Attempt # 2: It's Slowly Getting Better...
Hi everybody, this week I tried my hand at making an Indian dish for the second time! I decided to make Sabudana Khichdi, a popular Indian dish made with tapioca pearls, whole spices, roasted peanuts, potatoes, and fresh curry leaves. Sabudana (tapioca pearls) are high in carbohydrates and have the ability to boost energy quickly. Thus, it has been classified as one of the best fasting foods by the traditional Hindu community and is most commonly eaten during Navrati, Ekadashi, and other Hindu fasting days. It looks a little something like this:
Despite not being Hindu, my parents grew up occasionally eating Sabudana Khichdi for breakfast. My father made it about a month ago, and I thought the overall flavors/textures of the dish were great! Likewise, Sabudana Khichdi, a savory dish made with primarily tapioca pearls, contradicts and challenges my view of ingredients and their uses. I typically associate tapioca with bubble tea or mochi, but to see the ingredient being used in this way, is interesting and makes me think... what other ingredients do we see a certain way that can be used to make an entirely new dish?
Anyways, moving on to the process of making Sabudana Khichdi. It's actually an extremely easy dish to make. The only necessary prep work is soaking the sabudana (tapioca pearls) in water for at least 4 hours. Next, you sautee your chopped potatoes/onions, cumin seeds, green chilis, and curry leaves. Finally, you add the soaked sabudana, and cook everything for ~ 2 minutes. I would say the most difficult step was cutting the onions (if you're wondering, yes, I cried). Nonetheless, it turned out pretty great! My parents recommended that next time I add a few more spices just to give it a bit more flavor, but otherwise, I'd say my second attempt at making Indian food was pretty successful. Here's my final product:
- Mariam Vaid


That's a visually beautiful dish, and with the yummy spices, I'm betting it smells and tastes good too. Can't wait to see what's next.
ReplyDeleteI love tapioca pudding, but I've never seen it used in a savory dish before. This looks delicious, and seems like it would have a nice texture. Good job!
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