“Spiced Sabudana- Gajar Soup” … fasting has been a cultural practice in almost every religion on certain days … it is not so easy to fast abstaining completely from food, that’s the very reason certain fasting foods came into being and sabudana also known as sabbakki/ tapioca peals/ sago is one of the extensively used food while observing fasting … Amma often made us eat rice porridge (peja) or sabudana kadailile (simple cooked sweet tapioca pearls) when for any reason we had to forgo meals … here is simple mildly spiced soup/ peja/ ganji/ gruel sort of dish with added benefits of veggie prepared with sago … by the way the beautiful peach color you see is coz of carrot and chilly flakes, if excluded it will be white, your choice ... Yummilicious ...
** Fasting is a ritual practice followed in all religions during some days through out India. While the recent study speaks volumes of the benefits of fasting or intermittent fasting which is associated with good health and longevity in living beings be it among human or animals our ancestors very well knew about it and followed the practice in their own way.
** Fasting is clubbed with religious practices and is a very common practice followed through out our country each one marking certain special days for the same. While some people fast without the intake of water and food, some have only fasting fruits, while many more observe eating certain types of food permitted in that particular community.
** Here I mention only the practice I follow as I have no much knowledge about others. In my home we observe fasting without eating rice or rice products. Non- Veg is completely prohibited so is addition of onion and garlic. Dry fruits and veggie like potato or sweet potato is preferred while sago and varai (Indian barnyard millet) are also consumed.
** Fasting is not only for religious beliefs but is great for overall health of human beings too. Our body has its own way of screaming when things go wrong by making us fall sick and at that time Amma always made us not eat any heavy meals and fed us simple dishes like rice porridge (peja/ gruel/ ganji) and it always brought us bouncing back on health.
** Recently hubby had stomach issue coz. of some excess consumption of millets so we decided to go light on food for a few days and trust me we followed this pattern for 3 days and felt so good. In recent years I have been unable to do much of fasting unlike a decade back, however now I do feel energetic and enthusiastic to fall back on my old practices.
** I must mention here that our choices of fasting food during religious days have been fruits, milk, varai, root vegetables, while when not feeling well its was always rice peja or curd rice. So, the first day we peja followed by curd rice the second day, however on third day I wanted something different and decided on Amma's recipe of kadailele sabudana.
** I have already shared the recipe for kadailele sabudana which is sweet in taste and having tummy issue I felt we should avoid sugar. So, I checked on net and found sabudana soup which was similar to Amma's kadailele sabudana except it was spiced and this suited my requirement. Well, I went ahead and prepared it my way to suit our taste.
** As hubby was fit and in action within two days I thought of adding some grated carrot to soup or should I call it peja coz. it tasted similar. Well, to all out there is no need to prepare this when not well or when fasting you can try it out this coming monsoon when it pouring outside and you need something hot during dinner to warm up for a sound sleep.
** You can add any veggies like carrots, peas, cauliflower if desired however if you are preparing it for benefits of fasting then avoid them or keep it simple with only one veggie, otherwise the purpose gets lost. I will be sharing many more recipes this monsoon as that’s the season of festivals most of which are observed by fasting, so keep in touch.
** Here is my simple recipe for “Spiced Sabudana- Gajar Soup” … my style …
** Ingredients :
Sabudana/ Sago/ Tapioca Pearl/ Sabbakki : ½ cup (large sized)
Gajar/ Carrot : ¼ cup grated
Ghee/ Toopa/ Toop : 1 tblsp
Jeera/ Cumin Seeds : ½ tsp
Green Chilly/ Tarni Mirsang/ Hari Mirchi : 1-2
Mire/ Miri/ Black Pepper : ¼ tsp coarsely crushed
Dry Red Chilly Flakes : large pinch
Coriander Leaves/ Kottambari Pallo/ Dhani : 1 tsp finely chopped
Sugar/ Shakkar/ Sakkara : 1 tsp (Optional)
Rock Salt/ Sendha Namak/ Pink Salt/ Meeta : to taste
Water as required.
** About Preparing Sabudana/ Sago/ Tapioca Pearl/ Sabbakki : Wash and soak sabudana in a large bowl adding about 2 cups of water. Leave this covered aside for about 2 hours. I have used large sized variety of sabudana here, you can use any. Drain off the water if any by tilting the vessel, cover and leave it aside to swell on its own for another 3-4 hours or overnight (At least minimum 4 hours). You will get well swollen large pearls like sabudana that is ready to be cooked into any dish you desire. You can always prepare this in advance and keep it in the fridge and use as and when necessary too, especially if you are a working women, it comes in handy as 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 and should not be skipped. You cannot add sabudana directly after giving it a wash as that will not give you the desired softness.
** Add the prepared and kept sabudana as per the instruction given above into a large stainless steel well. Add about 3-4 cups of hot water, mix well and let cook on medium heat stirring often to avoid the sabudana sticking to the bottom of the vessel.
** Meanwhile heat ghee in a small pan, add jeera, finely chopped or coarsely crushed to paste green chilly, fry for a few seconds and immediately pour over cooking sabudana in vessel and mix well. Add salt and grated carrot and continue to cook.
** Note : I have added Rock Salt/ Sendha Namak/ Pink Salt here largely during fasting periods. It is also known as himalayan salt and has immense health benefits. It can be used in various dishes, do try it, off course you can use any you desire too.
** This is a thin textured soup, however the texture of the soup is to individual liking so use water accordingly. Cook sabudana till you see the sago turn to translucent/ glazed pearls, they should be properly cooked, however you can cook to desired consistency.
** Once cooked and done garnish with pepper powder, chilly flakes, coriander leaves, remove from heat and leave it aside covered for just 5 minutes. This soup is a very thin consistency/ nishe’/ ganji type textured dish so add an adequate amount of water.
** Note : Do not add in excess quantity either veggies or sabudana for obtaining maximum health benefits of fasting be it observed for any reason. The joy of sipping on steaming hot water thin textured soup lies in its simplicity, so try it once as it is.
** “Spiced Sabudana- Gajar Soup” is done and ready to be served. Serve it steaming hot as it is and enjoy health benefits and do not worry about the starch content of sabudana as it is advertised worldwide, believe me if our ancestors trusted it for us, we can surely believe in they belief and rest assured. So enjoy home cooked food and make it a habit with your family to do so too. There are plenty of exciting dishes you can prepare and surprise your family and children in the blog, try it.
** For “Sabudana kadailile (simple cooked sweet tapioca pearls)” Recipe shared earlier, Please follow the link given below …
** For more “Sabudana/ Tapioca Pearls/ Sago” Recipes, Please follow the link given below …. https://gayathrifoodbytes.blogspot.com/search?q=sabudana
** DISCLAIMER : Fasting is a debatable subject with each nutritionist/ medical practitioner/ spiritualist/ Ayurveda claiming their own known methods. I have no knowledge on food subjects and whatever I write is what I practice at home that which I learnt from my Amma (Mother) or relatives. If there are faults or anything written otherwise it is not intentional, so do excuse if sentiments are hurt as my wish is to only share good food and promote that food which we have been following for ages. Stay Blessed- Spread Happiness.
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Thanks.