Sabudana Khichdi is a delicious popular Indian dish made by cooking tapioca pearls (sago) with potatoes, peanuts, lemon, herbs and few spices. It is vegan, gluten free and mostly consumed during Navratri or Shivratri vrat (Hindu fasting).
This delectable sabudana khichadi (or Tapioca Pearl Pilaf / Pulao) is great option as breakfast or lunch and can be enjoyed with cilantro chutney and yogurt. It is simple, quick to make and enjoyed by people of all age groups.
Sabudana is also known as sago or tapioca pearls in english. To get perfect non-sticky khichri, it is important to soak sabudana properly such that each pearl is separated from one another.
Sabudana Khichri Ingredients:
Sabudana: In India, there are three sabudana sizes available in most grocery stores- small, medium & large. Use medium size sabudana for making khichdi. Please don’t use small size variety as they get mushy too quickly and may not give the same soft chewy texture.
Potatoes: They compliment the soft delicate texture of sabudana and make the khichadi more filling & satisfying to eat. I generally sauté them but you can even air fry potatoes or shallow fry for crunchy texture.
Nuts: Peanuts add a lovely nutty aroma and crunchy texture to pilaf. You can use raw / roasted peanuts or even cashews. If you are allergic to peanuts, please feel free to skip them.
Spices: The khichdi is seasoned with simple spices like jeera (cumin), red chilli powder, black pepper and rock salt. If you are not making this dish for navratri fast, then you can use regular table salt instead of rock salt.
Lemon & Herbs: The addition of fresh lemon juice & chopped coriander (or cilantro) adds earthy flavour, aroma & freshness to the dish. During summer season, you can even add few mint leaves.
Oil / Ghee: I have used cooking oil here to make sabudana pulao as I wanted to keep this recipe vegan (dairy free). You can make it in ghee too.
Different people have individual beliefs about what to eat or not to eat during Navratri fasts. You can skip or replace the ingredients as per your liking.
For example I have added red chilli powder but if you don’t consume it during fasting skip or replace it with black pepper. Some people even add curry leaves or ginger in this recipe, so it all depends what you want to add to this khichadi.
If you are not making it for vrat then you can add more veggies of your choice like tomato, capsicum, bell pepper, ginger, onion, peas etc. As sago mainly comprises of carbs, addition of some nuts and veggies balances the overall nutritive value.
Serving Suggestion: Though the khichdi tastes good on its own also but to make the meal more filling and wholesome, you can accompany it with yogurt (curd), greek yogurt or cilantro mint chutney.
Hope you would like this delicious & easy non sticky sabudana khichdi recipe. More navratri vrat recipes with sabudana: Sabudana Vada, Mango Sabudana Kheer (Tapioca Pudding).
- Prep Time: 10 minutes
- Cook Time: 10 minutes
Ingredients:
- Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls) – 1 cup
- Water – 1/2 cup + 3 tbsp (divided)
- Cooking oil / Ghee – 2 tbsp
- Cumin seeds (Jeera) – 1 tsp
- Green Chilli (finely chopped) – 1
- Boiled Potatoes (chopped) – 1/2 cup
- Raw Peanuts – 1/4 cup
- Rock Salt (Sendha Namak) – 1 tsp (or to taste)
- Red Chilli Powder – 1/4 tsp (optional)
- Black Pepper powder – 1/4 tsp
- Lemon Juice – 2 tsp
- Coriander or cilantro (chopped)- 3 tbsp
Directions:
Step 1:
Rinse & drain the sabudana once to get rid of extra starch. Transfer it to a bowl and add 1/2 cup water (the water should cover the sabudana completely).
Cover and let it soak for 2-3 hours (or you can soak it in an air tight container in fridge overnight).
As you can see, after soaking the sabudana is perfectly non-sticky & soft. If your sabudana has not turned soft, add some more water & cover again for half hour to 1 hour.
Step 2:
Dry roast the raw peanuts in a pan for 4-5 minutes on medium-low flame (till they get light brown spots on them).
Step 3:
Take roughly 2 tbsp peanuts from the roasted peanuts and roll them between your palms to remove their peel. Add them to a mortar-pestle and pound coarsely.
Step 4:
To the soaked sabudana, add these ground peanuts, rock salt & red chilli powder (or black pepper). Gently mix with a spoon and keep aside.
Step 5:
Heat oil in a pan and add cumin seeds. Once the seeds start to crackle, add green chillies (If you want to add grated ginger or curry leaves, add at this step). Stir for few seconds. Add boiled potatoes, remaining roasted peanuts and sauté for 1-2 minutes more.
Step 6:
Add 3 tbsp water to the pan to lower the temp & then add soaked sabudana to it. Mix gently. Cover & let sabudana simmer for 2-3 minutes till they start to become translucent.
Step 7:
Once sabudana is cooked, sprinkle lemon juice & garnish with chopped coriander or cilantro. Serve it hot with curd (yoghurt) or coriander chutney.
Tips:
- Soaking sabudana correctly is the crucial step. If it is under-soaked or over-soaked, the khichdi will turn out unevenly cooked or sticky.
- I always take sabudana & water in 2:1 (for every 2 cups sabudana take 1 cup water). This ratio works perfectly & gives soaked sabudana which is not mushy or sticky.
- Though sabudana khichdi tastes best when fresh and hot but if there is any leftover you can store in fridge in airtight box. To reheat, add a splash of water and microwave for 50-60 seconds.
More navratri vrat recipes to try:
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(6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5)
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