Jevvarisi Upma/Sabudana Kichdi/Spiced Tapioca Starch..

Jevvarisi Upma or Sabudana Kichdi is a very famous Maharashtrian breakfast dish and is mainly done on the days of fast or vrath..
This has been one of my favorite dishes and for a very long time I was searching for the perfect way or recipe for doing this dish until I learnt it from a friend of mine who hails from Mumbai..Thanks to V for sharing this recipe with me..
Now Jevvarisi is nothing but tapioca starch and so it has a natural tendency to become sticky when mixed with water..so the whole success of the upma lies in properly soaking the jevvarisi before making the upma..It should not become too mushy when cooked or be half cooked either..
According to my experience,washing the jevvarisi or sabudana under running cold water a couple of times and soaking it in half qty water for upto eight hours gives the dish the perfect consistency and texture.I also stir up the soaked jevvarsi for every one hr so that the ones at the bottom don't get too watery or dissolve and this way it uniformly soaks..
The dry jevvarisi balls are small and white in color and when soaked, they bloat up in size and become transparent..
Its a very quick dish except for the soaking time..
Here goes the recipe:

Ingredients:

Jevvarisi or Sabudana:1 cup

Water:1/2 cup

Medium sized Potato:1 no. cubed

Green chillies:2 nos. slit into half

Peanuts unpeeled or peeled:1/2 cup

Cumin or jeera seeds: 1 tbsp

Red chilly pwdr:1/2 tsp

Asafoetida/Hing/Peringayam:a pinch

Turmeric: a pinch (optional)

Oil:1tbsp

Curry leaves-1sprig

Cilantro or coriander for garnishing

Salt to taste

Lemon juice-few drops(optional)

To grind :

Dry roast the peanuts and grind half the qty into a coarse powder and reserve the rest for the tadka.

Procedure:

1.Wash and soak the jevvarisi or sabudana in water and let it sit for for 6-8 hrs not forgetting to stir it in between to ensure uniform soaking.

2.Heat 1 tsp of oil and when heated add the cumin seeds,green chillies,peanuts,curry leaves and hing.

3. Add the cubed potatoes next and saute for a few mins till they are cooked.

4.Now drain the water from and add the Jevvarisi or Sabudana ,red chilly powder and salt to the mixture and cooked it for about 5-7 mins with the lid closed..

5.Do not over cook the sabudana as you may end up getting a gooey mass of the whole dish thus  spoiling it.

6.Finally add the ground peanut powder and give it a toss..

7.Sprinkle some chopped cilantro to garnish.

8.Add a few drops of lemon juice if preferred..

A colourful flavourful Sabudana upma is now ready..enjoy it as it is or with any chutney or ketchup of your choice!!