Sago Pudding is a dessert made from Sago pearls. This is a traditional South Asian sweet dish. It is made by boiling sago with milk and sugar, and flavoured with cardomom, cashew nuts and almonds. Heavy cream can also be added to give the richness in taste. It is typically served during a meal or also consumed alone as a dessert.
In India, the Sago Pudding is called in various names based on the language, like Sabudana kheer, Sabakki Payasa, Javvarisi Payasam, Saggu Biyyam Payasam, Sabudana/Sago Payesh, Chavvary Payasam. The pudding is prepared in festivals and all special occasions.
Ingredients:
1. Sago pearls - 1/2 cup (medium size)
2. Milk - 1 and 1/2 cup
3. Sugar - 1/2 cup
4. Cardamom - 2 or 3 nos
5. Nuts (Pistachios, almonds, cashews, raisins etc.,)
6. Clarified butter/Ghee - 1 tsp.
Cooking Method:
1. Soak the Sago pearls in water for half an hour and discard the remaining water. Keep aside the wet sago pearls for one hr so that the sago pearls are dried up and gets separated, thus easy to use in the pudding. Powder the cardamom and keep aside.
2. Boil the milk in the cooking pot and add sago pearls into it. Keep stirring until the sago pearls gets cooked.
3. Once the pearls are cooked, add sugar, and stir it until sugar gets dissolved and blends well with the milk.
4. Heat ghee in a separate pan and fry the nuts. Add the nuts to the pudding. Finally add cardomom powder and the pudding is ready to serve.
Note:
1. If not able to soak the sago pearls in advance, pressure cook them until tender.
2. Do not thicken the pudding, this has to be little flowing consistency, it tastes better and the sago pearls looks separated too
3. I am sure, sometimes its difficult to powder the cardamom seeds finely. And that too its difficult to do in blender if the quantity is very less. To powder the cardamom seeds, take the cardamom seeds along with 2 tbsp of sugar and powder them, and store it in the refrigerator in an air tight container.