Sabudana Khichdi (Tapioca Pilaf)

Name: Sabudana Khichdi/Tapioca Pilaf
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 15 min
Total time: 25 min
Yield: 3
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1 cup sabudana; 1 large potato, peeled and cut into tiny bite size; 2 tablespoons lemon juice; 1 teaspoon salt; 1 tablespoon lemon zest, optional; 1/3 cup raw peanuts; 1 and ½ tablespoons ghee; 1 teaspoon cumin seeds; 2 green chili, finely chopped; ¼ cup desiccated coconut; few chopped cilantro leaves

Tiny sago pearls/tapioca pearls cooked with a very few ingredients to make a fluffy pilaf! Sabudana Khichdi is one of the most popular fasting dishes during Navratri festival season. It’s quick, gluten free and takes very minimal effort to bring it together.

What is Sabudana Khichdi

It is a famous North Indian dish that is prepared all year round for a quick light lunch or snack. It is a lot commonly prepared during Navratri.

I like it with a cup of tea or coffee. The tricky part of Sabudana Khichdi is to keep it fluffy and non-sticky. Please watch the video to understand it better and follow all the tips that I have mentioned below.

Key tips to make Sabudana Khichdi fluffy:

Once you soak the sabudana and it puffs up, make sure to layer it on a big plate or tray to remove any excess moisture in it.
Try to use a flat non-stick skillet so that you can cook the sabudana in one layer and the non-stick pan helps to keep it separated.
As you add the sabudana to the pan, do a very quick stir to mix everything around. You don’t want to cook it for too long or else, it will start sticking to the pan.

What is Sabudana?

Sabudana, also referred as sago pearls, are tiny opaque pearls that are prepared from pith of sago palm tree. In its dried form, it’s a tiny hard white pearl. Once you soak the sabudana, it softens and swells almost double the size. On cooking, it gets translucent and starchy.

Sabudana is very popular ingredient used during Navratri Celebration to prepare pilaf, fritters and even desserts.

This is truly my favorite time of the year. Being a Bengali, Durga Puja is the one celebration that I wait for all year long. Although the vibe out here is nothing compared to India, we still get to enjoy a lot and give a feel of the Indian festive traditions to Avyan.

Being married to a North Indian, we also celebrate Navratri and Diwali in full swing. I don’t fast during Navratri and thankfully, my Mother-in-law never even asked me to do that. However, I love all kind of fasting food that is prepared during this season. Sabudana Khichdi is definitely one of those dishes.

What ingredients are added in Sabudana Khichdi?

Sabudana (Sago Pearls/Tapioca Pearls): For this particular dish, it’s important to rinse the dried sago several times before you soak it. Once puffed, the next step is to strain and layer it on a big plate or tray to remove the excess moisture. This step will ensure that the sabudana pilaf turns out fluffy and non-sticky.

Cumin Seeds: This is the only spice that goes in making this Sabudana Khichdi for Navratri.

Potatoes: Tiny bite size potato helps to add a creamy bite to the dish. You can add tomatoes too, if you like, or some peas or carrots. I kept it extremely simple with just potatoes.

Raw Peanuts: I like to dry roast the peanuts, leave a few aside and coarsely pound the rest. If you are allergic to nuts, you can definitely ignore it and add some veggies for extra texture and taste.

Desiccated Coconut or fresh coconut?

This is not traditionally added but I like it because it adds a mild sweetness to the dish.

Fresh Green Chili: If you don’t want it spicy, remove the seeds of the fresh green chili or you could choose to not use it. The flavor and the heat help to bring the dish together.

Lemon Zest and Lemon Juice: Typically, only lemon juice is used but I like to use a little lemon zest too.

Ghee: Although it is not required, try to cook this dish with ghee as it will not only add a lovely nutty flavor, but it will also enhance the taste. Here is a recipe if you want to make Ghee

I prepared this Sabudana Khichdi keeping Navratri in mind and so, I kept is simple and pure vegetarian. You can definitely make it more filling by adding more vegetables, onion or some fresh ginger for extra flavor. Sabudana is an excellent blank canvas to make pilaf and you can change it as you like. Just keep the key tips in mind to get a fluffy pilaf.

Here are few other sabudana recipe:

Sabudana Vada with Methi

Sabudana Vada Fried and Baked