Sabudana kheer | Sabudane ki kheer | Sago payasam | How to make sabudana kheer

Sabudana kheer aka sabudane ki kheer is a rich, creamy, flavoured and luscious tapioca pearl pudding which is hugely popular in India, especially during festivals. It is one of the frequently served vrat ka khana during vrat or fasting days like Navratri, shivratri, Ekadashi etc. In this preparation, soaked sabudana aka tapioca pearls are cooked in milk with sugar or jaggery, some dry fruits and cardamom powder. Sago payasam can also be served as a dessert after meal or dinner in any special occasion or family get together.

Though sabudana recipes are quite popular during fasting and vrats but many people of the country are still not aware of it. Before discussing about the recipe, let me explain about sabudana and its usage in culinary.

About the recipe
Health Benefits of Sabudana
Tips and Suggestions
Frequently Asked Questions
How to make Sabudana kheer (step wise photos)
Recipe Card

Sabudana is a starch extracted from tapioca roots which is 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 nutrient, vitamins, minerals, protein but very high in carbohydrate. 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 summer diet because it helps to cooling our body.

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, like in Tamil, it is known as javvarisi, in Kannada, it is known as sabakki, in Telugu, it is known as sagubiyyam. 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 few hours to let it get rehydrated.

Generally, sabudana comes in three different sizes – small, medium and large. I have used the medium sized sabudana for the sabudana kheer recipe which is easily available in stores. According to me, this variety works great for the 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.

In Hindu religion, there are few rules and regulations for food during vrats and upvaas. Few people do nirjala upavas where they don’t even sip water before completing puja. Few people only consume fruits, few only take liquids like tea, milk, fruit juice whereas few others take a single meal on a day. People follow the rules according to their own rituals.

But there are few things which are strictly prohibited during vrats aka fasting like onion, garlic, lentils, normal salt, wheat etc. But one thing which is hugely used during vrats is sago. So, it is considered as one of the best options for fasting food when whole grains are not allowed to be consumed.

I belong to a Bengali family. Since my childhood, I have seen that in most of the puja festivals sabudana is used to prepare sabu makha. But when I came to northern India after marriage, I have seen tremendous usage of sabudana in preparing different varieties of dishes on regular days as well as festive days. I just got blended with the culture and started preparing different ranges of sabudana recipes in my kitchen. The best part is everyone just loved all my sabudana recipes and sabudana ki kheer is one of them.

Sabudana kheer aka sabudane ki kheer is a very simple and easy recipe and the difficulty level of preparing this kheer recipe is low. It requires few basic ingredients which are easily available in 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, sabudana kheer recipe can be a great option as dessert in small parties and get togethers other than the fasting days.

Sabudana kheer with step by step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instructions’ section of the recipe. I have included all my tips and tricks to make the recipe easier for you. If you follow the steps precisely then you will get perfect sabudane ki kheer on your very first attempt. But before directly jumping into the recipe, let me share few interesting facts about the recipe and the key ingredient of the recipe ‘Sabudana’.

• 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.

• Soak the sabudana for at least 5 hours before cooking.
• Drain the excess water after soaking the sabudana.
• Always use heavy bottom pan to cook sabudana kheer or else it has the high chance to stick to the pan.
• Cook the sabudana in low heat and frequently stir the content or else it will stick to the bottom of the pan.
• You can add dry fruits and nuts of your choice for additional flavour and bite.
• You can add sweetener of your choice for the recipe like sugar, jaggery, maple syrup and even stevia.
• Don’t skip cardamom powder from the recipe. It enhances the flavour of the kheer.

Sabudana ka kheer is the perfect way to introduce sabudana to babies. But make sure not to reduce the milk to thicken the kheer because the baby can have problem in digesting the reduced thick milk. You can also skip the dry fruits from the recipe.

Sabudana kheer recipe can be prepared using condensed milk. If you are in hurry and don’t have enough time to reduce the milk to its desire consistency, then you can use condensed milk. You can add condensed milk instead of sugar or in small amount even with sugar. Adjust the sweetness of the kheer accordingly.

To prepare sabudana kheer, always use full fat milk or full cream milk for the rich and creamy texture. Toned milk, skimmed milk or semi skimmed milk can also be used to prepare the recipe, but full fat milk gives better taste and texture to the kheer recipe.

Yes of course. Sabudana is one of most widely used ingredients in festive seasons as a part of vrat ka khana ingredient.

Sabudana is very high in carbohydrate. If you are looking for weight loss diet, sabudana will not be a great choice.

Yes of course. Sabudana kheer can also be sweetened with jaggery other than sugar.

You can serve sabudana kheer either hot or at room temperature and even chilled, whichever way you prefer to eat.

To prepare the sabudana kheer, first wash the sabudana for couple of times until the water gets clear and then soak it in water for 5-6 hours or for overnight. Then strain the sabudana to drain the excess water.

Take a pan and add milk into it. Cook it in medium high flame until the milk starts boiling. Put the flame in low and add the soaked sabudana into the pan. Cook it in low flame for 30 minutes until you get the desired consistency of the sago payasam. The kheer becomes thicker after cooling down. So, keep the consistency little bit runny.

After this, add sugar and stir it nicely until the sugar melts. Then again cook it for some more time. Add cardamom powder and chopped dry fruits into the kheer and mix it nicely. I have used raisin, cashew, almond and pistachios into it. You can add dry fruits according to your own preference. Switch off the flame and your sabudane ki kheer is ready to serve.

You can serve it hot and even cold, in both ways. After serving sprinkle some chopped nuts and saffron streaks on the top of the sabudana kheer.

Many kheer recipes have already shared in my previous posts. You may check few of them like

Makhane ki kheer
Chawal Ki Kheer
Seviyan kheer
Carrot kheer
Sooji ki kheer

..And Many more…

1 Cup = 250 ml

• ½ cup Sabudana (Tapioca Pearl)
• ½ cup Water, to soak the Sabudana
• 1 litre or 4 cups full fat Milk
• ½ cup Sugar or as required
• 1 tablespoon Raisin
• 1 tablespoon Cashew nuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Almonds, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Pistachios, chopped
• ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
• 8-10 Saffron streaks for garnishing
• 1 teaspoon chopped nuts for garnishing

1. Wash ½ cup of sabudana properly in ample amount of water for couple of times. Rub the sabudana gently with fingers and wash out the excess powdered starch.
2. Soak ½ cup sabudana in ½ cup of water in a bowl for overnight or at least for 5 hours. Drain the soaked sabudana with the help of a strainer to get rid of the excess moisture from it. Keep the sabudana aside.
3. Take a pan and add 4 cups milk into it. Put the pan on medium high flame and bring it to boil. Stir in regular intervals or else the milk may stick to the bottom.
4. Put the flame in low and add the soaked sabudana (Step 2) into the pan. Cook it in low flame for 30 minutes until the sabudana gets cooked and you get the desire consistency of the kheer.
   Note: The kheer become thicker after cooling down so keep the consistency little bit runny.
5. Add ½ cup sugar into the pan and mix it well until it gets dissolved. Cook it in low flame for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and give a nice mix.
7. Add 1 tablespoon raisin, 1 tablespoon chopped cashew nuts, 1 tablespoon chopped almond, 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios, one by one into the pan and mix it well.
8. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.

Transfer the sabudane ki kheer into serving bowls. You can choose to serve it either at room temperature or chilled. Garnish it with some chopped nuts and saffron streaks. Serve this palatable Indian dessert to your friends, relatives, family and spread happiness.

After cooling down the sabudana kheer to room temperature, transfer them to airtight container and refrigerate it. In this way, you can store the kheer for 3-4 days.

Sabudana kheer | Sabudane ki kheer | Sago payasam | How to make sabudana kheer

Serves: 4 Prep Time: 5 Minutes Cooking Time: 45 Minutes 45 Minutes

Nutrition facts: NA calories NA fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 1 voted )

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Ingredients

1 Cup = 250 ml

 

• ½ cup Sabudana (Tapioca Pearl)
• ½ cup Water, to soak the Sabudana
• 1 litre or 4 cups full fat Milk
• ½ cup Sugar or as required
• 1 tablespoon Raisin
• 1 tablespoon Cashew nuts, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Almonds, chopped
• 1 tablespoon Pistachios, chopped
• ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
• 8-10 Saffron streaks for garnishing
• 1 teaspoon chopped nuts for garnishing

Instructions

1. Wash ½ cup of sabudana properly in ample amount of water for couple of times. Rub the sabudana gently with fingers and wash out the excess powdered starch.
2. Soak ½ cup sabudana in ½ cup of water in a bowl for overnight or at least for 5 hours. Drain the soaked sabudana with the help of a strainer to get rid of the excess moisture from it. Keep the sabudana aside.
3. Take a pan and add 4 cups milk into it. Put the pan on medium high flame and bring it to boil. Stir in regular intervals or else the milk may stick to the bottom.
4. Put the flame in low and add the soaked sabudana (Step 2) into the pan. Cook it in low flame for 30 minutes until the sabudna gets cooked and you get the desire consistency of the kheer.

Note: The kheer become thicker after cooling down so keep the consistency little bit runny.

5. Add ½ cup sugar into the pan and mix it well until it gets dissolved. Cook it in low flame for another 3-4 minutes.
6. Add ½ teaspoon cardamom powder and give a nice mix.
7. Add 1 tablespoon raisin, 1 tablespoon chopped cashew nuts, 1 tablespoon chopped almond, 1 tablespoon chopped pistachios, one by one into the pan and mix it well.
8. Switch off the flame and put the pan down.