Have always struggled with getting perfect sabudana khichdi? If yes, then you are in the right place. I am sharing tips, the method on how to make Non-Sticky, BEST sabudana khichdi recipe. It is also known as sago khichdi.
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❤️About This Recipe
- This is simple yet very flavorful.
- This is a Gujarati or Maharashtrian style recipe that I grew up eating it.
- This sabudana khichdi is usually made during Hindu fast (vrat or upwas) like Navratri, Chaitra Navratri, Mahashivratri, Krishna Janmashtami, Ekadashi, Gauri vrat or Jaya Parvati vrat.
- There are no hard rules, you can make it and enjoy it any time of the year. It doesn’t have to be fasting days.
Sabudana is loaded with carbohydrates so it keeps you full for longer and gives you instant energy. That’s why it is consumed during Navratri fasting or other vrats.
🧾Ingredients
Here is the pic of the ingredients used in making the sabudana khichdi recipe. All the ingredients are suitable for Hindu fast (vrat), so no worries.
Sabudana: This is the main ingredient. There are two types of sabudana available in the market. One is the regular one that we use in khichdi, sabudana vada, sabudana kheer etc. The other is nylon sabudana which is used for the deep-frying purpose only to make sabudana chivda.
Potato: I like to use raw potato cubes and cook in the pan till it gets crisp up and tender. But many likes to use boiled, cubed potatoes and it gives a soft texture and works perfectly fine too. It depends on the texture choice.
Peanuts: I always prefer to dry roast and roughly crush the peanuts and use them in this khichdi recipe. But many likes to keep the whole peanuts. It totally personal preference.
Rock salt: The regular table salt is not allowed during the fast hence the rock salt (sendha namak) is used here. If making for regular days then you can use regular salt.
Green chilies: This is the only ingredient that gives the heat and spicy taste to the dish. So adjust the amount as per your liking spice level.
Lime: You can use lemon juice as well. Recently I have started using lime in my Indian recipes and I like it better than lemons.
👩🍳Step By Step Photo Instructions
Prep: Soaking Sabudana
1) Take sabudana in a colander and wash under running cold water till water runs clear. You need to make sure to get rid of all the starch.
Then soak in the water for 3-4 hours or overnight (depending on your sabudana type and quality). The one we get here in the USA needs overnight soaking. (*see the soaking tips below to avoid stickiness)
2) After the soaking time, tapioca pearls will swell up almost all the water and there will be hardly any water left. They become almost triple in size.
3) Transfer the soaked sabudana in a colander and let the excess water drain for 10-15 minutes.
4) How to check sabudana is soaked properly and ready for cooking? When you press one soaked pearl between your finger and thumb, it should mash very easily without any effort.
Prepping Peanuts:
5) Dry roast the peanuts on medium-low heat with stirring constantly until peanuts get light brown color.
6) Let it cool down and then roughly crush them. I have used mortar and pestle, you can use a food processor or blender. But make sure to keep it coarse (not fine powder.)
Making Sabudana Khichdi:
1) Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
2) Then add chopped green chilies and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds.
3) Then add cubed potatoes and sendha namak. Mix well and cook until tender.
4) Mine are crispy and browned because I used a wide pan and potatoes are in a single layer. If using kadai (wok) or potatoes are overcrowded then they will be soft. Either way tastes good, it’s all about preference
5) Once potatoes are cooked, add crushed peanuts and coconut.
6) Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
7) Then add soaked-drained sabudana. If sabudana are drained properly, they will stay separated. Otherwise, they will stick to each other.
8) Toss well.
9) And cook for a few minutes until sabudana pearls are soft and transparent. Make sure to stir once or twice, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. If you overcook the sabudana then it will become chewy and will stick to each other and make a big clump.
10) Lastly add sugar, lemon (lime) juice and cilantro. Toss well and it is ready to serve.
💭Sabudana Soaking Tips:
Get rid of the starch: Use the colander and wash the sabudana really well and make sure to remove all the starch to avoid stickiness later on.
Shape of the container used in soaking: Use a wide and shallow bowl. You can see the pic above in the instruction like I have used a steel bowl. You can use a wide pyrex bowl or baking dish but not the deep prep bowls.
The amount of water used in soaking: Use 1:1 ratio for sabudana:water. Meaning for 1 cup of sabudana use 1 cup of water. Or another rule of thumb: add only enough water that pearls are just submerged in water (about ½ - 1 inch of water above the pearls). If an excess amount of water is used then sabudana khichdi becomes sticky and pearls clump up together.
How much soaking time required? Personally, I find overnight soaking works best for the sabudana I get here in the USA. But I have seen my mom and MIL soaking for only 3-4 hours in India. So the soaking time depends on the type of sabudana you have. So experiment with your sabudana type and decide.
Drain the excess water after soaking: There should not be any moisture left in soaked sabudana in order to get non-sticky khichdi. They have to be completely dry. If you followed the above soaking water amount then you might not have any water left. Even if you feel there is no water left after soaking, Still keep them in a colander for 10-15 minutes to drain excess water. You will get about 1-2 tablespoons of drained water, trust me.
💭Sabudana Khichdi Cooking Tips:
- Do not stir too much while cooking otherwise pearls will stick to each other becomes a clumpy mess. Just toss or stir till everything is combined.
- Do not overcook them, otherwise, pearls become chewy. Just cook for a few minutes or until most of the pearls become translucent.
- Few lumps here and there is normal because it is made of starch after all. Break them using a fork and you’ll be good to go.
- Sugar makes them sticky. So always add sugar and lime juice at the end, toss well and you are done.
🍽 Serving Ideas
- Serve sabudana khichdi as a breakfast or snack as such.
- If serving as a meal then I suggest serving with rajgira kadhi. Trust me this combination if unbelievably awesome. If you haven’t tried then I strongly recommend this combo. Do try and let me know how you like it.
- Alternatively, you can have sabudana khichdi with plain yogurt as well.
FAQs
No, you cannot soak sabudana instantly or quickly. So always plan ahead of time. You will fine the info around the internet that you can soak in hot water for quick soaking method. But trust me it won't work. You'll end up with sticky khichdi.
No, sabudana khichdi cannot be made without soaking sabudana. You must soak them till they are soft and plumped.
Once the sabudana is soaked, drain the excess water and store it in an airtight container in the refrigerator. It stays good for 3-4 days in the refrigerator.
PS Tried this recipe? Please leave a star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comment section. I always appreciate your feedback! Plus, Subscribe to my newsletter and follow along on Pinterest, Instagram, and Facebook for all the latest updates.
📋 Recipe Card
Sabudana Khichdi
Ingredients
- ¾ cup Sabudana (Sago or Tapioca pearls)
- ¾ cup Water For soaking sabudana
- 1 ½ tablespoons Oil
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 2 Green chilies chopped finely
- 7-8 Curry leaves
- 1 small or ½ cup Potatoes cut into small cubes
- Rock salt (Sendha namak) to taste
- 3 tablespoons Peanuts Roasted and roughly crushed
- 1 tablespoon Desiccated coconut
- 2-3 teaspoon Lemon juice Or Lime juice
- 1 teaspoon Sugar Optional
- few sprigs Cilantro or coriander leaves chopped finely
Instructions
Soaking Sabudana:
- Take sabudana in a colander and wash under running cold water till water runs clear. You need to make sure to get rid of all the starch.
- Then soak in the water for 3-4 hours or overnight (depending on your sabudana type and quality). The one we get here in the USA needs overnight soaking. (*see the soaking tips below to avoid stickiness).
- After the soaking time, tapioca pearls will swell up almost all the water and there will be hardly any water left. Transfer the soaked sabudana in a colander and let the excess water drain for 10-15 minutes.
- How to check sabudana is soaked properly and ready for cooking? When you press one soaked pearl between your finger and thumb, it should mash very easily without any effort.
Prepping Peanuts:
- Dry roast the peanuts on medium-low heat with stirring constantly until peanuts get light brown color.
- Let it cool down and then roughly crush them using mortar and pestle or a food processor or blender. Make sure to keep it coarse (not fine powder.)
Making Sabudana Khichdi Recipe:
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium heat. Once hot add cumin seeds and let them sizzle a bit.
- Then add chopped green chilies and curry leaves. Saute for 30 seconds.
- Then add cubed potatoes and sendha namak. Mix well and cook until tender. You can use boiled potatoes as well, if so just fry for 2 minutes only.
- Once potatoes are cooked, add crushed peanuts and coconut. Mix well and cook for 1-2 minutes.
- Then add soaked-drained sabudana. If sabudana are drained properly, they will stay separated. Otherwise, they will stick to each other.
- And cook for a few minutes until sabudana pearls are soft and transparent. Make sure to stir once or twice, so it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. If you overcook the sabudana then it will become chewy and will stick to each other and make a big clump.
- Lastly add sugar, lemon (lime) juice and cilantro. Toss well and it is ready to serve.
Notes
- Get rid of the starch: Use the colander and wash the sabudana really well and make sure to remove all the starch to avoid stickiness later on.
- Shape of the container used in soaking: Use a wide and shallow bowl. You can use a wide pyrex bowl or baking dish but not the deep prep bowls.
- The amount of water used in soaking: Use 1:1 ratio for sabudana:water. Meaning for 1 cup of sabudana use 1 cup of water. Or another rule of thumb: add only enough water that pearls are just submerged in water (about ½ - 1 inch of water above the pearls). If an excess amount of water is used then sabudana khichdi becomes sticky and pearls clump up together.
- How much soaking time required? Personally, I find overnight soaking works best for the sabudana I get here in the USA. But I have seen my mom and MIL soaking for only 3-4 hours in India. So the soaking time depends on the type of sabudana you have. So experiment with your sabudana type and decide.
- Drain the excess water after soaking: There should not be any moisture left in soaked sabudana in order to get non-sticky khichdi. They have to be completely dry. If you followed the above soaking water amount then you might not have any water left. Even if you feel there is no water left after soaking, Still keep them in a colander for 10-15 minutes to drain excess water. You will get about 1-2 tablespoons of drained water, trust me.
- Do not stir too much while cooking otherwise pearls will stick to each other becomes a clumpy mess. Just toss or stir till everything is combined.
- Do not overcook them, otherwise, pearls become chewy. Just cook for a few minutes or until most of the pearls become translucent.
- Few lumps here and there is normal because it is made of starch after all. Break them using a fork and you’ll be good to go.
- Sugar makes them sticky. So always add sugar and lemon juice at the end, toss well and you are done.
Vidya
Beautiful
Thanks for sharing.
Kanan Patel
You're welcome.
Venkat
I have loved Sabudhana kichdi but always endup making it sticky, and when i see hotels making non stick, i envy those chefs and cooks. I have to try making this way as explained.
Kanan
yes make it as explained with keeping the tips mentioned in mind.
I am sure you will have a success.