"Sabudana- Kirlailele Moong Khichidi (Tapioca Pearls- Sprouted Green Gram Khichdi)" ... one of the most sought after snack consumed by Indians during upvas/ fast on festive occasions ... prepared this popular Maharashtrian dish giving it a slight healthier twist by adding on sprouts along with crushed ground nuts and coarsely ground black pepper powder .... Yummilicious ...
** Sabudana also known as Sago/ Tapioca pearls are small soft white balls full of starch, available in three sizes, small, medium, large in most of the Indian stores. The small ones turn crushed and mushy when cooked and are best used in preparation of dishes like vadas or payasam while the medium or larger ones are preferred for khichidi/ khichdi. There are many variations with minute differences followed in preparation of this dish, however the one step that must be followed is of soaking them for 2 hours or so.
** Addition of veggies is a matter of choice, though it does taste wonderful when prepared in veggie pulav style too, however during fasting most of the items included are kept minimum and usually only potatoes and crushed peanuts are added on, that's traditional method for you one say. Again, with changing times and with pattern of change in lifestyle we all love to give some twists, sometimes for health sake and at times for taste. So, one should let run on their imaginations and try out various options and enjoy the same.
** Sabudana is nothing but full of starch and many avoid it for the same, here, I have tried giving a healthier twist by adding on sprouts while rest of the recipe remains almost same. I must confess that Sabudana is not prepared frequently in my home be it as khichidi or vada as this is one dish I learnt only after marriage, I don't think I ever ate it during my growing up years as amma never prepared it. With sabudana it was always doodhpak during festive day, which I remember relishing and it tasted wonderful.
** The perfection in preparing Sabudana Khichidi lies in retaining the pearls intact, softly cooked and separate without turning sticky which does need some practice, at least I have ruined it the first few times a made. The soaking time as I mentioned is must for all sabudana recipe for perfection and so is slow cooking. Here I must mention that it does take some extra spoons of oil too for that perfect cooking. In all, once you learn to prepare it, then its a breeze work and you will love trying them out in different varieties.
** Here is my own recipe for "Sabudana- Kirlailele Moong Khichidi (Tapioca Pearls- Sprouted Green Gram Khichdi)" ... a must try as it does taste crunchy and delicious ... sure to be loved by all in family, try it ....
** You will need about 1 cup of Kirlailele Moong/ Sprouted Green Gram here for this dish. Sprouting takes time and needs to be prepared atleast 2 days in advance. I am sharing a links that includes the "Method of sprouting Beans" at the bottom of this recipe, please check it out if you need to learn sprouting method. Otherwise, just prepare the same and before preparing khichidi just wash, drain and keep this ready aside.
** Roast 1 cup of groundnuts/ peanuts/ kadlo/ kadlekayi either in a thick bottomed pan or micro wave it. Once roasted, remove the outer skin and then grind them in a coarse powder either in mixer grinder or pestle and keep it ready aside.
** To Prepare Sabudana : Wash and soak one cup of large sized variety sabudana/ sago/ tapioca pearls in a large bowl adding about 4-5 cups of water. Leave this covered aside for about 2-4 hours. Drain off the water completely and leave it aside to swell on its own for another 6-8 hours or overnight (At least minimum 4 hours).
** Note : You can always prepare sabudana in advance and keep it in the fridge and use as and when necessary. It remains good for 2-3 days. Sabudana should swell properly and look like small white pearls for you to get the best spongy effect. So soaking and resting period is very important. You CANNOT add the sabudana directly nor the soaked one immediately as that will not give you the above softness.
** To Prepare the Sabudana Khichidi : Mix the prepared Sabudana and the coarsely ground groundnut together. See to that the mixture is evenly mixed without lumps, at this point if desired you can mix in 2-3 tblsp of freshly grated coconut too.
** Heat about 3-4 tblsp of oil (tel/ tela) or ghee/ toop in a thick bottomed kadai, when hot add in 2 tsp of jeera (cumin seeds), then 1 tsp of mustard seeds (rai/ sasam), fry a bit and when rai crackles add 10-12 fresh curry leaves (kadipatta/ karbevu), 4-5 green chillies (tarni mrisanga/ hari mirchi) chopped finely, 1 tsp of hing (asafoetida) powder and fry all together for a minute or two.
** Add 1 tblsp of coarsely ground black pepper (kali miri/ mire) powder and 1 inch piece of grated ginger (alle'/ adrak) and fry for another minute or two and then add in the prepared and kept sabudana- groundnut mixture, salt (namak/ meeta) to taste and mix well. Cover and cook on medium heat for one minute, then mix well carefully, taking care not to crush the sabudana and then lower the heat and cook covered till 50% done.
** The sabudana should be mixed evenly so that the oil coats each of it nicely, as that is the method needed to follow to get softly cooked sabudana khichidi. When cooked to about 50% add the moong sprouts and mix well, again cover and cook till done. Remember the sabudana should be soft and pearl like texture while the sprouts will remain crunchier. Do remember to mix gently but evenly in between for even cooking.
** You can add a pinch of sugar/ shakkar/ sakkara at this stage if desired. I have not, however traditionally its added to add on flavor. Lastly add freshly squeezed juice of half a lime (lemon/ limboo/ nimboo/ limbiyo) and a handful of finely chopped fresh coriander leaves (dhania/ kottambari pallo) and mix well. Cover and keep it aside for about 10-15 minutes for the khichidi to get well infused with flavors and its done.
** "Sabudana- Kirlailele Moong Khichidi (Tapioca Pearls- Sprouted Green Gram Khichdi)" with crushed ground nuts and coarsely ground black pepper powder is done and ready to be served. Serve it hot as it is or with some other snacks of your choice as accompaniment during breakfast or meals and enjoy with your family and friends. As mentioned above, sabudana khichdi is relished the most during upvas/ fasting days almost all round India especially in Maharashtra State, so if you have not tried this recipe with addition of sprouts, do try it out, it healthier, tastier with a crunchier and unique taste.
** For the "Method of sprouting Beans", follow the link shared below ...
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