Sabudana vada
Sabudana vada, also called 'sago vada', is a traditional deep fried snack from Maharashtra, India. It is often served with spicy green chutney or sweet jogurt/curd and along with hot chai/tea and is best eaten fresh.
Sabudana vada is a delicious snack which is crunchy from outside but soft from inside.
In other parts of the country, Sabudana vada are the best option to have when fasting. Therefore, this filling and nutritious snack is served usually during religious festivals and during fast/vrat/upvaas especially in Navratri vrats.
Although it is deep fried, it is sumptuous and light. It is also eaten on days of fasting in Maharashtra for e.g., Chaturthi etc.
Like all vadas, these are best eaten fresh. Sabudana vadas are crunchy and melt in the mouth.
I had sabudana vada firstly in Pune at my hostel canteen and I found it very delicious. My friend, my roommate gave me the recipe of this snack and I started making sabudana vadas at home. It's one of my family favourites.
Recipe Servings: 18 vadas
Cooking time: 30 Minutes
Ingredients
- Sabudana (Tapioca pearls) - 1 cup
- Potatoes - 4 medium
- Peanuts (roasted, deskinned and coarsely crushed) – 1/2 cup
- Cumin seeds - 1 tsp
- Green Chillies (finely chopped) - 2
- Ginger (finely chopped) - 1"
- Salt to taste
- Oil - for frying
- Water for soaking Sabudana
Preparation
- In a large bowl, take 1 cup sabudana (Tapioca pearls). Wash them properly and soak in enough water for overnight or for at least 8 hours.
- Drain off the water completely. Make sure that they are soaked well otherwise they may burst in oil on frying.
- Transfer soaked and drained sabudana in a large mixing bowl.
- Wash the potatoes properly and boil them. Peel of the skin and mash them.
- Mix the mashed potatoes and sabudana together.
- Add finely chopped green chillies, finely chopped ginger, roasted, deskinned and coarsely crushed peanuts, cumin seeds and salt into it.
- Mix them well again.
- Make around 18 balls out of them. Then flatten them to make patties or vadas.
- Heat the oil in a pan or a kadai. Drop a small amount of mixture into the oil to check if its hot enough. The dough has to rise without browning quickly.
- Fry the sabudana vadas on a medium flame till they turn golden brown. Flipping them in between.
- Once they turn golden brown on both sides drain them off over a kitchen towel to remove the excess oil.
- Fry all the vadas in the similar way.
- Sabudana vada is ready to serve.
- Serve them hot with chutney or sweet yogurt/curd and with hot tea.
