Whether you are making Sabudana Kheer for a special occasion, vrat, or simply to satisfy a sweet craving, this creamy Indian dessert is sure to win hearts.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
- What is Sabudana (Sago)?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- How To Make Sabudana Kheer
- My Tried and True Tips
- Sabudana Kheer Recipe
Sabudana kheer is more than just a dessert; it’s a bowl of sweet nostalgia and comfort. This Indian pudding, made from tapioca pearls (sabudana), and milk, is not only incredibly delicious but also a staple during Hindu fasts (vrat) like Navratri and Shivratri.
While rice kheer is a classic, the creamy, pearl-like texture of sabudana kheer makes it a unique and delightful treat.
What is Sabudana (Sago)?
Sabudana or sago is a starch that’s extracted from the soft core of tapioca and other tropical palms. Tapioca pearls are often consumed in tropical regions and India for their ability to keep one full and to provide instant energy. When cooked, these small, opaque pearls become soft, translucent, and gelatinous, creating a pudding-like consistency.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Sabudana (tapioca pearls) from medium to large size. You can use them to make sabudana khichdi or vada .
- Full Fat Milk is the best to make any type of Indian sweets and desserts.
- Cardamom Powder and Saffron for the colour, aroma, and flavour.
- Mixed Nuts (almond, pistachio, cashew) chopped
- Ghee to fry the nuts.
How To Make Sabudana Kheer
1)Prep Sabudana:
- Rinse the sabudana pearls 2 times in water to remove excess starch.
- Soak them in enough water to submerge for at least 4-5 hours, or overnight. This is the most crucial step! Soaking ensures the sabudana pearls cook evenly and become soft without clumping.
- Later, transfer soaked sabudana to a colander. Rinse thoroughly with running water to get rid of all the starch. Let it sit on colander while the milk is simmering and all the water drains out.
2)Simmer Milk:
- Bring the milk to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low.
- Add cardamom powder, and half of soaked saffron.
- Simmer the milk over lowest heat setting, stirring regularly to prevent from burning.
- After 15 minutes or so, the milk will start thickening, forming a layer of cream (rabdi), and turning pale yellow.
3) Add Sabudana
- Once milk is reduced almost to half of the original quanity, add rinsed sabudana pearls and stir to evenly combine. Continue to cook the kheer over low heat till sabudana pearls are cooked. This take 10 – 15 minutes.
- Once the kheer has reached a creamy consistency, add the sugar. Stir well until the sugar dissolves completely. Taste and adjust the sweetness as needed.
4) Roast Nuts
- In a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee.
- Add the chopped nuts and roast them until they are lightly golden.
- Add the raisins and cook for another 30 seconds until they plump up.
Garnish the sabudana kheer with remaining soaked saffron and toasted nuts. You can serve the kheer warm or chilled. But sabudana kheer becomes creamier and delicious after a hour or so of cooking.
My Tried and True Tips
- Soak, Don’t Skip: Soaking is non-negotiable. It’s the key to soft, separate pearls. Without proper soaking, the sabudana will remain hard or turn into a lumpy mess.
- Get Rid of Starch: After soaking rinse the tapioca pearls with water to get rid of all the starch.
- The Right Milk: Full-fat milk is highly recommended. The higher fat content contributes to the kheer’s creamy, rich texture.
- A Heavy Bottom Pan: Using a heavy-bottomed pan is essential to prevent the kheer from scorching at the bottom.
- Stir, Stir, Stir: Don’t walk away from your sabudana kheer! Stirring continuously, especially after adding the milk, is important to prevent the sabudana from clumping and sticking.
- Patience is Key: Sabudana kheer thickens as it cools. If it seems a little runny on the stove, remember that it will set beautifully once it cools down. If it becomes too thick after cooling, you can add a little warm milk to adjust the consistency.
More Indian Kheer Recipes
- Rice Kheer
- Badam Kheer
- Gujarati Doodh Pak
- Apple Quinoa Kheer
- Bengali Orange Kheer
more Indian kheer recipes for all festive celebrations.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 litre full-cream milk (full fat milk)
- ▢ ½ Cup sago (sabudana or tapioca pearls) (medium to large)
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon saffron strands (soaked)
- ▢ 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- ▢ ¼ Cup raw sugar or jaggery powder
- ▢ 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped almonds
- ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped pistachio
- ▢ 1 tablespoon chopped cashews
- ▢ 1 tablespoon golden raisins
Instructions
- Rinse the sabudana pearls 2 times in water to remove excess starch. Soak them in enough water to submerge for at least 4-5 hours, or overnight. This is the most crucial step! Soaking ensures the sabudana pearls cook evenly and become soft without clumping.
- Later, transfer soaked sabudana to a colander. Rinse thoroughly with running water to get rid of all the starch. Let it sit on colander while the milk is simmering and all the water drains out.
- Bring the milk to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add cardamom powder, and half of soaked saffron.
- Simmer the milk over lowest heat setting, stirring regularly to prevent from burning. After 15 minutes or so, the milk will start thickening, forming a layer of cream (rabdi), and turning pale yellow.
- Once milk is reduced almost to half of the original quanity, add rinsed sabudana pearls and stir to evenly combine. Continue to cook the kheer over low heat till sabudana pearls are cooked. This take 10 – 15 minutes.
- Once the kheer has reached a creamy consistency, add the sugar. Stir well until the sugar dissolves completely. Taste and adjust the sweetness as needed.
- In a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee.Add the chopped nuts and roast them until they are lightly golden. Add the raisins and cook for another 30 seconds until they plump up.
- Garnish the sabudana kheer with remaining soaked saffron and toasted nuts. You can serve the kheer warm or chilled.
Recipe Notes:
- Flavour Variations: While cardamom and saffron are classic, you can experiment with other flavours. A drizzle of rose syrup, or a caramel can add a delightful twist. You can try my carrot sabudana kheer also.
- The secret to a perfect sabudana kheer lies in ensuring the pearls are cooked just right—not too mushy, but perfectly tender and chewy.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
Sabudana Kheer Recipe
Equipment
- Heavy Bottom Kadhai
Ingredients
- 1 litre full-cream milk (full fat milk)
- ½ Cup sago (sabudana or tapioca pearls) (medium to large)
- ¼ teaspoon saffron strands (soaked)
- 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- ¼ Cup raw sugar or jaggery powder
- 1 teaspoon ghee (clarified butter)
- 1 tablespoon chopped almonds
- 1 tablespoon chopped pistachio
- 1 tablespoon chopped cashews
- 1 tablespoon golden raisins
Instructions
- Rinse the sabudana pearls 2 times in water to remove excess starch. Soak them in enough water to submerge for at least 4-5 hours, or overnight. This is the most crucial step! Soaking ensures the sabudana pearls cook evenly and become soft without clumping.
- Later, transfer soaked sabudana to a colander. Rinse thoroughly with running water to get rid of all the starch. Let it sit on colander while the milk is simmering and all the water drains out.
- Bring the milk to a gentle boil, then reduce the heat to low. Add cardamom powder, and half of soaked saffron.
- Simmer the milk over lowest heat setting, stirring regularly to prevent from burning. After 15 minutes or so, the milk will start thickening, forming a layer of cream (rabdi), and turning pale yellow.
- Once milk is reduced almost to half of the original quanity, add rinsed sabudana pearls and stir to evenly combine. Continue to cook the kheer over low heat till sabudana pearls are cooked. This take 10 – 15 minutes.
- Once the kheer has reached a creamy consistency, add the sugar. Stir well until the sugar dissolves completely. Taste and adjust the sweetness as needed.
- In a small pan, heat a tablespoon of ghee.Add the chopped nuts and roast them until they are lightly golden. Add the raisins and cook for another 30 seconds until they plump up.
- Garnish the sabudana kheer with remaining soaked saffron and toasted nuts. You can serve the kheer warm or chilled.
Notes
- Flavour Variations: While cardamom and saffron are classic, you can experiment with other flavours. A drizzle of rose syrup, or a caramel can add a delightful twist. You can try my carrot sabudana kheer also.
- The secret to a perfect sabudana kheer lies in ensuring the pearls are cooked just right—not too mushy, but perfectly tender and chewy.
Nutrition
Light on the stomach and big on flavours, this gluten-free lauki ki kheer is perfect for the festive celebrations.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
- What is Lauki?
- Ingredients You’ll Need
- My Tried and True Tips
- Serving Suggestion
- Watch Lauki Kheer Video
- Lauki Ki Kheer Recipe
What is Lauki?
Lauki or doodhi are the Hindi terms for bottle gourd. Bottle gourd is a thick, fleshy vegetable vine that grows in tropical countries like India. It is like a squash, easy to digest, cook, and full of water content. A sign of a healthy, young gourd is pale green, smooth skin that is quite firm and blemish-free.
Bottle Gourd is commonly used in Indian Cuisine to make various dishes such as kofta curry , sabji , snacks, sweets, and kheer. Lauki Ki Kheer is one of those Indian dessert recipes you should bookmark for the festive occasions.
Ingredients You’ll Need
- Bottle Gourd : A sign of a healthy, young gourd is pale green, smooth skin that is quite firm and blemish-free. You need freshly grated bottle gourd (lauki) without skin and white pulp/seeds.
- Milk : Use only full-fat or full-cream milk to make kheer.
- Sugar : You can replace white sugar with jaggery powder or brown sugar
- Saffron (kesar), Green Cardamom, Ghee for the aroma, taste, and beautiful color.
My Tried and True Tips
- Use full cream milk to make any type of Indian kheer .
- Avoid using corn starch or a thickening agent to get a creamy consistency of the kheer. Instead, allow the milk to simmer over low heat until it reduces to almost half the original amount.
- Keep stirring the milk while simmering at regular intervals for two reasons, to avoid burning the milk and to collect the layer of cream and add it back to the milk. This way, you will surely get a luscious and creamy kheer.
- Make sure while frying the grated bottle gourd that it becomes completely dry and almost cooked.
- Always add sugar towards the end. Once you add the sugar, the milk stops thickening.
Serving Suggestion
You can serve lauki kheer warm or chilled. Many people eat lauki ki kheer during Navratri or Janmashtmi fasting.
You can store lauki ki kheer in the refrigerator for a week. Always store it in an airtight container. Milk has a short shelf life, hence, do not leave the kheer at room temperature for more than 1 – 2 hours, especially in hot climatic conditions.
Watch Lauki Kheer Video
More Kheer Recipes
- Apple Kheer
- Rice Kheer
- Paneer Kheer
- Samavat Rice Kheer
- Saudana Kheer for Vrat
more Indian kheer recipes for all festive celebrations.
Ingredients
- ▢ 1 Cup grated bottle gourd (lauki)
- ▢ 1 litre full-fat milk
- ▢ ½ Cup granulated white sugar or to taste
- ▢ 1 teaspoon green cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- ▢ ¼ teaspoon saffron (kesar)
- ▢ 1 tablespoon ghee
Ingredients for garnishing
- ▢ 1 tablespoon sliced pistachio
Instructions
- Peel to remove the outer skin of the bottle gourd. Discard the white pulp and the seeds. Grate the firm green part.
- Transfer grated bottle gourd to a muslin cloth. Squeeze tightly to remove all the water from the grated bottle gourd. Set it aside.
- Next heat ghee in a frying pan. Add the grated bottle gourd and fry over low heat for 5 – 10 minutes. Keep stirring to fry evenly. This step ensures to remove all the water from the grated bottle gourd. Turn off the heat.
- Meanwhile, in a heavy bottom saucepan heat milk. Add the cardamom powder and stir to combine. Let the milk come to a boil once and then reduce the heat to low.
- Allow the milk to simmer over low heat till it reduces to half the original amount.
- Add the grated lauki and cook till the milk thickens. Keep stirring continuously. The kheer will become thick and creamy.
- Add sugar, saffron, and cook for 5 more minutes. Turn off the heat.
- Garnish with sliced pistachio before serving.
- Serve Lauki Ki Kheer chilled or warm.
Recipe Notes:
- Use full cream milk
- Avoid using corn starch or thickening agent to get the thick consistency of the kheer. Instead, allow the milk to simmer over low heat until it reduces to almost half of the original amount.
- Keep stirring the milk while simmering at regular intervals for two reasons, one to avoid burning of the milk, and second to collect the layer of cream and add it back to the milk.
- Make sure while frying the grated bottle gourd that it becomes completely dry.
- Always add sugar towards the end. Once you add the sugar the milk stops thickening.
Nutrition
We follow a strict NO SPAM Policy
