Sabudana kheer is the pudding of fasting days and festivals — tiny sago pearls soaked until plump, then simmered slowly in milk until they turn glassy and soft and the milk thickens around them into something silky and spoonable. It is gently sweet, scented with cardamom, and finished with ghee-fried cashews and raisins that swell and caramelise at the edges. Eat it warm on a cold evening or chilled straight from the fridge the next day; either way, it is one of the simplest and most comforting sweets in the Indian kitchen.
Ingredients
Method
- Rinse the sabudana in a sieve under running water until the water runs mostly clear — this washes off the surface starch that would otherwise make the kheer gummy.
- Soak the rinsed pearls in 1 cup of water for 4 to 5 hours (or overnight for the larger pearls), until they have doubled in size and a pearl mashes easily between finger and thumb with no hard white centre. Drain off any water that remains.
- Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed pan and bring it to a gentle boil on medium heat, stirring so it does not catch on the base. Lower the heat and let it simmer for 5 to 7 minutes, until it reduces just a little and turns creamy.
- Add the drained sabudana to the milk, stirring well as it goes in so the pearls do not clump. Simmer on low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until every pearl is translucent and soft right through and the kheer has thickened to a pouring custard consistency. It will set a little more as it cools, so take it off slightly thinner than you want it.
- Stir in the sugar and let it simmer for 2 to 3 minutes until the sugar dissolves completely. Add the cardamom powder and the saffron milk, if using, and switch off the heat.
- For the garnish, heat the ghee in a small pan, fry the cashews until golden, then add the raisins and fry just until they puff up. Tip the nuts, raisins and their ghee over the kheer and stir through, keeping a few aside for the top.
- Serve warm in small bowls with the reserved nuts scattered over, or cover and chill for at least 2 hours for a cold, set pudding. A few extra pistachio slivers on top make it look as festive as it tastes.
Notes
The soaking test is the whole recipe: a pearl that still has a hard, white centre will stay chewy no matter how long you cook it. If yours are not fully soft after soaking, give them another hour rather than longer on the stove.
Keep the heat low and stir often once the sabudana goes in — sago sinks, sticks and scorches quickly, and one burnt layer flavours the whole pan.
For fasting (vrat) days, this kheer is already suitable as made; simply make sure the sugar and nuts you use fit your fasting practice.
Leftover kheer thickens a lot in the fridge. Loosen it with a splash of warm milk when serving, and sweeten a touch more if it tastes flat when cold.