Whether you are a fitness freak looking for an energy-boosting pre-workout/post-workout food rich in vitamins and minerals, or an inherently petite person aiming to gain some body weight but in a healthy manner, Sabudana is the ultimate solution. Wondering how these tiny, white, spherical balls – sabudana, being very high in starch content, can work as a healthy wholesome food option in regular diet? Well, while sabudana is primarily renowned for being a calorie-dense food with ample carbohydrates, it also contains vital essential nutrients including fibers, proteins, calcium, for promoting digestion, building powerful muscles, strengthening bones and joints.

Indian households are familiar with sabudana or tapioca pearl, a favourite breakfast and evening snack. Be it in the form of sabudana khichdi or kheer, it offers a whole range of health benefits.

Let’s discuss them in detail and answer some of the common questions about them.

Although sabudana is used for fasting, a larger population is still unaware of what sabudana is and how sabudana is made.

Sabudana, also known as sago, is starch and contains carbohydrates. It is collected from the spongy centre of tropical palm trees. The tapioca plant's root is used to extract the starch; then, the starch is transformed into small, pearl-like spheres. This is how sabudana is made.

Nutritional value of sabudana increases due to its content of:

• Iron - 2.4 mg
• Magnesium - 1.52 mg
• Potassium - 16.7 mg
• Fibre - 1.37 g
• Protein - 0.29 g
• Fat - 0.03 g
• Tapioca pearls or sabudana are essentially the dried, globular particles obtained from the tapioca root vegetable by an intense manufacturing procedure. The roots of the cassava plant – tapioca, are isolated and thoroughly ground, to derive a liquid with great starch content. This liquid is parched of all its intrinsic water content, leaving behind a refined white powder. In the manufacturing plant, under high temperature and pressure, this white powder is put through a sieving process, to finally form bright white spherical balls of sabudana, which appear like pearls and are hence given the name tapioca pearls.