As we move on to S of the A-Z of Indian Vegetables at One Hot Stove and RCI (Regional Cuisines of India) hosted by Nupur ,we travel to Maharashtra.... 
The land of Raje Shivaji....
The Land of great Artists
Pt. Jitendra Abhisheki
Pt. Bhimsen Joshi
The Nightingale Lata Mangeshkar
Kishori Amonkar
PuLa The Marathi P.G.Wodehouse!!
And the land of Ganesh Utav!
The Marathi LAVNI!
AND.. (the part we have been waiting for!!!!) the land of GOOD FOOD... naaah, make it GREAT FOOD!!
Like all states, Maharashtra also has a lot of reasons to fast (upvas), sankasti, ekadashi, angarki and ofcourse Monday for Shankar Bhagwan, Tuesday for Ganpati... so on... for the rest of the week.. I have often wondered what is the objective of fasting..... pleasing the Gods? exercising self-control? Internal cleansing? or just another reason to cook some yummy food?
Take for instance,the first reason, pleasing the Gods... how can one please 33 crore Gods by fasting for 1 day?
Self-control? Can staying away from food for 1 day prove that one is in total control?
Internal cleansing, otherwise also known as langhan (loosely...avoiding food, consume only liquids) .. right!! and for the remaining days EAT..EAT..EAT!!
So, cook yummy food.. bingo! that is the explanation!! Take for instance..
"Tomorrow is ekadashi, are you fasting?"
" Are you making sabudana khichadi?"
"Yes"
"YES! "
This was a standard dialogue when I was small... fasting meant only one thing, Sabudana khichadi! This is an all time fav!! Commonly termed as 'fast' (not as in fast food) but,upvas food, this snack is welcome on non-fast days too.
My mother used to make this many a times for my lunch box (I was one of those finicky kids, who always wanted variety in my lunch box)
Sabudana or Sago, looks like small homeopathy pills... and while u describe homeopathy pills u say 'sabudana size pills' !
Making sabudana khichadi (for first timers) is probably not that easy. My best friend (who is a Delhiite) loves this dish and when in B school, once tried her,then, inexperienced hand at it... well to make a long story short... ended up with a gummy mess which firmly and stubbornly stuck to the wok and the ladle. The trick is to get the sabudana non-sticky and non-soggy!
So here's my sure fire recipe for getting a slap up sabudana khichadi
1 cup sabudana/ sago
1/2 cup Ground , roasted peanut powder (I make mine fine, but u can choose to keep it a bit rough)
1 Med Potato , sliced thinly
1-2 Green chillies (+/- to taste)
1 tsp Cumin / jeera seeds
3-4 tbsp Ghee
Salt to taste
Sugar
Cilantro to garnish
Grated Fresh coconut to garnish
Do the prep.
Wash the sabudana 2-3 times.
Add water to soak and soften , keep the level just about 1-2 cms above the sabudana level. Cover and keep, soak sabudana for at least 6-8 hours. I normally soak it overnight.
Add the ground peanut powder to the soft sabudana, add salt and sugar and mix well
Chop the green chillies or (this is what I do) Grind together the cumin and chillies
Heat about 2 tbsp ghee in a kadhai / wok.
Add the green chillies and cumin .Add thinly sliced potato, add this after you have added the chilly-cumin mix and cook till tender
Add the sabudana mix.
Cover and cook for 5 + mins
After you remove the cover, you will notice that the colour and texture of the sabudana has changed. it is now looking a bit transparent
Now DO NOT cover to cook, this will make it sticky
Drizzle another 2 tbsp of ghee around the kadhai/ wok.
Check for salt and sugar
Mix well and cook for another 5-7 mins.
Garnish with coconut and cilantro and serve hot
Khichadi can also be served with a dollop of yogurt.
The sugar is optional , but I just love that slightly sweetish taste that the khichadi acquires along with the spicy taste, so I am more than a little generous with the sugar!
Khichadi can be served , garnished with cilantro and a dash of lemon juice. however, some also prefer it with a coconut-cilantro chutney or plain yogurt.
Another side dish, served with khichadi is 'Ratala Kees' (post coming up soon)This is one of my entries for the RCI event.. I have planned some more, hope i can make all those!!! See you all soon .. Have a lovely weekend!!
21 comments:
Manasi, your khichadi looks really yummy!
for me too, the high point of upaas is sabudana khichadi...i hope the 33 crore gods don't get angry with me ;)
Jai Maharashtra!!!!! ;) Great post MAnasi!! Loved the khichdi as well. :)
Beautiful post Manasi.Great to see all those photos and info,didn't know some of them like Pula!
Kichadi looks great:)
great write-up..
khichadi looks so tempting! :)
Hi Manasi, I enjoyed reading this post -- and sabudana khichadi looks really great! Would like to try this sometime, with or without the fast :)
Hi Tee!! Ditto Girl!!
Hi Coffee!! Jai Mahan rashtra!!
Hi Ash!! Thanx, and PuLa is too good!!
Hi Arts!! Thank u sooo much!!
Hi Linda!! Thank U! I do the same fast or no fast, khichadi rocks!!
wow such good info. thanks. and lovely entry.
Hi Manasi, your sabudana khichdi real ly looks so tempting. I just have one doubt, It's jus that do you have to stir during the covere cooking phase and also when we initially add sabudana to the pan do we stir it once and then cover it or just cover it without stirring?
I luv sabudana and so far all my attempts have only given me a sticky mess.thanks
Divya
Hi Manasi,
your sabudana khicdi is really so tempting. I luv it but all my attempts so far have only resulted in a sticky mess.I just have one doubt, do you need to stir in between while covered cooking and also when put the sabudana in the pan do we stir it once and then cover it or just cover it without stirring?
thanks. Divya
Thanx Sharmi!!!
Divya, U r right, sabudana can become a sticky mess... ensure that it is soaked well (try overnight). Here is what I do, when I add the mix to the wok, I mix it thoroughly so that the tadka coats the sabudana, cover and cook. then when it is cooked (the uncover and cook phase) mix it only once.
Another thing u might want to consider... are u using less of peanut powder? try increasing the quantity by 2-3 tbsp. drizzle ghee on the sides to aid cooking
Hi Manasi,
thanks a lot for your tips. Years ago I had eaten sabudana khichdi from a friend's house and I had loved it. My mother used to prepare it for me but it never came out well. Thanks to you finally I was able to recreate the same taste.
all your recipes are really good . Do keep posying such wonderful recipes.
divya
I love this and my mother makes lovely khichdi. I can never make it the way she does... but keep trying. Nice blog.
A classic! I like your tip about soaking it overnight, I will try it the next time....because sometimes, I tend to mess this one up royally.
I often eat this yogurt....and I sprinkle my sugar on
top....I love it!
trupti
Khichadi looks yummy!
Khichadi looks good. An all time classic! Also enjoyed the lavani video :)
For Pu La, better add this link :
http://www.puladeshpande.net
Hi Manasi,
This is the first time I'm commenting. I tried your version and it really was fool-proof. My only doubt is..did you mean the water level should be 1-2cms above the sabudana level..I kept it 1-2mms and it worked very well. Thanks for the recipe!
hey mansi, really yummy recipe..just made it and it turned out great...i had soaked sabudana for about 4 hrs but that didn't create any problem...
once again, thanks for the recipe:)..
I just made the sabudana khichdi as per your recipe. and I must it rocked.. Thanks for easy and to-the point steps. It turned out so well.. In past , i have had some 10-15 experiences of making not-chewable khichdi.. I guess i wasnt soaking it enough. This time i soaked it overnight. And followed your recipe to each word.. Thanks a ton..
Ria
Really Good one.. I first time made SabuDana Khichadi.. And luckily .. it s test was above my excpectations..
Thanks for having this on site.
Thank you Manasi. For the first time I got it right. All other times, bcoz of over soaking, I used to get sticky clumps. Thank you for the wonderful advice and step by step instructions.
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