Creamy Sabudana Kheer

Author:

Soniya Saluja

Sabudana Kheer is a creamy, melt-in-your-mouth delight where tapioca pearls meet saffron-kissed milk. Rich, comforting, and perfectly indulgent and a festive favorite in every spoonful!

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Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: creamy sabudana kheer, fasting recipe, navratri

Cook Time: 15

Total Time: 15

Servings:

6 people

Calories:

328kcal

Ingredients

1 cup sabudana tapioca pearls, soaked for 3–4 hours
1 tablespoon ghee
½ cup mixed nuts almonds, cashews, pistachios, raisins
1 teaspoon cardamom powder
A few saffron strands
4 cups milk about 1 liter
½ cup sugar adjust to taste

Instructions

Rinse the sabudana multiple times with water until the water runs clear removing excess starch. Then soak them in room temperature water for around 15 minutes.
Roast the nuts - Heat ghee in a deep pan. Add the almonds, cashews, pistachios and raisins. Roast until they are golden and smell fragrant, then take them out and set aside.

Sauté the sabudana -

In the same pan, transfer the soaked sabudana.
Stir in the pearls and cook for 2–3 minutes, until they start to turn a little translucent.
Sauteing in ghee before adding milk prevents the pearls from sticking together and adds a rich flavor that makes the kheer taste even better.

Cook with milk -

Pour in the milk and stir.
Allow it to come to a low boil on medium heat.
Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.

Add flavor -

Add in the saffron strands and cardamom powder.
Let the kheer cook till the sabudana is soft and the kheer has thickened.

Sweeten it up -

Add sugar and stir well.
Simmer for 3-4 more minutes and adjust the consistency as you like it—thick and creamy, or a bit soupy.

Finish with nuts -

Put the nuts in the kheer.
Stir and let the flavors marry.

Serve-

Pour the sabudana kheer in bowls.
Serve warm and share a little of the seasonal sweetness with family.

Video

Notes

Instructions to make in Instant Pot

Roast nuts (Sauté → Normal): Heat ghee, roast nuts/raisins till golden. Remove.
Toast sabudana: In the same pot, add drained sabudana. Sauté 1–2 min (lightly toasty = fewer clumps).
Deglaze: Add 1½ cups water and scrape the base clean. Cancel Sauté.
Pressure cook pearls (no milk yet = no “Burn”): Lid on → Pressure Cook/Manual, High, 2 minutes. Natural Release 10 minutes, then quick-release the rest.
Add milk & flavor: Open, stir. Add milk + saffron milk + cardamom. Sauté → Less (low) and simmer 5–7 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until pearls are fully translucent and the kheer looks creamy.
Sweeten: Stir in sugar; simmer 2 minutes to dissolve and slightly thicken.
Finish: Stir back the roasted nuts. Rest 5 minutes (it thickens as it stands). Adjust with hot milk if it gets too thick. Serve warm or chilled.

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