Sabudana Khichadi
Sabudanyachi Khichadi – A very popular breakfast dish in Western India especially for upwas (religious fast).
Sabudana Khichadi is usually eaten during religious fasting, however I love it so much, I pretty much end up having it at least once a week for breakfast!
Growing up, whenever mom said she was going to make Khichadi for a meal, my eyes would sparkle at first and then I would be anxious – “is it sabudana khichadi or moong khichadi???” if the answer was Moong khichadi, I would throw a tantrum and start stomping. If she said “sabudana khichadi” I would do a happy dance!Such is my love for this delicious unique dish.
Mom makes sabudana khichadi once a week just to get a pass to make be able to make moong khichadi for the next few days
There’s a 100 different ways people make this dish, but of course I like it only. this. one. way – the way my aji made it. Cannot (and in my opinion should not) be made in any other way 😛 She used to make it (on demand) every time we had guests or any fast. And I just longed for such occasions 🙂 She was the best at the whole ‘fast-menu’ actually, but well khichadi is, was and will always be my favorite. Its utterly unhealthy and super fattening, but totally worth it!
Pre-preparation: Soak sabudana (sago pearls)
- take 1 cup of sabudana wash it 3-4 times with room temp water, drain it and add water enough to cover all the pears plus a thin layer of water on top (1-2 mm).
- Keep it soaking covered overnight or at least 4-5 hours.
- The next day it should be dry-ish on the outside but every pearl should be soft and hydrated when crushed.
1/4-1/3 cup danyacha koot – Dry roast deskinned peanuts and crush them to a grainy powder in the grinder.
Boil, peel and dice potatoes
Other ingredients needed:
2 tbsp Ghee and/or oil
1/2 tsp Cumin seeds – whole
2 Chopped (or crushed) green chillies
a handful of Chopped fresh cilantro
Lime juice
Salt to taste
Sugar (a lot- a little more than you would expect a savory dish to have) or you can completely omit this.
fresh shredded coconut to garnish with – optional
Procedure:
- Add salt and sugar in the sabudana and keep aside
- Heat ghee in a non-stick pan.
- Add the cumin seeds and let sizzle, next add green chillies and diced potatoes
- When potatoes become golden add some of the peanut powder and stir. (It will cook and give off a nice aroma and become start giving out oil
- At this point add the sabudana and rest of the peanut powder. Stir and taste. Add more salt and sugar if needed ( I usually have to).
- The khichadi has to taste hot and sweet. And enough salty 🙂
- Cover for a couple minutes, open and drizzle ghee on top and turn the heat off and cover again. Uncover after a couple of minutes and season with finely chipped cilantro leaves and lime juice. The end result should be moist but not a rubbery chunk. If its too dry sprinkle water and steam for an extra couple of minutes.
- Serve hot, garnished with some fresh shredded coconut and cilantro
