Sabudana Kichadi is an excellent breakfast if one can plan ahead. It can be made in less than 30 minutes and is very filling. This also goes by different names like Jevvarisi Upma or Sabudana Khichdi or Sabudana Upma depending on the region you are in.
My fear of sabudana kept me away this long from making this delicious Sabudana Kichadi. If you know me, you will know the fear in me of using sabudana. I love jevarasi in all forms, but can never get it to cook properly.
One of my favorite payasam is Jevvarisi payasam, but my milk would always curdle when making it. I overcame that problem by using coconut milk and making Jevvarisi thengai Paal Payasam and it worked great.
This Jevvarisi Upma is a very famous Vrat / Upvas / fasting recipe in Maharashtra and I have always enjoyed it when my friends make them. Yesterday, I had the pleasure to make it and enjoy it.
This Sabudana Khichdi is a great recipe to make for breakfast as it is very filling. I did not use any onions and used potatoes and crushed peanuts. The flavors were amazing and I was so happy that I tried the recipe.
The trick to making the best nonsticky sabudana khichdi is to determine the right soaking time for the tapioca pearls/sago. It varies from brand to brand and you have to determine what works best for you.
I would start by soaking the sago pearls for about 3 hours and then checking to see if they are soft enough. If not, increase the time. My sabudana almost needed overnight soaking.
Preparation time - 10 minutes plus overnight soaking time
Cooking time - 20 minutes
Difficulty level - easy
Ingredients to make Sabudana Kichadi - Serves 2 to 3
- Sabudana / Jevvarisi - 1 cup
- Green chilies - 3 or 4 (sliced)
- Oil - 2 tbsp
- Potato - 1 small (finely chopped)
- Mustard seeds - ½ tsp
- Cumin seeds - ½ tsp
- Peanuts - ¼ cups
- Lemon juice - 2 tsp
- Sugar - 1 tsp
- Salt - to taste
- Cilantro - a big handful (finely chopped)
Procedure to make Sabudana Khichdi -
- Wash the sabudana 2 to 3 times and then soak it in 2 cups of water. Start with 3 hours and check to see if the sabudana has softened. It should not be mushy but should crush easily when you crush it between your fingers.
- In that stage, drain it in a colander. It took over 6 hours for my sabudana to soften. So, the next time I make it, I would soak it overnight.
- If using raw peanuts, roast them in a pan and then grind them into a coarse powder. Do not make it too fine. The coarse texture of the peanuts adds crunch to the kichadi.
- In a pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds. Now add the chopped potatoes and cook them until it is golden brown.
- Add the green chilies and the drained sabudana along with salt, sugar, and crushed peanuts, and mix well.
- Cover the pan and let the sabudana cook for 3 to 4 minutes on low flame. You will notice that the sabudana turns glossy when it is cooked.
- Add the cilantro and mix well. Turn off the flame and then add the lemon juice.
- Serve sabudana upma warm or at room temperature. The kichadi will appear a little mushy when hot, but once it cools down a bit, it will be perfect in texture.
Other Breakfast Ideas
- Multigrain Bread | Whole Grain Bread
- Pataqueta – Valencia’s Orchard Traditional Bread
- Rava Idli | Rawa Idli Recipe
- Kanda Batata Poha | Flattened Rice Cooked With Potato And Onion
- Godhumai Rava Upma | Cracked Wheat (Dalia) Upma
- Kuzhi Paniyaram | Kuzhi Appam From Left Over Idli Batter
- Oatmeal Banana Pancakes – Eggless Pancake
- Scones – Herb And Cheese Savory Scones
If you made this recipe and liked it, give a star rating on the recipe card or let me know in the comments below. You could also share it with me on Instagram using #MyCookingJourney and tagging me @sandhya.ramakrishnan. You could follow me and my recipes on Facebook |Instagram | Pinterest | Twitter/X
Recipe
Sabudana Kichadi | Jevvarisi Upma | Sabudana Khichdi | Sabudana Upma
Equipment
- 1 Stove
- 1 Knife
- 1 Stainer
- 1 pan
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sabudana / Jevvarisi
- 3 Green chilies 3 or 4 sliced
- 2 tablespoon Oil
- 1 Potato small - finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon Mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon Cumin seeds
- ¼ cups Peanuts
- 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
- 1 teaspoon Sugar
- Salt to taste
- Cilantro a big handful finely chopped
Instructions
- Wash the sabudana 2 to 3 times and then soak it in 2 cups of water. Start with 3 hours and check to see if the sabudana has softened. It should not be mushy but should crush easily when you crush it between your fingers. In that stage, drain it in a colander. It took over 6 hours for my sabudana to soften. So, next time I make it, I would soak it overnight.
- If using raw peanuts, roast it in a pan and then grind it into a coarse powder. Do not make it too fine. The coarse texture of the peanuts adds crunch to the kichadi.
- In a pan, heat oil and add the mustard seeds and the cumin seeds. Now add the chopped potatoes and cook it until it is golden brown.
- Add the green chilies and the drained sabudana along with salt, sugar and crushed peanuts and mix well.
- Cover the pan and let the sabudana cook for 3 to 4 minutes in low flame. You will notice that the sabudana turns glossy when it is cooked.
- Add the cilantro and mix well. Turn off the flame and then add the lemon juice.
- Serve it warm or at room temperature. The kichadi will appear a little mushy when hot, but once it cools down a bit, it will be perfect in texture.
Ritu Tangri says
Initially, even I had the fear of making it as my khichdi used to get sticky, but after 2-3 failures I perfected the recipe. Still making this khichdi is restricted to fasting days only as on other days I forget to make it.
sapana says
We love this khichdi on fasting days, so light, healthy and tasty.
Kalyani says
I like this, but no takers at home. so not made often. I shall follow yours or Harini's method (mentioned above) for soaking. This has come out beautifully, SAndhya !
Bhawana Singh says
Sabudana khichdi taste amazing. A perfect breakfast or snack recipe to cook. This is also great fasting recipe using pink Himalayan salt. Try this with ghee clarified butter taste is much more awesome than with oil.
Priya Suresh says
Somehow am yet to give a try to this upma, dunno why i never tried upma with sago till now. Delicious upma Sandhya.
Jayashree says
In my initial days of cooking I too used to be intimidated by this dish. Like you said, the key lies in soaking for the right amount of time. Your kichdi looks awesome.
Srivalli says
I too love sago and enjoy sago payasam, though I mostly never make it. A couple of times I made this kichadi, I really enjoyed it!..I do agree on the tricky part though!
Vaishali says
It sure is tricky to cook these pearls , and I am always very hesitant to make them , but enjoy eating them . Your bowl looks fantastic and tempted to try soon .
harini says
Love it, Sandhya. This is one of our fav breakfasts. Washing and draining sago, adding a ladleful of yogurt, mixing it in, setting aside overnight - this process has been working perfectly for the past 15 years.
Sandhiya says
It's been a while since i prepared this sabudana kichadi, now you're tempting me with your post. Looks delicious and l love the crunchy peanut along with soft sago.