdi, the soaked sabudana has to be softened really well.
After the sabudana pearls are soaked well, drain all the water very well. If there is any water left then this sago khichdi will become pasty or mushy.
Potatoes can be boiled, steamed or fried and then added to sabudana khichdi. I generally boil or steam the potatoes and sometimes fry them.
You can skip green chilies and coriander leaves if you want.
For Hindu fasting during Ekadashi, Navratri, Mahashivratri, please add edible rock salt (sendha namak) in the sabudana khichdi.
The recipe can be halved or doubled easily.

Nutrition