I’m sure you either know of, or are someone who shies away from sabja because it resembles frogspawn, but your squeamishness is keeping you from a world of nutrition.
I’ve been miffed for quite some time about local sabja playing second fiddle to chia. Sure, chia is all the rage right now in fad diets, but I can’t get myself to shell out hundreds of rupees on something so similar to a packet of basil seeds or sabja , which costs me a measly ₹20. On seeing several chia puddings flood our Instagram feed week after week, I set out to redeem the falooda seed and reclaim its seat of pride on the kitchen shelf.
Underrated hero
The world is turning to chia because it claims to keep hunger at bay, but so does sabja . In fact, sabja has more of a bite to it, because of its glutinous exterior that yields a slightly nutty interior, with no taste of basil. The sabja seed doubles in size when soaked in water, and hardly takes any time to prepare, whereas one would have to wait for a couple of hours on the fussy chia, if soaked. Both are low in calories, but chia seeds are slightly higher in fat, while sabja has more carbs and is higher on protein.
In the superfoods race, chia takes the lead because it is packed with Omega-3 fatty acids, but sabja isn’t far behind. It not only helps control blood sugar, but also aids with digestion and has cooling properties. Besides this, it also happens to be an excellent source of iron and possesses the same antioxidants that chia prides itself on.
Apart from adding sabja seeds to smoothies, juices and making falooda , you can also add it to kheer or stir it into a panna cotta mixture to give it bite. For an overnight sabja pudding, soak the seeds in lukewarm milk with fruits, oats and honey, and it doubles in size in a matter of minutes. This can be made much in advance in little mason jars, and can be taken to-go for a quick and super-nutritious breakfast fix. Play around with the flavours of your sabja pudding like I do — today’s pudding has coconut milk, oats, honey, vanilla and, of course, sabja , while tomorrow’s could be almond milk, oats, maple syrup, sabja and a shot of espresso.
The right crunch
Unsoaked chia and sabja can be sprinkled on salads for added texture, or combined with other seeds to make snack bars. Since they’re both so versatile, you could also add them to an everyday pancake batter or flatbread dough. Make bonus bliss balls to snack on through the day, that are as simple as combining nuts, mixed seeds, dates, peanut butter, a bit of cocoa and some coconut milk. Roll them into balls and chill. It’s super important to get at least a tablespoon of your seed fix every day, because they house essential amino acids that the body needs, but doesn’t produce, so we have to get them from our food.
This orange cake recipe is speckled with sabja seeds and finished with a light buttercream frosting — perfect for the season. It’s also a textural delight, with lots of little black seeds in every bite — my kind of superfood diet.
