Looking for a new way of making Sabudana Ki Khichdi? Here I am presenting (with a delicious twist) how to make a perfect non-sticky Sabudana Khichdi in the green paste.
This recipe is slightly different than the traditional one. Its vegan, gluten-free and is made with a green paste of mint-cilantro, chili, and ginger.
This khichdi is extremely simple and yet so flavorful. You don’t need anything on the side but I love my sabudana khichdi with yogurt on the side. Please read the blog post carefully to get this recipe right every single time.
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What is Sabudana Khichdi?
Sabudana Khichdi is a popular Maharashtrian breakfast dish made with tapioca pearls, potatoes, peanuts, cumin seeds, green chilies, cilantro, and curry leaves.
It is very popular in India and usually made during fasting days like Navratri, mahashivratri, or Ekadashi.
Sabudana is nothing but a processed pant starch made from cassava root. As the pears are very starchy, proper preparation is required to not turn them sticky, chew and clump up together in a mass.
This khichdi doesn’t use a lot of spices and that’s because it’s often made during the fasting season and many spices are prohibited during fasting.
I like to make sabudana khichdi the traditional way but ever since I came across my friend Freda’s recipe for making Sabudana Khichdi in green paste, I always wanted to try it. And I finally did with my touch and to suit my palate. It turned out really great with all the summery refreshing flavors. 🙂
Sabudana Khichdi in green paste
As you might read in my Wheatberry salad recipe post, I am going to share a few mint recipes this month, and this recipe fits perfectly in my mint recipe series.
So for making this khichdi most of the basic ingredients remain the same as the traditional version. The only difference is, this recipe calls for a ground paste of mint, coriander(cilantro), green chilies, curry leaves, and ginger.
It looks so pretty and tastes delicious with all the refreshing herby flavors.
For making this recipe, you still need to follow all the golden rules of making it non-sticky.
I have had my shares of clumpy, sticky sabudana khichdi. But I learned with time and with practice. Now my sabudana khichdi always comes out perfect, every pearl of sabudana separates, and no more clumps.
Here are some notes and pro-tips to make perfect and Non-sticky Sabudana Khichdi?
Rinse the Sabudana – Risning sabudana is very very imporatant step. Rinse tapioca pearls few times in running water or until all the starch is washed and water turns clear to get rid of the starch. If not rinsed well, the pearls will stick up to each other and clump up. Use a big broad vessel or colander for rinsing.
Soak the sabudana –For soaking the tapioca pearls, use water just as needed. It is the next important step. I always use a 1:1 ratio of sabudana to water. Meaning 1 cup of sabudana and 1 cup of water. This is the most important step to get non-sticky khichdi. Or another way is, add only enough water that pearls are just submerged in water (about ½ – 1 inch of water above the pearls). This works fine as well. If you use a lot of water in soaking, it will result in a sticky and gloopy mess.
Soaking time – A lot of my friends ask me that how long I should soak the sabudana? The soaking time duration will depend on the quality of sabudana pearls. Some require less time. I find overnight soaking works best for the sabudana I get here in the USA. So experiment with your sabudana type and decide.
Smash test – Once the sabudana is soaked, give a smash test to know that the sabudana is properly soaked or not. Pick up a couple of tapioca pears and mash them between your fingers and thumb. You should be able to smash it easily. If the sabudana is still hard, sprinkle a couple of tablespoon water and let it soak for 1 to 2 more hours.
Drain the excess water after soaking – In the morning, drain the sabudana. There should not be any water left in soaked sabudana to get non-sticky khichdi. They have to be completely dry. If you followed the right soaking water amount then you might not have any water left. However, drain using a colander just to make sure there is no water or moisture left.
To make the green paste, use very little water. Too much water will make khichdi sticky.
Cook the sabudana khichdi in a bread pan.
Don’t use a lot of oil to cook sabudana. Too much oil also makes the khichdi lumpy.
Do not stir too much while cooking. Otherwise, pearls will stick to each other and khichdi will be lumpy. Just stir until everything is combined.
Do not overcook them. Just cook for a few minutes or until most of the pearls become translucent. I overcook it, it will become chewy.
Add sugar and lime juice at the end – Being a Gujarati, I love to add a little bit of sugar to my sabudana khichdi. Always add sugar and lime juice at the end.
If you follow these tips carefully, you will have a perfect delicious non-sticky sabudana khichdi ready in no time! (Look at the below picture, the khichdi turned out so perfect. Every pearl is separated).
Ingredients required
For the green paste, you will need
- Cilantro – Use fresh, cleaned, and washed cilantro.
- Mint leaves – Use only leaves, don’t use stems.
- Ginger and green chili – Green chili is the only ingredient that gives the heat and spicy taste to the dish. So adjust the amount as per your spice level.
- Curry leaves – this gives a lot of flavor to the khichdi.
Other ingredients
- Sabudana: The hero of the recipe. For this recipe, we use the regular sabudana (sago pearls). You can easily find them at any Indian grocery store or on Amazon.
- Potato – This is the only vegetable that is used in the recipe. I like to use raw potato cubes and cook in the pan until it gets a tender and little crisp. Make sure to cut them into small pieces to take too much time to cook. But you can use boiled, cubed potatoes too. It works perfectly fine too.
- Peanut – I always prefer roughly crushed peanuts in this khichdi recipe. But you can use whole peanuts too.
- Spices – To make this recipe, I have only added cumin seeds. Other than that there is no spice added.
- Salt – The regular table salt is not allowed during the fast hence the rock salt (sendha namak) is used here. If making for regular days then use regular salt.
- Lemon juice: You can use lime juice as well.
- Sugar – Being a Gujarati, I love to add a little bit of sugar to my sabudana khichdi. It helps balance the flavors and makes the khichdi taste even better. If you don’t prefer, skip it.
- Oil – Any oil will work here.
- Garnishing – Garnish the finished dish with some finely chopped cilantro.
How to make this recipe? Step by step process
Rinsing and soaking
Rinse sabudana under water until the water turns clear. This is important to get rid of all the starch. (image 1)
Transfer the rinsed sabudana to a large bowl and add 2 cups of water to it. (image 2)
In the morning, once the sabudana is soaked, drain it using a colander just to get rid of any excess water(if any left). (Image 3)
Press the sabudana between your thumb and index finger and check if it’s ready to cook or not. You should be able to easily smash. Set it aside. (image 4)
Green paste
Take all the green paste ingredients (cilantro, mint, curry leaves, ginger, and green chili) in a blender. Add 1 tablespoon of water (not more than that) and grind it into a smooth paste. Set aside. (image 5 and 6)
Making khichdi
Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. (image 1)
Now add the diced potatoes, stir it well, close the lid and cook for 6 to 7 minutes on medium heat, stirring often until potatoes are almost cooked and tender. Make sure to dice the potatoes small, so that they don’t take too much time to cook. (image 8, 9, and 10)
Add the drained sabudana to the pan along with salt, crushed peanuts, and green paste. (image 11, 12, 13 and 14)
Mix well until well combined. Cook for few minutes until sabudana pearls become translucent, stirring once or twice. Do not cook it for a long time else it will stick. Switch off the flame and remove the pan from the store. (image 15)
Add sugar, and lemon juice, and toss to combine. (image 16 and 17)
Serve hot Hariyali sabudana khichdi with chilled yogurt. Enjoy!
Quick FAQs
It depends on what kind of ingredients/herbs you eat during the fasting days.
Consumption of herbs differs from household to household. Many prefer to consume herbs like cilantro and mint, while some may not use them. A lot depends on the devotee’s beliefs and family traditions. If you are ok with mint and cilantro, you can make this recipe during vrat.
Yes, if you are not making it for fasting you can add spices like turmeric, chili powder, garam masala, and coriander powder to it.
If not making it fast, you can add onions. Saute it with potatoes.
Don’t worry! I have a solution for you. If your khichdi turned sticky, don’t through it. Mash their little bit, add some more crushed peanuts, mix, take some portion and roll them into a ball shape. Flatten them a little bit and fry them on medium heat until golden. Wet your hands in water if you are not able to roll the khichdi into the ball shape.
No, you cannot soak sabudana instantly. You have to plan ahead of time.
Of course, you can. You just need to adjust the amount of green chili.
No, this recipe cannot be made without soaking sabudana.
Yes, you can. Once it is soaked, drain the excess water and store it in an airtight container in the fridge. It stays good for 5 days.
Yes, you can store leftover Hariyali sabudana khichdi in an air-tight container for up to 3 days. I haven’t tried storing them more than that.
Sure. Why not! Your kitchen, your rules. If you are not making this for vrat, feel free to add vegetables like carrots, green peas, bell pepper, corn etc..
More Vrat Recipes
- Vrat Ke Dahi Wale Aloo
- Rajgira Aloo Puri
- Sabudana Thalipeeth
- Farali Sukhi Bhaji
- Cheesy Shredded Potato Patties
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Sabudana Khichdi in green paste
Ingredients
Green Paste
- 1 cup fully packed Cilantro cleaned and chopped
- ¾ cup Mint leaves Take only leaves
- 2 inch Ginger
- 2 hot green chili or according to your taste
- 1 spring Curry leaves
Other ingredients
- 2 cups Sabudana also known as Tapioca pearls or sago not soaked
- 400 grams Potato chopped into small cubes (about 2 ¼ cup)
- ½ cup raw Peanuts coarsely crush in a blender jar
- 2 teaspoon – Cumin seeds
- 1 ½ teaspoon Salt or to taste use Rock salt/sendhav namak if making this for fast
- 1 ½ tablespoon Lemon juice
- 3 teaspoon Sugar
- Cilantro Garnishing
Instructions
Rinsing and soaking
- Rinse sabudana under water until the water turns clear. This is important to get rid of all the starch. (image 1)
- Transfer the rinsed sabudana to a large bowl and add 2 cups of water to it. (image 2)
- In the morning, once the sabudana is soaked, drain it using a colander just to get rid of any excess water(if any left). (Image 3)Note – You will get 6 cups of sabudana once soaked out of 2 cups of un-soaked sabudana.
- Press the sabudana between your thumb and index finger and check if it’s ready to cook or not. You should be able to easily smash. Sett it aside. (image 4)
Green paste
- Take all the green paste ingredients (cilantro, mint, curry leaves, ginger, and green chili) in a blender. Add ¼ cup of water (not more than that) and grind it into a smooth paste. With this much ingredient quantity, you will get ½ cup of paste. Set aside. (image 5 and 6)
Making khichdi
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them splutter. (image 7)
- Now add the diced potatoes, stir it well, close the lid and cook for 6 to 7 minutes on medium heat, stirring often until potatoes are almost cooked and tender. Make sure to dice the potatoes small, so that they don’t take too much time to cook. (image 8, 9, and 10)
- Add the drained sabudana to the pan along with salt, crushed peanuts, and green paste. (image 11, 12, 13 and 14)
- Mix well until well combined. Cook for few minutes until sabudana pearls become translucent, stirring once or twice. Do not cook it for a long time else it will stick. Switch off the flame and remove the pan from the store. (image 15)
- Add sugar, lemon juice, and cilantro, and toss to combine. Taste the seasoning. Add more lemon juice, salt or sugar if required. (image 16 and 17)
- Serve hot Hariyali sabudana khichdi with chilled yogurt. Enjoy!
Video
Notes
- Rinse the Sabudana – Risning sabudana is very very imporatant step. Rinse tapioca pearls few times in running water or until all the starch is washed and water turns clear to get rid of the starch. If not rinsed well, the pearls will stick up to each other and clump up. Use a big broad vessel or colander for rinsing.
- Soak the sabudana –For soaking the tapioca pearls, use water just as needed. It is the next important step. I always use a 1:1 ratio of sabudana to water. Meaning 1 cup of sabudana and 1 cup of water. This is the most important step to get non-sticky khichdi. Or another way is, add only enough water that pearls are just submerged in water (about ½ – 1 inch of water above the pearls). This works fine as well. If you use a lot of water in soaking, it will result in a sticky and gloopy mess.
- Soaking time – A lot of my friends ask me that how long I should soak the sabudana? The soaking time duration will depend on the quality of sabudana pearls. Some require less time. I find overnight soaking works best for the sabudana I get here in the USA. So experiment with your sabudana type and decide.
- Smash test – Once the sabudana is soaked, give a smash test to know that the sabudana is properly soaked or not. Pick up a couple of tapioca pears and mash them between your fingers and thumb. You should be able to smash it easily. If the sabudana is still hard, sprinkle a couple of tablespoon water and let it soak for 1 to 2 more hours.
- Drain the excess water after soaking – In the morning, drain the sabudana. There should not be any water left in soaked sabudana to get non-sticky khichdi. They have to be completely dry. If you followed the right soaking water amount then you might not have any water left. However, drain using a colander just to make sure there is no water or moisture left.
- To make the green paste, use very little water. Too much water will make khichdi sticky.
- Cook the sabudana khichdi in a bread pan.
- Don’t use a lot of oil to cook sabudana. Too much oil also makes the khichdi lumpy.
- Do not stir too much while cooking. Otherwise, pearls will stick to each other and khichdi will be lumpy. Just stir until everything is combined.
- Do not overcook them. Just cook for a few minutes or until most of the pearls become translucent. I overcook it, it will become chewy.
- Add sugar and lime juice at the end – Being a Gujarati, I love to add a little bit of sugar to my sabudana khichdi. Always add sugar and lime juice at the end.
Nutrition
Warm regards,
Dhwani.
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