Thursday, April 21, 2011

Vegetable sago

Sago is widely used as a "fasting food" especially in North India. This recipe is slightly different and quite tasty - something I would love for a change, although I've not found any particularly appealing information on health benefits as such from sago.


Ingredients:

sago - 1/2 cup
potato - 1
peas+carrots(diced) - 3/4 cup (cooked with a little salt)
roasted crushed peanut - 1/4 cup
green chillies - 3 (adjust according to taste)
broken cashewnuts - 1 tbsp
oil - 2 tsp
mustard seeds - 1/2 tsp
cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
black gram - 1/2 tsp
curry leaves - a twig
coriander leaves - a few (chopped)
turmeric powder - a pinch
salt - 3/4 tsp (adjust according to taste)
lemon juice - 1 tbsp

Method:

Soak sago until soft. Drain on a kitchen towel and keep aside. Cut potatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat a teaspoon of oil. Fry potato pieces with a little salt and keep aside. Heat the remaining teaspoon of oil and add mustard seeds, cumin seeds, black gram and cashewnuts. When the mustard seeds start spluttering and cashews start turning light brown, add green chillies and curry leaves. Add sago, cooked carrots+peas, turmeric powder and salt. Fry for a couple of minutes. Add fried potatoes and broken peanuts and fry for a minute. Mix in the lemon juice and top with chopped coriander leaves.

Notes:
Soaking time will vary depending on the sago - if it is instant sago, just wash and drain. If it is the hard sago, it needs to be soaked for a few hours, preferably in warm water so that it soaks faster. (Do not use hot water).