Sabudana Kheer with Cardamom: An Easy Navratri Vrat Recipe

Sabudana kheer with cardamom is one of the simplest and most loved vrat recipes in Indian homes. A few spoons of tapioca pearls, a litre of milk, sugar and green cardamom turn into a creamy, fragrant dessert in about 30 minutes. With Navratri 2026 starting on Sunday, 11 October, here is a reliable sabudana kheer recipe with exact quantities, the tips that stop it going gluey, and a few variations, including makhana kheer.

Why sabudana kheer is a vrat favourite

Sabudana (tapioca pearls) is made from cassava starch, not a grain, which is why so many families eat it during fasts. It is filling and mild, and it takes on whatever flavour you give it. In kheer, that flavour is mostly green cardamom. Food writers from Tarla Dalal to Veg Recipes of India make sabudana kheer a fasting staple for exactly that reason: few ingredients, all of them commonly accepted during a vrat.

As always, fasting customs vary by family and region. Some homes avoid refined sugar during a fast and use jaggery or mishri instead, and some do not eat sabudana at all. Adapt the recipe to your household.

Sabudana kheer recipe with cardamom

Serves 4. Soaking time: 2 to 3 hours. Cooking time: about 30 minutes.

Ingredients

• 1/3 cup (about 55 g) medium sabudana
• 1 cup water, for soaking
• 1 litre full-fat milk
• 1/3 cup (about 70 g) sugar, or to taste
• 5 green cardamom pods, or 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• A pinch of saffron, soaked in 1 tablespoon warm milk (optional)
• 10 almonds and 10 cashews, chopped
• 1 tablespoon raisins
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• A few pistachios, slivered, to garnish

Method

1. Rinse and soak. Rinse the sabudana two or three times until the water runs mostly clear. Soak in 1 cup water for 2 to 3 hours, until a pearl squashes easily between your fingers. Drain.
2. Crush the cardamom. Open the pods, take out the seeds and crush them in a mortar with a pinch of sugar. Keep the empty skins; they can go into the milk for extra aroma.
3. Boil the milk. Bring the milk to a boil in a heavy-bottomed pan, then lower the heat and simmer for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring now and then, until it reduces a little.
4. Cook the pearls. Add the drained sabudana and the cardamom skins. Simmer on low heat for 12 to 15 minutes, stirring often and scraping the bottom, until every pearl is fully translucent with no white centre.
5. Sweeten. Add the sugar and saffron milk and cook for 3 more minutes. Adding sugar only after the pearls are cooked helps them soften properly.
6. Toast the nuts. Warm the ghee in a small pan and toast the almonds, cashews and raisins for a minute until the raisins puff up.
7. Finish. Turn off the heat. Stir in the crushed cardamom and the toasted nuts, and pick out the cardamom skins.
8. Serve. Serve warm, or chill for an hour. Garnish with pistachios just before serving.

Tips for a perfect sabudana kheer

• Do not skip the rinse. Loose starch on the pearls is what makes kheer gluey.
• Use full-fat milk. It gives the creamy body kheer needs. Toned milk works, but simmer it a little longer.
• Stir from the bottom. Sabudana sinks and sticks. A flat wooden spatula is better than a round spoon.
• Stop while it is still pourable. Sabudana kheer thickens a lot as it cools. If it sets too thick, stir in a splash of warm milk.
• Add cardamom at the end. Freshly crushed seeds added off the heat keep their perfume. Long boiling dulls it.
• Short on time? Soak the pearls in hot water for 30 minutes, or skip the soak and cook the rinsed pearls in 1 cup water until translucent before adding the milk.

Cardamom is the one spice that really matters here, so it is worth using a good one. Our Whole Green Cardamom is hand-selected at 8 mm, with nothing added and nothing taken out. If you would rather skip the mortar, our Cardamom Powder is finely ground from whole pods with no additives or preservatives.

Variation: makhana kheer

Makhana (fox nuts) makes a nutty, slightly lighter kheer that many families cook during Navratri. It uses the same spice, cardamom, and takes about 25 minutes.

Makhana kheer ingredients

Serves 3 to 4.

• 1 1/2 cups makhana (about 40 g)
• 1 teaspoon ghee
• 750 ml full-fat milk
• 3 to 4 tablespoons sugar, or jaggery to taste
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1 tablespoon chopped cashews and 1 tablespoon pistachios

Makhana kheer method

1. Roast the makhana in the ghee on low heat for 5 to 6 minutes, until one snaps crisply when pressed.
2. Set aside a quarter of the makhana. Crush the rest coarsely in a mixer or with a rolling pin.
3. Boil the milk, then simmer for 5 minutes. Add the crushed and whole makhana.
4. Cook on low heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring often, until the makhana is soft and the kheer thickens.
5. Add the sugar and cook for 2 more minutes. If you are using jaggery, turn off the heat and let the kheer cool for a few minutes first, then stir it in, so the milk does not split.
6. Stir in the cardamom powder and nuts, and serve warm or chilled.

More ways to vary your kheer

• Jaggery kheer: Use grated jaggery in place of sugar, always added off the heat.
• Coconut milk kheer: Swap half the milk for thick coconut milk and add it in the last 5 minutes, without boiling hard.
• Kesar pista kheer: Double the saffron and add plenty of pistachios. Cardamom and saffron are an old pairing.
• Fruit kheer: Once the kheer is fully cold, fold in chopped banana, apple or pomegranate just before serving.
• Samak kheer: Cook 1/4 cup rinsed samak (barnyard millet) in the milk in place of sabudana, for a kheer closer to the rice version.

The Navratri Spice Box

If Navratri at your home means kheer on more than one day, our Navratri Spice Box opens on 11 October on ghifoods.com. It comes packed with whole green cardamom and cardamom powder for your kheer, plus whole black pepper for vrat khichdi and whole cloves for chai. Add more or drop any of them, then use NAVRATRI15 for 15% off (up to ₹250) until 20 October. The offer is on our website only.

A word on eating well during the fast

Sabudana is mostly starch, which is why it is so filling. Pair a bowl of kheer with fruit, curd or nuts through the day rather than making it the whole meal. If you have diabetes or any other health condition, keep portions small and talk to your doctor before fasting.

Frequently asked questions

How long should I soak sabudana for kheer?

For medium pearls, 2 to 3 hours in about twice their volume of water is enough. Small pearls need less. The pearl is ready when it squashes easily between your fingers.

Why did my sabudana kheer turn thick and gluey?

Usually the pearls were not rinsed well, or the kheer was cooked too long after the pearls turned clear. It also thickens as it cools. Stir in warm milk to loosen it.

Should I use whole cardamom or cardamom powder?

Either works. Freshly crushed seeds from whole pods give the brightest aroma. A good cardamom powder is quicker and still gives a lovely flavour.

Can I make sabudana kheer a day ahead?

Yes. Cool it, cover it and keep it in the fridge for up to a day. It will set thicker, so loosen it with a little warm milk before serving.

Is sabudana kheer allowed in the Navratri fast?

In many homes, yes. Sabudana, milk, sugar or jaggery, cardamom and nuts are commonly eaten during vrat, but customs vary, so follow your family's practice.