Sabu makha aka sabudana makha is a hugely popular no-cook sabudana recipe in Bengal. It is a summer special recipe which is perfect for hot and humid days when standing near the stove becomes a terrible experience. Sabudana makha recipe is one of the easiest and most delectable ways to take off from cooking breakfast on those exhausting days. In this preparation, soaked tapioca pearls are mixed and generously mashed with seasonal fruits like banana, mango pulp, grated coconut etc, and a choice of dry fruits, milk and sugar to get porridge-like consistency and texture. This inimitable bowl of joy is mostly served as breakfast, but sometimes also served as evening snacks.
Though sabudana recipes are quite popular during fasting and vrats but many people in the country are still not aware of it. Before discussing the recipe, let me explain about sabudana and its usage in culinary.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Health Benefits of Sabudana
How to make Sabu makha (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
What is Sabudana?
Sabudana is a starch extracted from tapioca roots which are commercially produced in the form of pearls in different sizes. It is gluten-free and used to prepare myriad sweet and savoury dishes like sweet pudding, porridge, falooda, pancakes, soup, savoury cakes, pilaf, beverages, papad etc.
It is low in nutrients, vitamins, minerals and protein but very high in carbohydrates. So, it is always cooked with other nutritious ingredients to increase the food value. High carbohydrate content in sabudana makes you feel full for longer and works as an instant energy booster. So, it is consumed during fasting. In fact, sabudana is one of the great options for the summer diet because it helps to cool our bodies.
Sabudana is very popular in Indian culinary and is known by different names in different parts of India. In northern parts of India, especially in Maharashtra and Gujrat, it is popular as sabudana. In south India, in Tamil, it is known as javvarisi, in Kannada, it is known as sabakki, in Telugu, it is known as sagubiyyam, in Bengal, it is known as Sabu. In other parts of India, it is mostly popular as sago or tapioca pearls.
In many countries other than India, sabudana is consumed as a regular staple in their regular diet. But before cooking sabudana, it needs to be soaked in water for a few hours to let it get rehydrated.
Types of Sabudana
Generally, sabudana comes in three different sizes – small, medium and large. I have used the medium-sized sabudana for the sabu makha recipe which is easily available in stores. According to me, this variety works great for the recipe.
Sabudana recipe
Sabudana aka tapioca pearl is one of the most versatile seeds which can be used to prepare different ranges of Indian recipes. It is frequently used to prepare both sweet and savoury dishes.
In sweet dishes, sabudana is mostly used to prepare porridge and pudding or kheer.
For savoury dishes, it is used to prepare main course like sabudana khichdi, sabudana vada,sabudana tikki, sabudana thalipeeth and many more. It is even used to prepare dosa, papad etc. But primarily, sabudana is used for vrat ka khana in Indian culinary. Many people do not have clear picture in mind about vrat ka khana.
As I belong to a Bengali family, since my childhood, I have seen that sabudana is majorly used to prepare sabu makha in most of the puja festivals and in summer day. We can say it is one of the most comforting traditional Bengali foods which Bengalis love to devour. But the best part of the recipe is that it is hugely customizable. There is no hard and fast rule to prepare this dish. You can pick the choice of your fruits, and adjust the sweetness and consistency of sabu makha according to your choice. You can skip the dry fruits and grated coconut if you don’t have them.
What is sabu makha?
Sabu makha is a Bengali delicacy and it’s a Bengali name where sabu stands for sago aka tapioca pearl and makha means mash aka mixed with the help of hands.
Sabu makha aka sabudana makha is a very simple and easy recipe. Basically, it’s a no-cook recipe and you can mix all the ingredients slowly, taste and adjust accordingly. All the ingredients required to prepare the dish are easily available in any Indian kitchen pantry. The best part of the recipe is that it can be prepared in large quantities without investing any extra effort or time. So, sabu makha can be a great option as breakfast for sudden guests in summer.
Sabu makha with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. If you follow the steps precisely then you will get perfect sabudana makha. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share a few interesting facts about the recipe and the key ingredient of the recipe ‘Sabudana’.
Sabudana benefits
- For the high carb content, it works as an instant energy booster.
- It could be a healthy option for weight gain.
- It is good for our digestive system and helps to resolve the issues like bloating, constipation etc.
- It helps to control the blood pressure level of our body.
How to make sabu makha?
To prepare the sabu makha, first, wash the sabudana for a couple of times until the water gets clear and then soak it in enough water for 6-8 hours or for overnight. The soaking time depends on the size of the sabudana. Then strain the sabudana to drain the excess water and transfer the soaked sabudana into a large mixing bowl.
Add peeled ripe bananas, mango pulp, grated coconut, aam shotto aka aam papad, cashew nuts, raisins, pitted dated, sugar, milk and powder milk, one by one into the mixing bowl and mix all the ingredients with the help of your hand. Mash the bananas first and then mix them with all the other ingredients. But be careful try not to mash the tapioca pearls during the time of mixing all the ingredients. Now your sabu makha is ready to serve.
Many sabudana recipes have already been shared in my previous posts. I hope you may like few of those recipes like
Sabudana ki khichdi
Sabudana thalipeeth
Sabudana vada
Sabudana kheer
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
1 Cup = 250 ml
To soak the sabudana
- 1 cup Sago aka tapioca pearl
- 4 cups Water
Other ingredients
- 2 ripe Banana
- ¾ cup Mango pulp
- ½ cup grated Coconut
- 1 tablespoon Raisins
- 1 tablespoon Cashew nuts
- 10 Dates pitted and sliced
- 50 grams Aam Shotto, medium pieces
- â…“ cup Sugar
- â…“ cup powder Milk
- 1 cup Milk
Instructions:
- Wash 1 cup of sabudana properly in an ample amount of water for couple of times. Rub the sabudana gently with your fingers and wash out the excess powdered starch.
- Soak 1 cup sabudana in 4 cups of water in a bowl for overnight or at least for 8 hours.
- Check the sabudana the next day with fingers test by mashing the pearl with your index finger and thumb. If it gets mashed, then it’s done. If not, then sprinkle some more water and soak it for another couple of hours. Drain the soaked sabudana with the help of a strainer to get rid of the excess moisture from it.
- Transfer the strained sabudana into a large mixing bowl.
- Add 2 peeled ripe bananas, ¾ cup mango pulp, ½ cup grated coconut, 50 grams aam shotto aka aam papad, 1 tablespoon cashew nuts, 1 tablespoon raisins, 10 pitted dated, ⅓ cup sugar, 1 cup milk, ⅓ cup powder milk one by one into the mixing bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients with the help of your hand. Mash the bananas first and then mix them with all the other ingredients. But be careful and try not to mash the tapioca pearls during the time of mixing all the ingredients. Now your sabu makha is ready to serve.
Serving Instruction
Transfer the sabu makha into serving bowls. Serve immediately this palatable no-cook breakfast recipe to your friends, relatives, family and spread happiness.
Ingredients
1 Cup = 250 ml
To soak the sabudana
- 1 cup Sago aka tapioca pearl
- 4 cups Water
Other ingredients
- 2 ripe Banana
- ¾ cup Mango pulp
- ½ cup grated Coconut
- 1 tablespoon Raisins
- 1 tablespoon Cashew nuts
- 10 Dates pitted and sliced
- 50 grams Aam Shotto, medium pieces
- â…“ cup Sugar
- â…“ cup powder Milk
- 1 cup Milk
Instructions
- Wash 1 cup of sabudana properly in an ample amount of water for couple of times. Rub the sabudana gently with your fingers and wash out the excess powdered starch.
- Soak 1 cup sabudana in 4 cups of water in a bowl for overnight or at least for 8 hours.
- Check the sabudana the next day with fingers test by mashing the pearl with your index finger and thumb. If it gets mashed, then it’s done. If not, then sprinkle some more water and soak it for another couple of hours. Drain the soaked sabudana with the help of a strainer to get rid of the excess moisture from it.
- Transfer the strained sabudana into a large mixing bowl.
- Add 2 peeled ripe bananas, ¾ cup mango pulp, ½ cup grated coconut, 50 grams aam shotto aka aam papad, 1 tablespoon cashew nuts, 1 tablespoon raisins, 10 pitted dated, ⅓ cup sugar, 1 cup milk, ⅓ cup powder milk one by one into the mixing bowl.
- Mix all the ingredients with the help of your hand. Mash the bananas first and then mix them with all the other ingredients. But be careful and try not to mash the tapioca pearls during the time of mixing all the ingredients. Now your sabu makha is ready to serve.
2 comments
Very tasty and quick dessert recipe thank you. What can we use instead of milk powder if we don’t have it?
Thank you for your feedback. Instead of milk powder, you can also use, sandesh or mawa.