Tapioca (sago), a starch, is processed from the stem of the cassava plant. Pushing tapioca through special molds yields its pearl-like shape. The snowy-white Indian tapioca pearl is often larger in size than its Southeast Asian counterpart, which also comes in assorted pastel colors. In the U.S., tapioca pearls are widely available in natural food stores, supermarkets, and Asian grocery stores. Tapioca is more familiar in this country as a sweet, thickened pudding, but the same pearl