I remember the time when I was very young, Mummy would keep a fast on Shivratri, Janmashtmi and all the nine days of Navratri. We used to wait for these festivals because Mummy used to cook special, mouth-watering dishes on these days. During Navratri, Mummy used to come up with a new dish every day. One day it would be Kuttu ki Pakodi on the next day it would be Kuttu ki Puri with spicy green chutney, aloo and arbi. On another day it would be Kuttu ki Dahi ki Pakodi. Our most favourite dish used to be a sweet dish “Sabudana Makhane aur Mewa (dry fruits) ki Kheer.” No wonder, we all eagerly waited for dinner to be served so we could savour Mummy’s delicious cooking.
As soon as Mummy would sit down to break her fast, we children would surround her with our plates and try to take food from her plate. Mummy would lovingly push us away saying: “Keep your dirty hands off the food” and serve the food herself.
I would like to treat you to my dish favourite dish, Sabudane Makhane ki Kheer during this Navratri and relive the sweet memories of my childhood with you all.
I am enjoying writing this blog because I can connect to my mother and go back to the golden days spent with her. Thank you all for reading and appreciating my blog.
Because of sabudana and makhana, Sabudana Kheer has a creamy texture and distinctive taste which is enhanced by the crunchy nuts used for making it. In our childhood, we liked the taste and flavour of Sabudana Kheer so much that we would pester our mother to make it even on non-fast days. This dish is so light and nutritious that Mummy used to make it whenever someone in our family was not feeling well.
The high nutritive value of Sabudana Kheer makes it an ideal food for those with renal and liver related problems. It is good for small kids because it is very light and easy to digest. Sabudana Kheer is good for old people because it’s a highly nutritious dish and the elderly love sweets. A serving of Sabudana Kheer provides 338 kcal, 60gm carbs, 7.67gm protein and 7.87gm which is the nutrition of one meal. So sometimes you can give patients only Sabudana Kheer at mealtime. I am sure they will love it. For diabetics, you can substitute Stevia for sugar.
Preparation Time: 1 hours
Cooking Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 2hrs 20mins
Course: Dessert
Serves: 6 persons
Ingredients:
1. Sabudana (pearl sago) - ½ cup (125gm)
2. Milk – 1 litre
3. Sugar – 1 cup / 4 tbsp
4. Makhane – 1 bowl
5. Almonds (badam) - 8,9
6. Cashew nuts (kaju) - 7,8
7. Pistachio (pista) - 4,5
8. Raisins (kishmish) -10,15
9. Cardamom powder (elaichi powder) - ¼ tsp
10. Saffron strands (kesar) – 5-6 strands
11. Water – ½ cup
Method:
1. Wash sabudana in water and drain.
2. Soak sabudana in 1/2 cup water for 2 hours. Sabudana would absorb almost all the water and their size will increase. If you want to use large size sabudana you have to soak them in 1 cup water for at least 5 hours before cooking.
3. Roast makhana in a kadhai without oil. You can roast them in a microwave oven also.
4. Now cut all the makhanas into small pieces and keep aside.
5. Similarly, chop all the almonds, cashews and pistas into pieces. Clean raisins keep aside all dry fruits.
6. Heat the milk in a heavy bottomed pan over a medium flame.
7. When the milk comes to boil, add soaked sabudana.
8. Stir it continuously for 5 minutes.
9. After one boil, add kesar and chopped makhana.
10. Reduce the heat and cook the kheer on a slow flame, until it reduces to ¾th of the original.
11. Add sugar and stir well till the sugar dissolves completely.
12. Add chopped dry fruits and cook the kheer for at least 10-15 minutes on a slow flame.
13. Make sure that you stir continuously.
14. Reduce heat to ‘low’ and add cardamom powder.
15. Stir continuously and cook until milk turns thick. It will take approximately 5-7 minutes.
16. Turn off the flame and transfer prepared sabudana kheer to a serving bowl. Garnish it with sliced almonds and serve warm or preferably chilled.
Note:
a) You have to stir sabudana kheer quite frequently. Otherwise, the kheer will stick to the bottom of the pan and give a burnt taste.
b) Always use a heavy bottom pan.
c) You can reduce or increase sugar according to your taste.
Nutrition Facts:
Per serving:
Calories: 338.5 kcal
Fats: 7.87gm
Carbs: 60.6gm
Proteins: 7.67gm