Sabudana Khichadi- a typical Indian Breakfast 

Sabudana ( Tapioca) looks  like tiny white pearls, made from roots of the cassava plant, it is very common in Indian cooking. It is a younger cousin of the Boba tea/Tapioca tea. Typically it is eaten during fasting, but also eaten as a common breakfast food. It is can be made as a savory or a sweet dish. It can be eaten like a tapioca pudding but my favorite recipe is a savory one.

My husband and kids are big fans of this and happily eat it any time. In fact whenever my son comes home, the first thing he wants to eat is this ‘Sabudana Khichadi’

They even love to take it in the lunch box.

The recipe is very simple but I feel the trick is in soaking the Sabudana right. So today I will share my step by step recipe.

Ingredients:

3 cups of sabudana ( sago/Tapioca)

1/2 cup roasted peanuts

4-5 green chilies

2 tbsp Cumin seeds ( divided use)

1-2 Potatoes, peeled and sliced

1/4 cup milk at room temp

Oil

2 tbsp ghee

Sugar

Salt

For garnish:

Chopped cilantro

Fresh grated coconut

Method:

Take the sabudana in a large pot. Wash it with cold water. When you start washing it will looks cloudy

Wash until the water runs clear. This helps get rid of excess starch which makes the khichadi clumpy when cooked.

Add water just to cover the sabudana and a little over.

Now let it soak for at least 7-8 hours. I end up soaking it overnight since I make this mostly for breakfast.

About an hour before you plan to make the khichadi, take the milk and sprinkle it over the soaked sabudana. Using fork separate the grains and leave aside.

Make powder with roasted peanuts

Make paste with the green chilies & 1 tbsp of cumins seeds in a mortal & pestle, you can also use a blender.

Add peanut powder, chili mixture, salt & Sugar to the soaked sabudana and mix well.

In a pan heat oil, add cumin seeds. Add some green chili pieces and saute till the cumin seeds are brown.

Add sliced potatoes, add salt to the potatoes and cover.

Cook until the potatoes are done.

Add the sabudana mixture and cook. Cover for only a couple of mins and stir constantly, this will prevent clumps from forming. The easiest way to know when it is done is to check if the pearls are translucent.

Add the ghee and mix well. Traditionally it is cooked in ghee, but if you are trying to avoid it then adding just a couple of tbsp at the end is a good solution. This gives the flavor of ghee but you dont have to cook solely with it.

Garnish with chopped cilantro, fresh grated coconut and yogurt or a lime wedge.