sago banana and cream | breakfast 'cereal' or a hearty dessert meal for vrat ka khana

Sago is a wonderful pearl when it comes to desserts and Navratri is the time when we all look forward for sugary sago treats. Saboodana vada and saboodana khichdi are my favorite too but I love the sago deserts more. Actually I can't decide whether I love saboodana kheer and other desserts more or saboodana vada and khichdi more. Sago pearls have a very nice texture when cooked rightly and that I love for sure. Cook sago wrongly and you kill it.

Many of us make the saboodana  kheer and sago falooda with nuts and fruits, here I am introducing a different recipe of sago which was a revelation for me some 8 years ago. I had cooked the saboodana khichdi (I have not posted it as yet but you can find it on many blogs) and a Bengali friend had liked the khichdi very much. I was astonished when he said that sago can be eaten raw as well. I had never heard of this and wanted to try that, and I did. Tried the recipe he was talking about the very next day.

And then another friend made a rich sago dessert for us, made with soaked but uncooked sago pearls. I just loved it, as it was fuss free and the flavors and different textures in this dessert were just amazing . Just to assemble a few things and a hearty dessert meal was ready for our navaratri fasting. Both of us used to fast all 9 days of navratri and have a good time eating many fasting foods. We used to entertain many friends who enjoyed fasting food in those days. Past couple of years have been no fasting, and no feasting in the navaratri days. Still I like to cook something which reminds me of those days....

Seeing the number of hits my 'vrat ka khana ' posts are getting during these days, I thought of posting this hearty dessert meal for navaratri fasting. Writing this I am reminded of so many things I used to make during this time of the year. This is one of the few unusual things which many of you will find very convenient to rustle up. A very nice breakfast dish because it is full of carbohydrates and fat of course. All good things in fact, gluten free, fuss free. A large bowl of this will keep you full till late in the afternoon if you had it for the breakfast..

First of all you need to soak the sago pearls in just enough water to skim through the surface in a wide bowl. 3-4 hours of soaking is good enough for the larger variety of sago pearls. You can test for the readiness of the sago pearls actually by pressing one sago pearl between your thumb and index finger. The sago pearl should get flattened and yet should not disintegrate... as it looks like here...you see two sago pearls flattened in the left side...

If the sago is not ready you can add a little more water or milk (if the sago looks dry) and keep for another couple of hours. Best is to soak overnight in the fridge and use in the morning. Soaked sago keeps well in the fridge for a week. It is very convenient that way during this season as you will be able to make saboodana khichdi and vadas or for kheer and falooda with the same soaked sago. Soaking is similar for all of  these recipes.

For a cup of soaked sago, add 1/2 cup of fresh cream (Iuse malai) 1 cup of full cream milk and sugar or honey to taste. Add any nuts of your choice (cashew, raisins and almonds are the best for this) and a chopped banana .

Yummy.... The sago pearls have a great texture against the soft bananas and the crunchy nuts. Raisins taste very good in this, I did not use them as I did not have them at this point. Dried apricots and prunes will be great too. Just think of different textures and different flavors going into it. Add some Jam or a fruit preserve and see how beautiful it gets. Fasting is not about boring food, it's about your imagination including all the falahari (non cereal and non legume) ingredients to the optimum taste balance and nutritional requirements...

Happy fasting ....... I will be back with another 'vrat ka khana' very soon....stay tuned...

sabudana vada recipe | fritters made of spiced sago pearls

Sabudana is sago pearls and it is a popular fasting food during navaratri. Sabudana khichdi and sabudana kheer are as popular as sabudana papad.

This sabudana vada is another way to feast during the fasting season. This time I made this sabudana vada with chopped onions as it was for a tea time snack on a weekend a couple of months ago when the heat was not this deadly. Now a days it is mango shake or aam malai or lassi everyday for evening snacking that sometimes becomes dinner. 

Dinner can be skipped at my place if we had a heavy evening snack, but not the evening snacking ever. Well, mostly it is like this.

Sabudana vada is a high carb (high glycemic index too) dish and you have to be conscious of the fact that you are having a carb- fat combination so it is advisable to have a lot of green chutney with it. Adding sesame or peanuts or both lowers down the glycemic index and I sometimes add onions for the same reason.

Once in a while it can be enjoyed with self control. Yes you need that in enormous amounts as this vada is very very addictive. Control your portion size or walk some more, do whatever it takes but never miss the opportunity to enjoy good food. Just do not binge on it.

I have added sesame seeds this time for added crunch and a nutty flavor but adding crushed peanuts works well too, both of then can be added if you want it to be very nutty.........

ingredients....
sago pearls soaked overnight * 1 cup
boiled potato mashed 1/2 - 3/4 cup as required
chopped onions 3/4 cup
finely chopped green chillies 1 tbsp or to taste
black pepper powder 1 tsp
sesame seeds 1 tbsp
salt to taste
coriander greens chopped finely 2 tbsp
oil or ghee to shallow fry



*sago has to be soaked in enough water to just cover the surface in a wide bowl, 3-4 hours is enough normally but it should be tested by pressing one sago pearl between your finger tips and it should give in to pressure and should get mashed when applied pressure. I keep the soaked sago in the fridge and it works very well for the vada as well as sabudana khichri, that is the pearls remain intact and cooks well to become translucent. In these vadas the sago on the surface becomes crisp by frying and those in the middle are soft and translucent.

It's yummy and try it yourself if you want more details of how the texture is and how it tastes :)

procedure... 

Mix everything in a mixing bowl and mash to make a binding dough like mixture........

Make balls with the mixture and flatten the balls to make patties .....shallow fry on both side till golden brown in color.......

Remove from the pan and drain on kitchen tissue ....serve with green chutney of mint-coriander leaves and ginger-garlic .........chai is a must .......

For me it is the best vada with my chai. I need just one with my chai as I am finicky that the chai should not be 'disturbed' with too much snacking (still I manage to binge on this vada and that is why I warned you).

I want to enjoy my chai sitting comfortably, that is one big luxury for me sometimes I must add....

It is essentially a vrat ka khana as sago is not a cereal and during fasting it is made without onions and with sendha namak (rock salt), so during fasting it is enjoyed with a meal but otherwise it should be an occasional snack.

Onions provide a different dimension to the vada and sesame makes it even more crunchy on the outside.You might like this version more than original may be. I keep alternating between the original recipe and this one. .