Sabudan or Sago Laddus/Ladoos – Tapioca Pearl Balls

You might be surprised looking at the laddus whether they are Boondi Laddus or Sabudana/sago Laddus. Well, they look exactly like Boondi laddus but taste different. One thing I will say that they look like boondi laddus but so much easier to prepare than Besan Boondi Landdus. And you will simply love to prepare these ladoos again and again. Kids also love these laddus as they taste more like a chewy candy!
Tapioca (Sago or Sabudana or javvarisi)(Portuguese pronunciation: [tapiˈɔkɐ]) is a starch extracted from cassava root (Manihot esculenta).

Sago /ˈseɪɡoʊ/ is a starch extracted from the spongy centre, or pith, of various tropical palm stems, especially that of Metroxylon sagu. It is a major staple food for the lowland peoples of New Guinea and the Moluccas, where it is called saksak, rabia and sagu. The largest supply of sago comes from Southeast Asia, particularly Indonesia and Malaysia. Large quantities of sago are sent to Europe and North America for cooking purposes. It is traditionally cooked and eaten in various forms, such as rolled into balls, mixed with boiling water to form a glue-like paste (papeda), or as a pancake.
I simply love to prepare recipes using Tapioca Pearl as my end results always turn out great, whether I try sweet or savory recipes.
I have been preparing many savory Indian recipes such as Chaats, Khichdi(Stew), Vadas(fritters) using Sago but lately, I have been so much into developing sweet recipes using Sabudana as I saw many recipes out there from variety of cuisines. In India, sago is used widely during fasting months to get calories needed to sustain energy. The recipes I am sharing here can be also served during Vrat(Upvas)-fasting.
To prepare these laddus, you will need following ingredients:
1 cup sago or Sabudana (Tapioca Pearl), washed, rinsed and soaked overnight
1/2 cup granulated white sugar
Water to soak sago
4-5 saffron strands
Pinch of cardamom powder
2 tbsp ghee
16-20 cashew nuts, broken
Pinch of yellow food colouring
A pinch of Cardamom if desired
Now, there are few ways to prepare sago for recipes. I usually prefer to soak overnight and I can never go wrong with over or under cooked sago as the soaked sabudana get as soft as cooked and still each and every grain is separate. Soaked sabudana then need very little cooking time. If you decide to cook Sabudana all of a sudden, then be sure to cook them right. I assume that you have soaked sabudana overnight or at least 6-8 hours.
Below is the video instructions to prepare Sago Laddus:

To prepare the Sago Laddus:
In a pan, heat 1 tbsp ghee and fry the broken cashews until golden. Keep aside.
In the remaining ghee, saute the soaked sago for one minute and add sugar. Stir continuously.
Add cardamom powder and, saffron strands and yellow food colouring. Stir well.
Add the remaining 1/2 tsp ghee and stir until the mixture starts to leave the side of the pan.
Add the fried cashews and stir. Remove from heat.
Serve warm as Halwa or Sheera aka known as Sago Kesari or let it cool and prepare laddus.
So as you can see that this recipe can be prepared quickly if sabudana is soaked.