The festive season is here, bringing with it an abundance of snacks and sweets! As a family, we absolutely enjoy indulging in all the special festive dishes, completely guilt-free.
This year for Ayudha Pooja during the Dasara festival, I prepared sabudana payasa (also known as sago or tapioca pearl kheer), and it turned out wonderfully delicious, just like it always does!
This recipe is simple and takes only about 20 minutes to prepare. Sabudana Payasa is made with whole milk, tapioca pearls, sugar or jaggery, dried fruits and nuts, ghee, green cardamom powder, and saffron strands.
The main ingredient that goes into any Payasa can vary—it may be grains (commonly rice or wheat), millet, lentils (often split yellow moong), vermicelli, Sabudana, or poppy seeds. The overall flavor changes with this key ingredient, while the remaining ingredients usually stay the same.
I hope you give this tasty recipe a try and enjoy it as much as we do!
Ingredients:
Ghee: you will need about 2 tablespoons of ghee (any brand); I love A2 organic ghee.
Dried fruits and nuts: you will need a few cashews, raisins (black or golden), and pistachios.
Whole milk: you can use any whole milk; I use A2 organic whole milk.
Cardamom powder: you’ll need just a pinch of cardamom powder for a lovely flavor and aroma.
Saffron strands: a couple of saffron strands for beautiful color and delicate flavor.
Sabudana/Tapioca pearls: you’ll need small-sized tapioca pearls. If those are unavailable, you can use the regular size.
How to make Sabudana Payasa or Kheer?
Storing and Reheating
Let the payasa cool down completely, then transfer it to an airtight steel or glass container and refrigerate it for up to 3 days. The payasa will thicken as it chills, so before serving it warm, add a splash of warm milk and gently reheat on low flame until it reaches a comfortable temperature to enjoy.
If you love a chilled, thick kheer, you can skip adding extra milk or reheating. Simply enjoy it straight from the fridge.
Recipe
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Soak sabudana: Rinse sabudana or tapioca pearls two to three times under cold running water to remove excess starch. Then soak the pearls in fresh room-temperature water for 6 hours.Drain and discard the soaked water, and keep sabudana aside.
- Fry dried fruits and nuts: Heat ghee in a thick-bottomed pan on medium heat.Add cashews and raisins to the pan, and fry them until cashews turn golden brown and raisins fluff up. Carefully remove them from ghee and keep aside in a separate bowl.
- Add milk and boil: Carefully add whole milk and water to the same pan with ghee. Stir and continue boiling milk on medium heat until it begins to thicken, stirring continuously to prevent milk from sticking to the bottom of the pan or getting burnt. Once you notice that the milk is bubbling, add cardamom powder and stir.
- Add soaked sabudana and jaggery powder: Add soaked sabudana pearls to the pan, stir, and cook on medium-low heat for another 2-3 minutes.Then add jaggery and stir to dissolve the jaggery cubes completely. Continue cooking for another 2 minutes, until the milk has thickened a little more, and then turn off the heat.
- Serve: Add the pre-fried cashews and raisins, and mix. Serve warm with some roughly chopped pistachios on top. Enjoy!
Still hungry?
If you tried this recipe, let me know how you liked it by leaving a comment below or tagging a picture of your preparation on Instagram @swaadista
Happy cooking, happy eating!
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