Sabudana Khichadi | Sago Pulao | Vrat Recipe

Sabudana Khichdi is a traditional Indian recipe which is extremely popular in India during the fasting season of Navratri. It’s made with sago pearls & potatoes and flavored with peanuts, chilies, cumin and curry leaves. You can make it for breakfast or any time of the day and enjoy. It is vegan and gluten-free too. 

What is Sabudana/ Sago Pearl-?

Sabudan is a very popular ingredient that is used in many dishes, especially during the fasting (Vrat) season when grains are not allowed to eat. It is called Sago in English. Sabudana is made by using Cassava roots, a form of tapioca. Sabudana is basically a starchy substance that is derived from the spongy center of various palm tree species. It increases energy and lowers blood pressure. It is a good source of carbohydrates and is used in recipes like Sabudana Kheer, Sabudana Khichdi, Sabudana Thalipeeth andmdelicious Sabudana Vada. It’s amazingly versatile and adaptable.  If not fasting, feel free to experiment. Enjoy it at any time of the day – whether as a breakfast or light lunch or an evening tea snack. 

When I think of what I can eat during a fast, the first thing that pops into my mind is definitely sabudana khichdi. This khichdi is extremely simple and yet so flavorful and tastes amazing! In this dish, soaked sabudana pearls stir-fried with crushed peanuts, potatoes, chillies, cumin seeds and fresh coriander – all ingredients that are 100 percent permitted during a fast.

It’s is a perfect food for those on a fast or vrat but generally wiped off by others family members also who are not on a fast, it is such irresistibly tasty! So basically it’s a true humble meal for folks of all ages. But if you are making it for kids then of course you can skip the green chillies. This recipe doesn’t use a lot of spices and because it’s often made during the fasting season and a lot of spices are prohibited to be eaten during this time. If you are not having it as a fasting meal than obviously you can add some onion and spices of your choice as well. I love my sabudana khichdi with masala chai on the side. 

When I used to live with my parents, 10 years back, my mom used to make this sabudana khichadi during fasting seasons. Sabudana khichdi used to be my favorite dish to eat on a fasting day. It used to be so soft, flavorful, and tasty and comforting what else I should say… it used to be just perfect! I still miss my mom made Sabudana khichdi. 4-5 years back when I was living in a hostel, I tried to make it and it turned out to be so sticky, lumpy and mushy that I had never even thought of making sabudana khichdi after that. Of course those were starting days of cooking and I was rookie but now I got hold of this recipe.

From last year I started fasting on chaturthi (fourth day of the month in Hindu calendar), so I asked my mom for her magic recipe for this dish. The secret lies in soaking it properly.  Since then I started cooking this Sabudana Khichdi again and it turns out to be amazing every time. 

You don’t really need an occasion to make and devour it because a plate of garma-garam sabudana khichdi eaten with a cup of steaming hot masala chai tastes so amazing that it not fair to limit this delicious creation to just fasting days. 

Read through and see if you find it interesting enough to try. I hope you would love it. If you try this recipe, would love to hear from you! Leave a comment, rate it, or share a photo…. Can’t wait to see your photos! Happy Navratri! 🙏😊

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Checkout other recipes for Vrat-

Carrot Kheer | Sabudana Kheer | Vrat Wale Aloo | Farali Sookhi Bhaji | Carrot Halwa 

Course: Breakfast, Snacks, Vrat Recipe

Cuisine: Indian

Serve: 4

Cook time: 20 minutes 

Given below is step by step pictorial followed by the recipe and tips for making the perfect non-sticky sabudana khichdi . It is important to go through the tips for a successful khichdi so please do not skip them. 

How to soak Sabudana properly-

Do you end up getting sticky sago pearls all the time? No worries! follow these detailed steps posted below for how to soak sabudana properly-

1. Rinse the sabudana 3 to 4 times to get rid of all the starch. This is an important step to do before you soak the sabudana.

2.  For soaking sabudana always use 1:1 ratio of sabudana and water. So for 1 cup of sabudana, use only 1 cup of water to soak it. If you will add more water while soaking then that would be the biggest mistake because this will results in clumpy and sticky khichadi. Sago pearls should be just about submerged in the water. A lot of water will result in lumpy mess!

3. A lot of recipes call for soaking for 2 to 3 hours but in my experience the recipes works best if you soak sabudana overnight or at least 5 hours.

4. Next morning or after 7-8 hours of soaking sabudana, gently stir the soaked sabudana with a spoon; you will notice that there is hardly be any water left. However place the soaked sabudana into a colander just to make sure that there’s no water left.

5. To check if sabudana is soaked properly, press one soaked pearl between your index finger and thumb, it should smash very easily.

6. Once you add the sabudana to the pan, do not cook or stir it for too long. You have to cook only for few minutes until most of the pearls become translucent. If you keep cooking and tossing for a long time, it is going to stick together.

If you follow these tips carefully, you will have a perfect non-sticky sabudana khichdi ready in no time!

Ingredients-

1 cup Sabudana

2 tablespoons Ghee

1 medium Potato sliced in small pieces

1-2 Green chillies

¼ cup Peanuts

5-6 Curry leaves

1 teaspoon Cumin seeds

1 tablespoon Lemon juice

Salt to taste (sendha namak/farali namak- optional)

Handful fresh coriander leaves- finely chopped

Method of making Sabudana Khichdi-

Step 1- Rinse sabudana under water until water turns clear.
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Step 2- Transfer the rinsed sabudana to a large bowl and add 1 cup water to it. No more water is required.
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Step 3- In the morning the sabudana would have soaked up all the water. But you still drain it using a colander just to make sure that there is not any excess water.
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Step 4- To check if sabudana is soaked properly, press one soaked pearl between your index finger and thumb, it should smash very easily. Keep sabudana aside and now assemble rest of the recipe ingredients.
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Step 5- Peel and wash potato and cut it into very small pieces. It’s important to cut the potatoes in small size so that they cook quickly.
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Step 6- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add peanuts and stir fry them. After few seconds they will start spluttering and become dark red in colour at this stage turn the flame on low heat and remove peanuts from oil and keep them aside. (Do not burn them)
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Step 7- Now in the same oil add the cumin seeds and let them sizzle for few seconds and then add the chopped green chillis, curry leaves and cook for about 20 seconds.
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Step 8- Now add diced potatoes and sendha namak, mix properly. Cover and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring often until potatoes are almost cooked. (Do not dice potatoes in big size otherwise they will take longer time to cook.)
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Step 9- Add the soaked sabudana to the pan. Mix gently until everything is well combined.
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Step 10- Cook for about 4-5 minutes until most of the sabudana pearls become translucent, stirring gently once or twice. Do not overcook as they might stick to each other and become lumpy.
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Step 11- Now add fried peanuts and finely chopped coriander leaves and mix gently.
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Step 12- Switch off the flame and remove pan from heat. And finely add lemon juice and mix. 
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Sabudana khichadi is ready to serve. Serve it hot with steaming hot ginger masala tea or chutney or yogurt and enjoy with loved ones.