Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Sabudana Upma - Pearls of Tapioca!

Every ingredient needs to be processed and cooked in it's own appropriate method. Tapioca pearls aka Sabudana is one such delicate ingredient. You have to handle it one particular way - else you end up with the gooey mushy bubblegum-texture dish - which is definitely not appetizing at all! :)


With a few disasters behind me - or as few of us would proudly pronounce that as experience - this time round, I was determined to get this right. The first time I had it as hubby's friend Jyoti's place. She had made it as an appetizer and it was delicious. She had mentioned about the overnight soaking to get the right texture - but I had totally forgotten the bit about putting just enough water till the surface of the Sabudana in the container. Anything more or less will make it go "crazy" - too mushy or the other extreme of under-cooked! :) 

Ingredients

Sabudana - 1 cup, soak overnight. Put it in a container and soak it overnight with water such that the water just covers it, not more, not less. Leave it covered.

Canola Oil - 1 tbsp
- Begin of Seasoning
Curry Leaves - 7-8, fresh
Dry Red Chillies - 3
Mustard seeds - 1 tsp
Cumin Seeds - 1 tsp
Chana Dal - 2 tbsp
Urad Dal - 1 tbsp
Asafoetida - 3-4 pinches
- End of Seasoning
Peanuts - 1/2 cup
Onion - 1 Medium
Lemon Juice - 1 tsp
Salt - 1/2 tsp, or as per taste

Method

Soak Sabudana overnight.
Heat Canola Oil.
As the Oil warms up, add the Seasoning ingredients and let it flavor the Oil.
Add the Peanuts and let them roast and turn golden brown.
Add the chopped Onions and let it cook till transparent and the raw smell is gone.
Add the soaked Sabudana and cook till the pearls are transparent. Takes about 5-10 mins. They should not turn back to white again - if they do, then they have been overcooked. Keep stirring them to prevent them from sticking to each other and turning into a gooey mess. :)
Turn off the heat, cover it and let it sit for 10 mins.
Add the Lemon juice and mix well (optional). Some garnish it with chopped Coriander (optional).

Serve hot with Garlic Pickle, Roasted Papad, or just as-is.

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