Hariyali Sabudana Khichadi prepared with fresh mint and cilantro, adding a balanced freshness to the traditional dish.
The festival of Maha Shivratri is approaching and I wanted to put a little spin on a traditional fasting dish. This Hariyali Sabudana Khichadi is fresh, flavorful and a lovely way to add some herbs to regular sabudana khichadi I actually love vrat wala khana (fasting foods) and end up making things like Sabudana tikkis, beet mint lassi, and namkeen lassi pretty often.
The hariyali mix we add consists of ginger, mint, green chili’s and cilantro, which are all ingredients that can be consumed if you are fasting. I used sendha namak (rock salt) which is also the salt that is used during fasts, however you can use you salt of choice and adjust accordingly.
Sabudana can be a tricky ingredient to work with because of it’s starch content so I’m going to walk you through how you get non sticky Sabudana so that your khichadi stays light and fluffy.
Preparing your Sabudana:
-
When soaking your Sabudana use a 1:1.5 ratio of sabudana and water. So for 1 cup of sabudana, use 1 1/5 cup of water to soak it. The sabudana needs to be slighting submerged in water and not soaking in a deep pool of water.
-
Soak your Sabudana for 4-6 hours or until you are able to squish the pearl between your thumb and finger. The time of soaking always depends on the quality of your Sabudana, some needs to be soaked overnight.
-
Alternatively, you can soak your sabudana in hot water and it will half your soaking time. I like to rise the sabudana with cold water water this method so its not starchy or sticky.
-
After you have soaked the sabudana, drain it in a colander to ensure there’s no water left.
-
Sabudana should not be cooked for long periods of time, it only needs a few minutes to become translucent. Overcooking will result in mush.
These tips help me avoid sticky starchy Sabudana in both this recipe and when I’m making tikkis.
- 1 cup sabudana / tapioca sago
- 1 cup potatoes; peeled in ¼“ cubes
- 5-6 kadi patta/ curry leaves
- ½ cup mint; packed
- ¼ cup cilantro; packed
- 2 small green chilies
- 1 inch knob fresh ginger
- 1½ tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon raw peanuts; optional
- ½ teaspoon jeera/cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon salt; adjust to taste
- In a large bowl add your Sabudana, wash it and add 1½ cup water to it. Let soak for 4-6 hours.
- Once soaked and soft, drain out the excess water using a colander, set aside.
- Using a food processor, blend the cilantro, mint, green chilies and ginger into a paste, add a drop of water if needed to the mix.
- Heat oil in a pan on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add the cumin seeds and let them crackle.
- Follow this by adding the kadi patta and diced potatoes and cook for 3-4 minutes stirring often.
- Add half the salt and the raw peanuts, cook for another 3-4 minutes, ensuring nothing burns by mixing often.
- Add the drained sabudana to the pan along with three tablespoons of the haryali mix and the remaining salt. Mix gently until combined.
- Cook for 2-3 minutes until most of the sabudana pearls become translucent, stirring minimally.
- Remove pan from heat. And enjoy hot, plain or with chilled dahi or lassi.
If you have hariyali paste leftover add it to yogurt for a fresh raita or grilled vegetables.
Peanuts in this dish are optional, you can omit them if needed.
