Ok. It’s time for a confession, you all. I have attempted to make sabudana khichdi a few times before and failed quite badly. The problem was always getting the right consistency for the cooked sabudana. It’s a very easy thing to mess up – too much water makes it gloopy (and gloopy food is never good) and too little water makes it hard and rubbery. I experimented with different methods to cook sabudana and also tried to make this khichdi with different types of sabudana, from the tiny ones to the large, pepper-sized ones you see in the pictures here. You may also like: Vegetable rava upma Dalia upma Sago dosa Kanchipuram idli As a novice cooking with sabudana myself, here are some tips that may help you. – For khichdi, use the larger sago pearls I have used here. They are easier to “control” and won’t get mushy too soon. You also need to plan ahead. While cooking the khichdi is quick and easy, the sabudana has to be prepared before cooking and this needs some planning. I have detailed the steps below. – For making sweet and keer like sago kheer, the smaller pearls work well since they take lesser soaking and cooking time. Step by step pictures to make Sabudana Khichdi Wash and soak the sabudana for 30 minutes It would have absorbed moisture and puffed by by then Drain the water completely and just sprinkle a few drops to keep them moist. Mix with fingertips and set aside for minimum 8 hours or overnight in the refrigerator. Once ready to make , sprinkle some more water, mix, and set aside until required Dry roast some raw peanuts to make the peanut powder. I used roasted salted peanuts and just powdered them in my spice grinder You can use as much peanut powder as you’d like so adjust the quantity to taste. Set aside until needed. Heat oil (preferably in a non-stick pan) and add the cumin seeds. When they sizzle and turn brown, add the boiled potatoes and slit green chillies. You can also cut the chillies into small pieces and add them. Saute until the potatoes turn a light golden brown and then add the soaked sabudana Mix well and stir continuously on a low flame for 2 minutes Now sprinkle the desired amount of peanut powder and keep stirring and mixing again. Depending on the size of the sabudana pearls, it will take anywhere between 5-7 minutes to cook fully When the sabudana turns translucent and is done (do a taste test), add salt, sugar and lemon juice. Again, add as much as you’d like, per your taste Turn off heat and garnish with chopped coriander leaves. That’s it, Sabudana khichdi is ready! Notes: – You can add some grated coconut towards the end if you prefer – Keeps well in the refrigerator for 2-3 days. To re-heat, transfer to a pan, sprinkle some water, and heat on the stove top. Microwave heating of sabudana khichdi can make it very rubbery (learn from my mistakes, people!) – I referred Madhura’s video on how to cook sabudana properly For Sabudana Khichdi recipe in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Urdu, etc, please use the Google translate button in the sidebar
