Sabudana vada
These crispy fritters are made from sabudana (tapioca pearls), potatoes, peanuts and spices like green chilli, curry leaves, ginger and cumin. So delicious and perfect to have with a cup of chai. These vada are often made during the fasting seasons in India as they only contain ingredients which you would be allowed to have at that time. Sabudana khichdi is also another popular fasting recipe which is perfect for breakfast.
You have to plan this recipe some time in advance. This is because the tapioca needs to soak for some time (ideally overnight). If I want to make these I often just soak the tapioca before going to bed, and then the next morning I can cook these for lunch or a tasty breakfast. Apart from boiling & mashing potatoes (which act as the binding agent), the rest of the ingredients take hardly any time to put together. Something I also do is to boil & mash potatoes in big quantities and then freeze portions. This way if I need something which requires mashed potatoes (like masala aloo for dosas or aloo bhaji), I can just take out a portion, defrost and then cook it with the required spices and fresh ingredients. This way I like to make cooking quick and efficient - but still get fresh and tasty food on the table! Traditionally, sabudana vada are deep fried. However, I don't find this necessary. I add a thin layer of oil to a non-stick pan and then fry them evenly on both sides. I find this makes them nice and crispy and you don't then end up using a lot of oil!
If you like Indian snacks then do check out some of my other recipes like -
1 cup / 180g medium sized sago (tapioca) - for a picture of the size see this article
3-4 potatoes peeled
1/2 cup / 125g roasted peanuts finely chopped
1 green chilli finely chopped
Thumb size piece of ginger finely chopped
Salt to taste
Handful coriander leaves chopped
1 tsp cumin seeds
- Before soaking, rinse the sabudana really well to ensure there is no excess starch. This will stop it going clumpy. You can either do this by running the sabudana in a sieve under running water until the water runs clear, or I like to rinse by placing the sabudana in a bowl and then covering with water. I swill the water around the sabudana to remove the starch and then carefully drain the water away. I repeat this a couple of times until the water in the bowl is clear.
- When the sabudana is rinsed, add to a large bowl and cover with 1 cup / 250 ml water. I have found that using equal parts water to sabudana results in well soaked pearls and no excess water which might make the final vada misture mushy.
- Cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave the sabudana to soak for at least 6 hours (ideally overnight).
- After the sabudana has soaked, drain away any excess water and check if they are soft. You should be able to mash them easily between your thumb and forefinger. If they are still hard then soak for a few hours more. Unsoaked sabudana can shatter in the oil when deep frying and cause oil to splash. Set the drained sabudana aside whilst you prepare the other elements.
- In a pan or pressure cooker, add the peeled potatoes. Cook until the potatoes are soft and you can easily pierce them with a knife.
- Let the potatoes cool a little (until they are warm) and then mash them using a potato masher or fork (they don't need to be completely smooth - some texture is nice in the final vada. A light mash will do).
- Now it is time to assemble the remaining vada mixture. To the same bowl as the sabudana, add the chopped green chilli, ginger, peanuts, curry leaves, coriander, cumin seeds and salt to taste. I usually add 1 tsp salt. Mix very well.
- Add the mashed potatoes to the mixture and mix again very well.
- Once you have finished making the vada mixture, take a 1 tbsp portion of the mixture and shape into a small patty. Having a flat surface on each side will help the vada fry evenly.
- Take a large non-stick frying pan and heat up 1/2 cm layer of oil. The heat should be medium for frying these vadas. Too hot and the vadas will burn, too low and they will absorb a lot of oil.
- Once the oil is hot, test the consistency of the vada mixture with the patty you just made. Place the vada in the pan - if it breaks upon forming then you need a little more binding agent. You can add another mashed potato, or 1 tbsp of rice or plain flour to the mixture. Make another patty and then double check the consistency.
- Once you have got the consistency right, shape all vadas into small patties. Carefully place them in the hot oil and fry until golden on both sides. Only flip the vadas when they are golden on one side - moving them around and flipping them a lot will cause them to break.
- When the vadas are golden on both sides, remove them from the pan and then place them on a plate lined with kitchen roll.
- Enjoy these sabudana vada with a cup of chai & different chutneys like coconut, coriander and peanut.
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