Sabudana Vada

Oh! so delicious Vadas!

Sabudana Vadas are crispy and crunchy vegan fritters made with tapioca pearls, ground peanuts, potatoes, cumin & green chillies. It is one of the treasured delicacies of Maharashtra, India. They are very addictive, gluten-free, and also free of onions & garlic. It also plays many roles – appetizer, evening snack, or as fasting food.

When I was a child, deep-fried food at home used to happen only on a few occasions. It was either when close relatives arrive or when we got home from school completely drenched due to heavy nonstop rains(coastal Karnataka special) Mum’s special used to be hot vadas, Mangalore buns, poori, pakoras & Sabudana Vada along with a warm glass of milk. My brother and I relished eating all these deep-fried dishes back then.

I love pairing sabudana vada with a hot cup of tea. These crunchy vadas are made using tapioca pearls, potatoes, peanuts, cumin & green chilli. Though it is lightly seasoned, tastes just great. I am sharing a few key tips on how to get perfect crispy and crunchy vadas. Read on.

How to make Sabudana Vada?

Ingredients that you need to make sabudana vada –

• Sabudana or sago or tapioca pearls
• potatoes
• green chillies
• peanuts
• cumin
• cilantro
• lemon
• Salt

Key Tips

• Soak Sabudana– water to sabudana ratio is 1:1. I always soak it in hot water for 30-45 mins. You can also soak it in room temperature water overnight or for 4-5 mins depending on the quality of sabudana/sago. Make sure they are softened perfectly.
• Remove moisture – If there is excess moisture in the patties, they tend to break while frying. If that happens, then you can add buckwheat flour or rice flour or all-purpose flour in the recipe. Add a tbsp of flour at a time.
• Use roasted skinned peanuts for flavor. Peanuts also help to absorb any water left in sago. You can also use a tablespoon of rice flour or all-purpose flour along with the recipe.
• You can opt to deep fry these fritters or you can also use appe/paddu pan to make them. I will share both the steps here. I use paddu pan often while making these- because no deep fry and they remain crispy and crunchy for a longer time.
• Make sure oil is of a medium temperature. It should neither be too hot or cold. If you try to cook them at high temperature, browning happens too quickly on the outside and vadas will remain undercooked on the inside.

Method

Soak Sabudana – Wash and rinse sabudana. Soak it in hot water for 30-45 mins. Water to sabudana ratio is 1:1

Once soaked, press a pearl gently between your fingers to make sure they are soft. Drain the sabudana using colander.

Make patties – Peanuts can be kept coarsely crushed or finely. I make crush it coarsely. Boil and mash potatoes, add crushed peanuts, finely chopped green chillies, salt, cumin & lemon or dry mango. Add sabudana and mix gently.

Make small patties from this dough – take lemon sized ball and gently press them between your palms. Keep them ready while the oil is being heated up in a pan.

If you are using paddu pan for cooking these fritters, then make patties that can fit inside the mould.

Cook the patties –

• Method 1: Fry these vadas in medium flame until they are golden on both sides and crispy.

• Method 2: Heat paddu pan, add a little oil in each mould. Once the pan is heated, on low to medium flame, cook the patties until they are golden and crispy. Do not increase the flame to fasten the cooking time. You may end up with vadas undercooked in the center.

Serve hot with mint chutney or ketchup.

I hope you like Sabudana Vada recipe. It is –

• Crispy,
• crunchy
• Soft & tender inside
• & scrumptious

You may also like –

• Gobi Manchurian
• Crispy Smashed Potatoes

Your valuable feedback is appreciated. If you try this recipe, leave a comment below, rate it, or tag a photo #eateriesdelightful on Instagram 🙂

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Sabudana Vada

Oh! so delicious Vadas! Sabudana Vadas are crispy and crunchy vegan fritters made with tapioca pearls, ground peanuts, potatoes, cumin & green chillies.

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time15 mins

Soak Time45 mins

Total Time1 hr 10 mins

Course: Appetizer

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: Sabudana Vada

Author: Eateries Delightful

Ingredients

• 3 medium sized potatoes
• 1/2 cup sabudana pearls
• 1/3 cup crushed peanuts – no skin
• 3-4 green chillies
• 1 tsp cumin
• Juice of 3/4-1 lemon // approximately 2 tsp
• Salt to taste
• 1 tsp grated ginger //optional
• 1/2 tsp sugar // optional. I skip it, can be added for flavor balance.
• 1/2 cup water
• Oil for cooking

Instructions

Soak Sabudana –

• Wash and rinse sabudana. Soak it in hot water for 30-45 mins. Water to sabudana ratio is 1:1
• Once soaked, press a pearl gently between your fingers to make sure they are soft. Drain the sabudana using colander.

Make patties –

• Peanuts can be kept coarsely crushed or finely. I make crush it coarsely. Boil and mash potatoes, add crushed peanuts, finely chopped green chillies, salt, cumin & lemon. Add sabudana and mix gently.
• Make small patties from this dough, and keep them ready while the oil is being heated up in a pan.

Cook the patties –

• Method 1: Fry these vadas in medium flame until they are golden on both sides and crispy.
• Method 2: Heat paddu pan, add a little oil in each mould. Once the pan is heated, on low to medium flame, cook the patties until they are golden and crispy. Do not increase the flame to fasten the cooking time. You may end up with vadas undercooked in the center.
• Serve hot with mint chutney or ketchup.

Notes

Draining water from sabudana is a very important step. Do not skip it.

If the patties break while frying, it means there is a lot of moisture in the dough, add a tbsp of flour, mix, make patties and then fry again. 

Did you make this recipe?

Please let me know how it turned out for you. Leave a comment below or share a picture on Instagram with the hashtag #eateriesdelightful

Happy cooking!