Sabudana Khichri/ Upma (Sago/Tapioca Pearl Snack)

 A popular breakfast or snack that has a very nice balanced taste of sweet (sugar), salt, tang (lime juice) and heat (green chilies). As you bite into this crunchy yet moist savory dish, all these tastes unfold one by one.

There is one doubt I have always had - why is it called khichdi (gooey sticky porridge), and why not upma (dry granular porridge) because, both preparation and texture is more like upma. Never mind, it tastes good and that's what matters.

In different states of India, its prepared differently. In fact it is a very popular dish eaten during religious fasting. If you are making this for someone who is fasting, then skip the lime juice and replace salt with rock salt (sendha namak). As I write this I realise 'food for fasting' is a complete opposite of 'fast food'! Anyways, that topic for another day, now for the recipe!

You need:

Sabudana (Tapioca/Sago) – 1 Cup (when soaked plumps up to 1.5 – 2 times. So based on that you can decide how much you want to use, please follow soaking instructions to get best and foolproof results)


Powdered Roasted Peanuts – ½ Cup (You can adjust this to your liking, but it tastes good with lots since it makes it crunchy, don't make a very fine paste, make a crumbly kind of powder)

Whole roasted peanuts – 8-10 nos.

Lime juice – 1.5-2 Tbsp (you can adjust this to taste, traditionally its high on tang)


Sugar – 1-1.5 tsp (you can adjust this to taste, traditionally its has enough sugar to balance the tang from the lime juice and heat from the chili)


Oil – 1 Tbsp (typically 2 Tbsp would be used but I tend to go a little shy on this)

Ghee – 1 tsp (optional but does make a big difference)

Cumin Seeds – 1/4 tsp

Salt – to taste


Green Chillies – 3 nos (finely chopped, adjust to taste, though traditionally its made pretty hot)

Potato – 1 medium (boiled peeled and cut into small cubes)

Fresh shredded coconut – 1/3 Cup

Fresh green coriander/ Cilantro – handful (needs generous helping and use only the leaves)

Black pepper powder – ¼ tsp (optional, check my notes in the bottom to read why)

1. Wash sabudana for 10-15 sec. Soak it in water completely immersed for 30 min. After 30 min, drain out all the water. Cover the bowl and let it rest for 6-7 hours. Make sure you keep it covered at all times, else the sabudana will dry out and get chewy while cooking. If possible gently mix the sabudana with a fork without damaging them every 1-2 hours. This is not mandatory but keeps the sabudana moist uniformly.
2. Once the sabudana is all plumped up, mix salt, sugar, lime juice and powdered peanuts. Remember you can always go a little conservative with sugar and lime juice at this stage and add later if you feel the need. These measurements are adjusted as per my taste.
3. In a nonstick pan, heat oil and ghee. You can always add ghee instead of oil for better taste. But I have mixed the two to cut down on ghee and still have that fragrance.
4. Add cumin seeds. Once they splutter add green chilies. Fry for a min.
5. Add sabudana mixture to the pan. Mix well. Reduce flame to low, cover and cook for 1-2 minutes.
6. Add shredded coconut and the potatoes. Fry for another min. Mix gently as the the sabudana can break easily. Adjust salt, lime and sugar at this stage.
7. Cover and cook till the sabudana is cooked through. The best way to judge if its cooked well is when all the sabudana beads become translucent and none of them remain opaque white. This process may take anywhere between 7-10 min depending on how much moisture they had while soaking. Remember, cover and cook but stir intermittently so that it doesn't stick to the bottom and burn. You can always sprinkle very little water in between to add a little moisture to cook. But just sprinkle else they will get sticky and gooey. Last this you want is to chew gum after all that effort! :)
8. Add whole peanuts. I add them in the end as I prefer them crunchy and not the soft steamed feel they get, while cooking with lid on. Mix them 
9. Add coriander leaves and serve hot.

*There might be many ways to soak the sabudana, but this has been a fool-proof method for me. It gives perfect moisture to sabudana without making it too soft or gooey.

**Are you are wondering if it makes sense to buy one full packet of sabudana (the Indian store here sells nothing less than a 2 lb pack, smart!!) just for this one odd khichdi? Well good news, I will soon be posting recipes for yummy sabudana kheer, sabudana vada and a few more recipes that call for sabudana. So go ahead and pick that sabudana packet this time!

*** The starchiness of tapioca is complimented by pepper. Try adding a pinch to a small portion. And if you like the taste, go ahead add to all. I like mine with a hint of pepper.