Sabudana kheer

You'll need

• ⅓ cup sabudana (tapioca pearls), rinsed and soaked 30 min
• 3 cups whole milk
• 3 tbsp jaggery or sugar
• 2 crushed cardamom pods
• A few chopped almonds and pistachios
• 1 tsp ghee

Method

1. Bring the milk to a gentle simmer.
2. Drain the sabudana and add it. Stir often for 15 minutes, or it will catch and clump at the bottom.
3. When the pearls turn clear, add the cardamom and cook two more minutes.
4. Take it off the heat before stirring in the jaggery — added to boiling milk it can split it.
5. Fry the nuts briefly in the ghee and scatter on top.

Why this dish

Sweet, warm and heavy is the classical combination for grounding Vata, and milk cooked with cardamom is easier to digest than milk drunk cold. Adding the jaggery off the heat is not fussiness — it is the step that keeps the milk from curdling.