Sabudana Vada's are crispy and crunchy Sago Fritters made with soaked sago (tapioca pearls), boiled potatoes, coarsely ground peanuts and few other ingredients.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 2 minutes
  • Cook time: 20 minutes
  • Total time: 22 minutes
  • Yield: 3
  • Category: Appetizer, Snack
  • Cuisine: Indian, Maharastrian

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup sabudana ((sago or tapioca pearls))
  • 2 medium potatoes (boiled & mashed, (about 1 cup))
  • 1/4 cup roasted & coarsely crushed peanuts
  • 2 green chilies (finely chopped)
  • 1 teaspoon ginger (grated, optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
  • 1-2 tablespoons corn starch ((or rice flour or kuttu ka atta if fasting), optional)
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • 2 tablespoons coriander leaves (finely chopped)
  • salt (to taste)
  • oil (for frying)

Method

Preparation:

  1. Rinse the sabudana 1-2 times and drain all the water. Next, soak the sabudana in 2 cups of water for 2-4 hours (time may vary based on the quality of sabudana. I soaked mine for 2 hrs). Some need only 2 hours while other need 4-6 hours. They will double in size after soaking, and you can easily mash them between your fingers. Also, make sure they are soaked well else unsoaked sabudana may burst in oil.
  2. Dry roast peanuts in a pan on medium heat till they get brown spots, and let them cool. You can also roast the peanuts in the air fryer or use store-bought roasted peanuts.
  3. Pulse into a coarse powder.
  4. If using a stovetop pressure cooker, pressure cook the potatoes in water for 2 to 3 whistles. After the pressure has released naturally, drain water, peel the potato skin, mash it well and keep aside. You can also use an instant pot pressure cooker to boil the potatoes. Pressure cook for 4-5 minutes in manual/pressure cook mode and allow natural pressure release.
  5. Take soaked sabudana, mashed potatoes, peanut powder, chilies, ginger, cumin seeds, corn starch, lemon juice, coriander leaves, and salt in a mixing bowl.
  6. Mix everything well. Also, make sure the dough should be stiff and not soft or sticky. If it is smooth, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of cornflour on regular days or kuttu ka atta if fasting.
  7. Divide the dough into equal size of balls (around 8-10). Grease your palms with little oil and make flat vadas like a patty. Keep aside.

Traditional Deep Frying:

  1. Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat for deep frying. Add the vadas into the oil very carefully. Fry them on medium heat from both sides till they turn golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
  2. Serve steaming hot vadas with green coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.

Using Air Fryer:

  1. I have used Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer for this method. However, you can use an air fryer which is available.
  2. Preheat your air fryer to 395°F (200°C).
  3. Spray or brush the air fryer basket with some oil, so the vada doesn’t stick. Now place the vadas into a single layer. Brush some oil on top of the vadas.
  4. Air fry at 395°F (200°C) for 15-18 minutes or until the vadas start browning and turn crispy. Flip the vadas, halfway through and spray some oil on the top.
  5. Once vadas are crispy and golden brown, take them onto the plate and serve air fryer sabudana vada hot with ketchup or green chutney. They should be eaten right away, or else they can turn chewy.

Using Appe Pan:

  1. Heat the appe / paniyaram / aebleskiver pan on medium low heat. Add a few drops of oil to each round section. Next, place the lemon-sized balls in each section and cook for 2-3 mins over medium-low flame.
  2. Turn over each ball, drizzle a few more drops of oil. Cover and cook again for another 3-4 minutes until they turn crisp and golden brown
  3. Serve these vadas hot with green chutney or ketchup.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.