Sabudana Khichdi is a fasting savory dish made with soaked tapioca pearls cooked with ghee, cumin seeds, green chillies, boiled potatoes, crushed roasted peanuts, and rock salt (sendha namak). It is commonly prepared during Hindu fasting days such as Navratri, Ekadashi, and Mahashivratri. This dish is naturally gluten-free.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 20 minutes
  • Cook time: 5 minutes
  • Total time: 25 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Snacks
  • Cuisine: Maharashtrian

Ingredients

  • 1 cup (150 grams) sabudana (- sago or tapioca pearls)
  • 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)
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon or 1 green chili (- chopped)
  • 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)

Method

Preparation

  1. Rinse sabudana very well in water. Then soak sabudana overnight or for 3 to 5 hours.
  2. After the sabudana has soaked well enough, check if they have become soft or not.
  3. 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.
  4. Drain the soaked sabudana very well of all the water and set aside.
  5. Boil the potatoes and when warm peel and chop them.
  6. 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.
  7. Mix the coarsely powdered peanuts, salt and sugar with the drained sabudana.

Making sabudana khichdi

  1. Now heat peanut oil or ghee. Fry the cumin first till they crackle and get browned on low to medium-low heat.
  2. 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.
  3. 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.
  4. Add the sabudana and peanut mixture. Keep on stirring often on a low heat for about 3 to 5 minutes.
  5. When the sabudana loses their opaqueness and starts becoming translucent they are cooked.
  6. Don't overcook as they might become lumpy and hard.
  7. Turn off the heat and add lemon juice and chopped coriander leaves. Mix well.
  8. While serving garnish with a few coriander leaves and drizzle with some lemon juice. You can even add some grated fresh coconut on top.
  9. 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.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.