Healthy Sabudana Khichdi with Quinoa

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Recipe for a quinoa ‘sabudana’ khichdi – an Indian breakfast dish

As a kid, sabudana Khichdi was something that would make me break into a nervous sweat. I’ll tell you why. It was not a very common tiffin item in our house, but it would make an appearance every once in a while. Growing up in Bombay, it was common for some local specialties to find their way into our home’s menu.

It used to be what can be summarised as a gloopy mess on the plate. And there was this rule at home that we had to eat anything that was prepared. There was no “I don’t like this” or “I wont eat” option. And let’s just say I was an obedient kid. Sigh! #kidsthosedays

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In college days, some friends used to get sabudana khichdi in their lunch boxes on religious fast days. It used to be dark brown in colour coated with a delicious roasted peanut powder, mildly spicy from the green chillies, with a hint of tanginess from the lemon juice. No gloopy mess. No. This made me introspect and reexamine my hatred for this dish. And I realised I was in love!

Then of course, later in life, khichdi cravings were remedied by eating at Prakash (Dadar, Mumbai), along with another epic dish – the sabudana vada. Nowadays, my mum and aunt make an exact Maharashtrian version, that I’d happily fast for, if this is the kind of delicious stuff we get to eat on fast days.

So that’s my hate-love story with this dish called sabudana khichdi.

So why Quinoa Sabudana Khichdi?

NO, I’m not doing this just to prove that I am a hipster . When Gaurav Sabnis, a friend on Twitter, told me about how good a quinoa tasted in a mock sabudana khichdi, I knew I wanted to try this out.

In terms of nutrition, sabudana or sago, the starch extracted from Tapioca is pure carbohydrate with no protein and negligible fiber. I do agree that adding roasted peanuts and boiled potato adds some nutritional value to the dish, but preparing it with a healthier ‘grain’ like quinoa or millets bumps up the nutritional value of this dish considerably. And since it is such a delicious breakfast to eat, why deprive ourselves of a good khichdi! Prepare the same sabudana khichdi with millets or quinoa, and enjoy your favourite dish in a healthy new avatar. This version is especially good for diabetics, who are better off not eating highly refined carbohydrates like Sago.

How to cook quinoa – Watch the following video or read the step by step procedure

How to cook quinoa

• Wash and soak quinoa in water for 1 hour.
• Drain the quinoa with a fine sieve.
• In a pan, take double the quantity of water, add pinch of salt, few drops of oil.
• Once the water comes to a rolling boil, add quinoa. Cover and cook for 7-8 minutes until it has puffed up. When you eat it, it should be cooked but have a bite to it.
• Immediately remove the quinoa into a bowl, fluff up with a fork and keep aside to use in any recipe you like.

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[wpurp-searchable-recipe]Quinoa ‘Sabudana’ Khichdi – Recipe for a quinoa ‘sabudana’ khichdi – a healthier version of the traditional Sabudana Khichdi, with all of the taste, and better nutrition value! – cooked , oil, curry leaves, finely chopped green chillies, finely grated ginger, cumin seeds, large potato, boiled, peeled and diced, roasted peanuts, skinned, lemon, salt, coconut for garnish, To prepare this healthy version of sabudana khichdi, fluff up the cooked quinoa and keep aside in a bowl.; In a pan, heat the oil. Add the curry leaves, green chillies, ginger, cumin seeds and stir until cumin seeds splutter.; Add the diced potato to this mix and stir on high flame for 1-2 minutes until it turns golden on the outside. [If you are not using boiled potatoes, then chop the potato into a small dice and fry along with spices in the oil. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, until it is soft.]; To this, add the cooked quinoa, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp salt (because the quinoa is already cooked with some salt added to it). Stir to combine and cover this with a lid to steam cook for 3-4 minutes, so that the quinoa absorbs the flavours.; Coarsely crush the roasted peanuts and add to this, giving it a good mix. Garnish with fresh coconut.; Serve hot.; [/wpurp-searchable-recipe]

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Quinoa 'Sabudana' Khichdi

Recipe for a quinoa 'sabudana' khichdi - a healthier version of the traditional Sabudana Khichdi, with all of the taste, and better nutrition value!

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Prep Time 1 hour hr

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 20 minutes mins

Course Breakfast

Cuisine Indian

Servings 2 serving

Ingredients

  

• 2 cups quinoa cooked
• 1 sprig curry leaves
• 1 tsp green chillies finely chopped
• 1/2 tsp ginger finely grated
• 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 potato large , boiled, peeled and diced
• 1/4 cup peanuts roasted , skinned
• 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 - 3 tbsps coconut for garnish

Instructions

 

• To prepare this healthy version of sabudana khichdi, fluff up the cooked quinoa and keep aside in a bowl.
• In a pan, heat the oil. Add the curry leaves, green chillies, ginger, cumin seeds and stir until cumin seeds splutter.
• Add the diced potato to this mix and stir on high flame for 1-2 minutes until it turns golden on the outside. [If you are not using boiled potatoes, then chop the potato into a small dice and fry along with spices in the oil. Cover and cook for 5-7 minutes, until it is soft.]
• To this, add the cooked quinoa, juice of 1 lemon, 1/2 tsp salt (because the quinoa is already cooked with some salt added to it). Stir to combine and cover this with a lid to steam cook for 3-4 minutes, so that the quinoa absorbs the flavours.
• Coarsely crush the roasted peanuts and add to this, giving it a good mix. Garnish with fresh coconut.
• Serve hot.

Notes

For those of you who express concern at the carbon footprint of eating quinoa in Bangalore, the brand I use is very much grown in India. So if you are wondering where to get quinoa in Bangalore, you can check out the Pure and Sure brand, available on Amazon.

Please note that this post has affiliate links and if you buy products using these links, it will help support the blog. I will only recommend products that I personally use and trust for my family.