Sabudana Khichdi

Name: Sabudana Khichdi
Prep time: 5 min
Cook time: 20 min
Total time: 25 min
Ingredients: 2 cups sabudana (tapioca pearls); 4 potatoes (400g); 5-7 curry leaves; 1 cup roasted peanuts (ground, 230g); 2 tbsp green chillies (blended); 2 tbsp ginger (blended); 3 tbsp lemon juice; 2 tsp salt (Use rock salt if fasting); 1 tsp red chilli powder (lal mirch); 4 tsp cumin coriander powder (optional (dhana jeeru )); 2 tsp sugar; 1 tsp sesame or peanut oil; 1 tsp cumin seeds

5 from 3 votes

ByShilpa Joshi October 7, 2021November 10, 2021 Updated on November 10, 2021

A cozy bowl of non-sticky sabudana khichdi balanced with spices and a hint of lemon is just what you need today! This is a very popular Maharashtrian breakfast or brunch dish. It is made with potatoes, tapioca pearls, spices and ground roasted peanuts which gives you many textures in a delicious dish. It is also a favorite dish for fasting/upvas during Navratri, Ekadashi, Shravan month or other fasting days. Sabudana is also known as sago, another word for tapioca pearls, made from the starch of roots of cassava.

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Sabudana khichdi in an ornate gold plate with a smaller bowl of yogurt to the side.

Time to make: 25 minutes

Diet: gluten-free, vegan and vegetarian

Delicious and filling
Great for breakfast or a snack/tea time
Farali dish so it is fasting / upvas / vrat friendly

What to serve with it?

As it is a breakfast/brunch dish, a cup of chai would go amazingly with this! We often have it with yogurt as well. As it is commonly a fasting/upvas/vrat recipe and yogurt is also allowed during fasts.

Read on to see tips to make sabudana khichdi without stickiness!

Sabudana added to the spiced potato mixture.

Tricks – How To Prevent Sticky Sabudana

The summary:

Wash sabudana atleast twice
Soak sabudana in a deep pot covering it with water to give at least two inches of water above the sabudana level.
Soak for 3-4 hours.
Drain in a colander and leave them in it.
Put colander in a pot and cover the pot. Give it ample time to dry. Let it sit for overnight or at least 4-5 hours before making khichdi. OR drain sabudana completely and spread out in a cookie sheet giving the pearls room to dry. This will reduce drying time to about 1-2 hours.

More detailed tips

Use larger sized sabudana
Wash the sabudana several times to reduce the amount of starch. Minimum of 2 times.
Use a deep bowl to soak sabudana. They fluff up overnight and need room to grow (approximately double in size). Also need to ensure there is enough room to completely cover them in water.
Test after soaking: take one or two tapioca pearls and mash between two fingers. If they easily squash they are soaked well. If not, then let soak another hour.
Do not overmix when making the dish. This can lead to them breaking apart and creating a mush.
Other optional methods:
- Mix the ground roasted nuts with sabudana prior to adding to the potatoes in the pan. It can help to keep sabudana separate but I have found it is not necessary.
- Cook sabudana in a pan with little oil to help keep them separate prior to adding them to the spiced potato mixture

Tips on making the khichdi

Don’t forget to soak the sabudana ahead of time to remove excess starch
Boil the potatoes ahead of time to reduce cooking time
Use either roasted whole peanuts or ground roasted peanut powder. I prefer the ground roasted peanut powder.
Don’t skip the lemon or sugar, it gives a slight tang and beautifully helps balance the dish
Use sendha namak, if fasting

Roasted peanuts, some with skins some without.

Prepping the Peanuts

I would not skip the peanuts! They add so much texture and flavor. You can use either whole roasted or fried peanuts or ground roasted peanuts powder.

You can find peanuts with shells at your local Indian store. Just roast and remove shells. Then grind to a powder like consistency.
Alternatively, use store ready roasted peanuts that you can blend at home