A healthy and versatile treat

As a child I was totally taken in by the beauty of these small, white pearls called sabudana, which I thought were made of soap. I don’t really remember where I gathered that impression but my interest in sabudana led me to find out more about it.

According to an urban legend, a European settler in Kerala once saw a local man sitting and digging under a rather tall and a thin plant. The European gentleman asked him what he was doing. The busy man answered in Malayalam, “Thappiyoka” which means ‘I am searching...’ The poor European thought that he had been told the name of the plant and gradually it came to be known as tapioca.

Sabudana or sago is basically starch. It is extracted from the tuberous root of the cassava plant. Tapioca or shakarkandi’s root is processed to gain a white starchy liquid which is then factory-processed into desired shapes. The white pearls are the most popular one though I am sure you must have savoured it as roasted papad, or as fried sticks as well.

What makes sabudana my favourite is the flexibility that it offers in terms of cooking. I use it for a sweet kheer as well as to make mouth watering snacks like khichdi, poori and tikkis.

Another reason why I love sabudana is that it is an instant energy booster. Being made of starch, sabudana is full of carbohydrates. And, as you might know from your science class, carbohydrates are an essential source of energy in our body. That is the reason why it is often found on many a breakfast table across India. Also, for this very reason it finds itself very popular during pujas and vrats. You must have seen it in its ground form during fasting periods when the flour is used to make flat breads or pooris.

The great variety of ways in which sabudana is made follows from the fact that sabudana in itself contains only traces of fat and protein. It is deficient in certain minerals vital for the human body. Hence it becomes important to add other ingredients like milk for the kheer or payasam, or green vegetables for a khichdi to make it a complete food.

Sabudana is popular in Indian medicine as well. It is said to have a cooling and balancing effect on our system, just like rice. It is recommended to people taking strong allopathic medicines and antibiotics. Sabudana gruel is easy on the digestive system and helps the body gain energy quickly. It is often considered safe enough to be fed to babies who have not yet developed a digestive system for complex foods.

Sabudana is not popular just here in India but has a massive fan following all over the world. In Malaysia, tons of sabudana are imported every year because it forms an important part of a local dish called kerepok lekor — a kind of fish sausage.

While in some parts of the country it is boiled and baked to make breads, in others it is used commercially to make noodles.

Surprisingly the uses of sabudana do not end in our kitchens; it finds extensive use in a variety of products like textile, polythene, paper and plywood.

I am sure all this must have piqued your interest in these energy balls. So go ahead, find out more, and share the information with the world!.

The post appeared as an article first published in The New Indian Express on July 27, 2012