Sabudana Khichdi is a dish that brings several memories to my mind. My good old Hyderabad days and the people whom I met there and became friends... Staying in Hyderabad, I happened to meet people from both southern and northern parts of India and had the fortune to see and taste dishes from various cuisines. Learning to use Sabudana (Chowarry in Malayalam, Sago in English) in recipes was something that I learned from my Marathi friend. In Kerala in my home, all I have seen Sabudana being used was in Payasams as an add on. I had heard the word chowarry being referred in my home and all the while I was at home, I must confess that I never paid attention to food or cooking :).
PS: This is gonna be a looong post.. You can skip to the bottom and simply check out the recipe if you wish :) Here's a pic :)
Most of the time I happened to see new dishes from other cuisines during our office lunch hours when we used to share our food with each other. One such day, I noticed my friend bring small round balls for lunch and at first I thought it might be some upma. After inquiring I understood that my friend was fasting and that was her "fasting day" food or "vrat" food ( Vrat ka Khana). I have seen people fasting without having food or one time food (whole wheat flour and skipping rice) or just fruits. The vrat ka khana concept was completely new for me. I tasted her Sabudana Kichadi and it was good and nice. That was my first experience with Sabudana Khichdi and it went on to stay somewhere back in my mind as something new and unique.
Those were the early days of my marriage. I was struggling to find time to cook food at home due to the extra hours that I used to put in at work. Mean while I was trying hard to master the basic Kerala food items and I certainly didnt have time to check out any so called other state recipes!!! Well, a twist of fate brought the Sabudana Khichadi into my life again. I went to US to work for a couple of months and when I came back, my hubby went to work at US. So when I came back to Hyderabad, I didnt have a place to live and none of the friends with whom I started off from my home town was present in Hyderabad. All of them had moved on with their lives, either getting married and moving on to a different state or pursuing higher studies. This time, help came to me in the form of my batch mate who was with us during the training period in my office and then kind of a little bit lost touch as we were allocated to different projects in different buildings. But she was always a good friend and I knew that she was staying with some friends of hers in a flat. I contacted her and the good thing was she had a place left in her flat ( Thank God!!! ) and I went on to stay with her. And I must say, the cooking experience that I had from that flat staying with her and another friend was immense.
My room mate used to fast on Saturdays and she used to prepare Sabudana khichdi on her fasting days as dinner. Ha, This time atleast I was happy that I was able to recognize the dish. My room mate was an excellent cook . But when ever she used to prepare the Sabudana Khichadi, she used to complain that it was not good and that her mom prepares better and that she couldnt master the dish at all. Since it never turned out well for her, sometimes she used to skip eating anything at dinner. That was when I remembered my Marathi friend who used to prepare the same dish. I asked my Marathi friend for the recipe. She was simply great I have to say. The very next day, she prepared Sabudana Khichadi for me and brought to office!!! She also told me how to make the dish and I went home and happily shared it with my room mate. How ever my room mate had lost interest in the dish at all and I dont remember her preparing it after that. Oh by the way, I think that I forgot atleast half the recipe while conveying it to my room mate and made my friend email me the recipe !!
Last week end when I went grocery shopping, suddenly saw sabudana on the shelf and I bought it on an impulse. I found the recipe from my old mails and decided to attempt to make Sabudana Khichadi !! I am happy to say I got it perfect the first time itself. This blog post is dedicated to my Marathi friend who willingly cooked me anything I liked or asked for and for my room mate from whom I learned a lot in cooking and who was willing to help me at all times :)
Sabudana Khichdi
Prep Time: 15 min excluding soaking time of Sago or Sabudana
Cook Time: 10 min
Total Time: 25 min excluding soaking time
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Sabudana
1 small potato
1/8 - 1/4 cup roasted ground nut powder
1/2 of a green chilly ( I use chillies which are too spicy. Please use according to your level of spiciness)
2 -3 Curry Leaves
1 Tablespoon Oil
1 Tablespoon Cumin seeds
1 Tablespoon Lemon juice
Salt - Use Rock salt during fasting
A pinch of Sugar
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Prepping:
Step 1: Wash the sabudana few times and then soak the sago overnight. Add water just enough to soak sago. The water added for soaking sago is very important as otherwise sago will be sticky. The next day, sago will have absorbed all the water and will be soft. but not mushy or sticky. See the picture of Sabudana taken the next day morning after soaking.
Step 2: Boil potato in a pan after adding water. Alternatively to reduce cooking time, you can microwave the potato till its tender.
Step 3: Peel the boiled potato and cut into small cubes.
Step 4: Cut green chilles and coriander leaves.
Step 5: Coarsely grind peanuts (ground nuts). I had roasted peanut powder with me. So I added some roasted peanuts for the nutty taste.
Method of Preparing:
Step 1 :
Heat oil in a pan. When the oil becomes hot, add cumin seeds. Once it crackles, add green chillies, boiled potatoes and curry leaves. Stir for 2 min.
Step 2:
Now add Sabudana. Stir and add roasted ground nut powder. Add more peanut powder for a good flavor. Mix well.
Step 3:
Add salt, sugar and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Mix well. Keep on stove for 2 min.
Step 4:
Sprinkle a little water if you feel the dish is too dry. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.
Health Benefits:
Sago or Sabudana is low in fat. but how ever do not have much nutritional value. Sabudana is starch and is considered a source of carbohydrates and hence ate as food during fasts. People often mix it with ground nuts and milk to increase its nutrition value.
This blog post was a trip down my memory lane and hence I am sending the post to "Walking Through my Memory lane" event initiated by Gayathri of Gayathri' s Cookspot. The event is hosted this month by Hema.
Sending the recipe to the event "Dish name starts with S" at Akilaskitchen.
PS: This is gonna be a looong post.. You can skip to the bottom and simply check out the recipe if you wish :) Here's a pic :)
Most of the time I happened to see new dishes from other cuisines during our office lunch hours when we used to share our food with each other. One such day, I noticed my friend bring small round balls for lunch and at first I thought it might be some upma. After inquiring I understood that my friend was fasting and that was her "fasting day" food or "vrat" food ( Vrat ka Khana). I have seen people fasting without having food or one time food (whole wheat flour and skipping rice) or just fruits. The vrat ka khana concept was completely new for me. I tasted her Sabudana Kichadi and it was good and nice. That was my first experience with Sabudana Khichdi and it went on to stay somewhere back in my mind as something new and unique.
Those were the early days of my marriage. I was struggling to find time to cook food at home due to the extra hours that I used to put in at work. Mean while I was trying hard to master the basic Kerala food items and I certainly didnt have time to check out any so called other state recipes!!! Well, a twist of fate brought the Sabudana Khichadi into my life again. I went to US to work for a couple of months and when I came back, my hubby went to work at US. So when I came back to Hyderabad, I didnt have a place to live and none of the friends with whom I started off from my home town was present in Hyderabad. All of them had moved on with their lives, either getting married and moving on to a different state or pursuing higher studies. This time, help came to me in the form of my batch mate who was with us during the training period in my office and then kind of a little bit lost touch as we were allocated to different projects in different buildings. But she was always a good friend and I knew that she was staying with some friends of hers in a flat. I contacted her and the good thing was she had a place left in her flat ( Thank God!!! ) and I went on to stay with her. And I must say, the cooking experience that I had from that flat staying with her and another friend was immense.
My room mate used to fast on Saturdays and she used to prepare Sabudana khichdi on her fasting days as dinner. Ha, This time atleast I was happy that I was able to recognize the dish. My room mate was an excellent cook . But when ever she used to prepare the Sabudana Khichadi, she used to complain that it was not good and that her mom prepares better and that she couldnt master the dish at all. Since it never turned out well for her, sometimes she used to skip eating anything at dinner. That was when I remembered my Marathi friend who used to prepare the same dish. I asked my Marathi friend for the recipe. She was simply great I have to say. The very next day, she prepared Sabudana Khichadi for me and brought to office!!! She also told me how to make the dish and I went home and happily shared it with my room mate. How ever my room mate had lost interest in the dish at all and I dont remember her preparing it after that. Oh by the way, I think that I forgot atleast half the recipe while conveying it to my room mate and made my friend email me the recipe !!
Last week end when I went grocery shopping, suddenly saw sabudana on the shelf and I bought it on an impulse. I found the recipe from my old mails and decided to attempt to make Sabudana Khichadi !! I am happy to say I got it perfect the first time itself. This blog post is dedicated to my Marathi friend who willingly cooked me anything I liked or asked for and for my room mate from whom I learned a lot in cooking and who was willing to help me at all times :)
Sabudana Khichdi
Prep Time: 15 min excluding soaking time of Sago or Sabudana
Cook Time: 10 min
Total Time: 25 min excluding soaking time
Ingredients:
1/2 cup Sabudana
1 small potato
1/8 - 1/4 cup roasted ground nut powder
1/2 of a green chilly ( I use chillies which are too spicy. Please use according to your level of spiciness)
2 -3 Curry Leaves
1 Tablespoon Oil
1 Tablespoon Cumin seeds
1 Tablespoon Lemon juice
Salt - Use Rock salt during fasting
A pinch of Sugar
Coriander leaves for garnishing
Prepping:
Step 1: Wash the sabudana few times and then soak the sago overnight. Add water just enough to soak sago. The water added for soaking sago is very important as otherwise sago will be sticky. The next day, sago will have absorbed all the water and will be soft. but not mushy or sticky. See the picture of Sabudana taken the next day morning after soaking.
Step 2: Boil potato in a pan after adding water. Alternatively to reduce cooking time, you can microwave the potato till its tender.
Step 3: Peel the boiled potato and cut into small cubes.
Step 4: Cut green chilles and coriander leaves.
Step 5: Coarsely grind peanuts (ground nuts). I had roasted peanut powder with me. So I added some roasted peanuts for the nutty taste.
Method of Preparing:
Step 1 :
Heat oil in a pan. When the oil becomes hot, add cumin seeds. Once it crackles, add green chillies, boiled potatoes and curry leaves. Stir for 2 min.
Step 2:
Now add Sabudana. Stir and add roasted ground nut powder. Add more peanut powder for a good flavor. Mix well.
Step 3:
Add salt, sugar and 1 Tablespoon lemon juice. Mix well. Keep on stove for 2 min.
Step 4:
Sprinkle a little water if you feel the dish is too dry. Switch off and garnish with coriander leaves.
Health Benefits:
Sago or Sabudana is low in fat. but how ever do not have much nutritional value. Sabudana is starch and is considered a source of carbohydrates and hence ate as food during fasts. People often mix it with ground nuts and milk to increase its nutrition value.
This blog post was a trip down my memory lane and hence I am sending the post to "Walking Through my Memory lane" event initiated by Gayathri of Gayathri' s Cookspot. The event is hosted this month by Hema.
Sending the recipe to the event "Dish name starts with S" at Akilaskitchen.
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