Sabudana Vada

Sabudana Vada is a traditional Maharashtrian snack made from tapioca pearls (sago), potatoes, peanuts, herbs, and spices. These sago fritters are delectable! This is a vegan, gluten-free, and simple fasting recipe.

India is a nation with many different religions and cultures; it is common for people to fast every other month. One is told to adhere to a Sattvik diet during these fasts/ vrats/ upvaas, which entails eating only fruits and vegetarian foods.

One of the popular fasting foods in India is sabudana vada, which is prepared for celebrations like Navratri, Maha Shivratri, Hartalika Teej, and Ganesh Chaturthi.

This starchy food with a lot of carbohydrates and very little protein is called sago or sabudana. It is not a grain or cereal, making it the perfect food for fasting. Sago, the ingredient used to make the vada, is filling and easy on the stomach.

This tasty snack recipe includes peanuts, which gives it a nice texture. This recipe for evening tea is ready in under 30 minutes if you have the sago pearls pre-soaked. These crispy and fluffy Sabudana vadas are also delicious for breakfast – my kids love them!

Watch How to Make Sabudana Vada

What Is Sabudana?

The small, dried, translucent white tapioca balls, also known as sabudana or Indian sago, are often referred to as “tapioca pearls” in English. They are extracted from the roots of the cassava plant and are high in starch and simple sugars.

Sabudana, like bread, rice, potatoes, and pasta, is a carbohydrate. Carbohydrates provide energy to the body, so they are essential in any diet. This keeps you full for longer periods of time, and that’s why they are included during fasting. However, you must consume carbohydrates in moderation, especially if you are trying to lose weight.

Sabudana, due to its high-carb content, is also high in calories. It is used to make festive and fasting foods and snacks like sabudana tikki, sabudana khichdi, and sabudana kheer (Tapioca Pudding).

Crispy Sabudana Vada

Deep-fried patties made with tapioca pearls, potatoes, roasted peanuts, spices, herbs, and seasonings are known as sabudana patties. The potatoes are first boiled, mashed, or grated. This is a classic Maharashtrian street snack.

The potatoes help to hold/ bind the patty mixture together so the vada does not crumble or disintegrate while frying. The peanuts give the patties an interesting crunch, and the herbs and spices make them more flavorful.

This sabudana vada recipe is an authentic recipe that I learned from my mom while growing up in Mumbai. The sabudana vada made with my recipe is no fail recipe, and you get crispy, golden vadas with a pillowy soft center.

Ingredients

You only need a few ingredients to create this tasty dish!

• Sabudana: This is the star ingredient. It is also referred to as sago or tapioca pearls. It is easily available at Indian grocery stores. Use good quality big pearls. This needs to be soaked before you can use it in the recipe, so it requires some planning.
• Potato: This recipe calls for boiled and mashed potatoes. They are used to bind the sago. You can use any potatoes – red, yellow, or Yukon. Make sure they are mashed really well.
• Peanuts: I’ve used crushed raw peanuts. Make sure you remove the skin. If you have a peanut allergy, you can skip them, but these give a characteristic flavor and nuttiness to the dish. Peanuts add the crunch and nutrition to the vadas.
• Cilantro: Add freshly chopped cilantro leaves for the flavor and aroma.
• Green Chilli: This adds spice and heat to the vadas. Adjust according to your taste.
• Salt: Add salt according to taste. But if you are fasting, use rock salt (sendha namak)
• Oil: You can use any vegetable oil for deep frying. People who consume these vadas during fasting use peanut oil to fry them.

How To Soak Sabudana?

Rinse the sabudana/ sago thoroughly, about 3-4 times, until the water is clear. Basically, you need to get rid of the starch. Next, soak 1 cup sabudana in 1/2 cup of water for at least 6 hours. I soak mine overnight. Cover and store in a cool, dry place. The duration of time spent soaking will vary depending on the type of sabudana.

After they are soaked, they double in size and become fluffy. To check if the sabudana has been soaked well, press the soaked sago between your index finger and thumb. It should mash easily, and the center shouldn’t be hard.

How To Make Perfect Sabudana Vada

Read below on how to make the most amazing sabudana vadas in 3 different ways.

Rinse sabudana well until the water turns clear, and soak as detailed above.

Grate boiled potatoes in a large bowl. Transfer the sabudana to the bowl. Add crushed roasted peanuts, cilantro, green chilies and salt. You may also add ginger or lime juice if you like.

Divide the mixture into 13 – 15 equal parts, make round balls and then flatten them a bit.

Method 1: Traditional Deep Frying

• Heat oil on medium-high heat in a kadai or wok. Make sure the oil is hot by dropping a single sabudana ball. It should quickly float to the top.
• Now add 3-5 vadas to the oil depending on the size of the kadhai; don’t overcrowd the kadai.

• Fry vadas until golden brown and crisp from both sides. Transfer to a plate covered with a paper towel to drain any excess oil.
• Serve sabudana vada with chutney, ketchup, or anything that you like.

Method 2: Air fryer Sabudana Vada

• Spray some oil in the air fryer basket. Place vada’s in a single layer, leaving space between each. Brush or spray some oil on top of the Vada’s.

• Air fry for about 16 -18 minutes at 390°F. Flip the vada’s at about the 10-minute mark.
• Once vadas are crispy and golden brown, serve them hot with ketchup or green chutney.

Method 3: Sabudana Vada using Appe Pan

• On medium low heat, heat the paniyaram / aebleskiver pan. To each round section, add a few drops of oil.
• Place the small sago balls and cook for 2-3 minutes over medium-low heat.
• Each ball should be turned over, and add a few more oil drops.
• Once more, cook them under cover for 3–4 minutes more or until crisp and golden brown.
• Serve these Sago fritters hot with mint chutney or ketchup.

Pro-Tips

• Making these crispy, crunchy vadas requires thoroughly soaking the sabudana (tapioca pearls). It should be soaked until it can be easily mashed between two fingers.
• Sabudana should be soaked in half the quantity of water. That is, use 1/2 cup of water to soak 1 cup of sabudana. You don’t want too much water in the sabudana.
• Make sure the oil is medium-hot. If the oil is too hot, they may brown quickly and have a burnt taste.
• Sabudana or potatoes should be moisture-free as this could cause the vadas to break.
• If you want to make the sabudana potato mixture ahead of time, then also shape them into vada’s before storing them in the refrigerator. Otherwise, they can be harder to shape as the mixture can have more moisture.
• Fry the vadas in batches because if you fry too many at once, they may stick to one another – so avoid overcrowding.

Variations

• You can add grated ginger to the vada mix. It not only adds flavor but also improves digestion.
• You can add some lemon juice to the mix to add some tang.
• Some people also add cumin seeds and black pepper to the vadas.
• You can use cashews instead of peanuts if you like.
• If you like sweet potatoes, swap them for potatoes for sweeter-tasting vadas.
• Sabudana vadas can be baked in the oven at 360°F (180°C) for 30 minutes for a guilt-free version.
• If you are not fasting, you can also mix in finely chopped onions and chaat masala to make delicious vada.

How to prevent Sabudana Vada from breaking?

It is important to maintain the right frying temperature. Frying them on low flame can cause the vada to disintegrate, and also the vadas absorb a lot of oil.

It is best to test the temperature of the oil with a little ball of dough. If the oil is hot, the ball rises gradually to the surface of the oil.

If the Sabudnaa vada are still breaking, you can add some corn starch or rice flour for binding and absorption of extra moisture.

But if you are preparing these for fasting or religious occasions, you can also consume buckwheat flour (Kuttu ka atta) or amaranth flour (rajgira atta) instead of corn starch and rice flour.

Serving Suggestion

For the ideal breakfast or afternoon snack, serve them with mint cilantro chutney– that’s my favorite combination! You can also serve it with tomato ketchup.

For fasting days, you can serve sabudana vadas with farali peanut chutney. This is very easy to make. Simply combine yogurt, ground peanuts, red sugar, red chili powder and salt. Whisk it well, and it’s ready.

It also tastes great when eaten with plain yogurt or even sweetened curd.

But just like any deep-fried food, sabudana vada is just perfect with a hot cup of masala chai.

Storage Instructions

It is best to serve sabudana vada while it is piping hot and crispy. For the best flavor, you can prepare this vada mixture ahead of time, shape it, and store it in the refrigerator or freezer. However, fry it right before serving to relish the crunch and taste!

In the refrigerator, sabudana vada will keep well for 3-5 days. The vada can also be frozen for up to a month. Before serving, defrost and reheat the vada.

To reheat, you can use an air fryer at 400°F for 2-3 minutes. You can also reheat in the microwave for 30-60 seconds, but they will not be as crunchy.

Common Questions

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