Sabudana Vada Recipe (For Fasting)

Sabudana Vada, one of our favorite fasting snacks is a crispy, soft, savory and mildly sweet patty featuring softened tapioca pearls (sago), mashed potatoes, crunchy peanuts, fragrant spices and fresh herbs. It is naturally gluten-free and vegan. This foolproof Maharashtrian style Sabudana Vada recipe gives you a super delicious, crispy vada with a soft and light interior and can be made as a fasting or vrat snack.

About Sabudana

Sabudana known as sago are circular, small white pearls made from the roots of the cassava plant (tapioca, yuca). They are also called tapioca pearls and are eaten during the Hindu fasting period.

The word “sabudana” is a Hindi word and a common term used for these white tapioca pearls in North, Central and Western India.

In the South Indian regional languages, these are called javvarisi (Tamil), sabbakki (Kannada), chowari (Malayalam) and sagubiyyam (Telugu).

Basically sabudana is pure starch and thus obviously is heavy on carbs. They keep you full for a longer period and this is the reason they are included in the fasting food.

In the Indian Hindu tradition, the Shravan month, Ekadashi days, Mahashivratri Festival and the Navratri period are times when many devout Hindus keep a fast (vrat/upvas).

The food that is taken during the fast does not contain onions, garlic, wheat products, lentils or pulses.

During this time a few recipes are made from these sago pearls. Sabudana vada is one such dish, apart from the popular Sabudana Khichdi.

About Sabudana Vada

Sabudana Vada are deep fried crispy patties with a soft and fluffy interior. They are made with tapioca pearls, potatoes, roasted crushed peanuts, few spices & herbs, and seasoned with lemon juice, sugar and salt.

The white tapioca pearls or sabudana are soaked in water for several hours, which helps them to soften and get mashed easily. The potatoes are cooked first and then mashed or grated or finely crumbled.

The softened sabudana is evenly mixed with the mashed potatoes, roasted crushed peanuts with a few herbs and spices. Round patties are formed from this mix which are deep fried.

The starch in the cooked potatoes aid in binding the patty mixture and the vada does not crumble or fall apart while frying. Peanuts add a lovely crunch to the patties and the herbs and spices make them more flavorful.

About My Recipe

My sabudana vada recipe is an authentic Maharashtrian recipe that I learnt in my cooking school decades back. This recipe makes for delish sago patties with a lovely golden crisp texture (as you can see from my photos) and a wonderful soft center.

It is a satvik recipe, meaning I do not add onions or garlic and a lot of spices – but these are fried. This sabudana vada recipe is fool-proof, fail-proof and can be easily made by beginners.

The proportion of ingredients mainly of potatoes and sago is perfectly balanced in this sabudana vada recipe. These perfect proportions helps you to bind and form the patties effortlessly.

You won’t not end up with a soggy or broken batch of the patties. Plus you can easily shape the patties without the need to add any flour for binding.

Roasted peanuts are also traditionally included and they add a beautiful touch of nuttiness and sweetness in the vada. Not to forget some protein boost.

Sabudana vada can be enjoyed as a brunch or an evening snack as well. In Mumbai, one will find many sweet shops selling this tasty snack.

In fact, it is a street food in Mumbai as well as Maharashtra and many shops and street vendors sell these crispy tasty snack.

How to make Sabudana Vada

Soak Sabudana

1. You need to plan ahead and soak the sago pearls. It is very important to soak the sago really well. Well soaked sabudana make for a soft, light and fluffy vada.

Important: Please refrain from using un-soaked or under-soaked sabudana to avoid scalding or burns as they will burst and shatter in oil when frying.

First, using a colander or mesh strainer rinse 1 cup sabudana lightly twice or thrice draining all the water. Then soak the rinsed pearls in 2 to 2.5 cups water for 5 hours at least or overnight.

I always soak them overnight and by morning they become nicely soft. Some varieties of sabudana can also be soaked for 2 to 3 hours. I get a really hard textured sabudana and soaking them for 2 to 3 hours does not help.

So depending on the quality of your sabudana, soak for 2 to 3 hours or more. To test that they have soaked and softened really well, follow the points mentioned in the second step below.

Check Soaked Sago

2. When properly soaked, the sabudana pearls will be tender without any hard center. When you press the pearls between your forefinger and thumb, they would get mashed easily with a floury texture on your fingers.

If you feel some hardness in the center, then soak for some more time. When they are softened well, drain all the water from the soaked sabudana.

Remember not to use the sabudana pearls if they are not soaked well or have a hard center. These under-soaked sabudana will splatter or burst in the hot oil when frying.

Keep in mind that there should not be any water logged in the soaked pearls. Water will definitely make the patties moist and sticky.

Hence these waterlogged patties will soak up a good amount of oil while frying making them loaded with oil. Also a lot of water in the patties may cause them to shatter or fall apart in the oil during deep frying.

So drain the water really well. You can opt to gently and lightly press the soaked pearls in the strainer with a spoon or spatula. Or set aside the pearls in a strainer (keeping a bowl beneath) for some 20 to 30 minutes dripping of any extra water.

Use this time to prep your other ingredients. This is what I do. I let the soaked pearls sit in the strainer and begin to cook the potatoes and prep the other vada ingredients.

Handy Tip: If in case you find the soaked sabudana has too much of moisture even after straining well, add some flour to the patty mixture like – buckwheat flour, amaranth flour, water chestnut flour. These flours will help absorb the excess moisture from the sago pearls.

Cook Potatoes

3. Scrub and rinse 4 medium-sized potatoes thoroughly in water first. Then place the potatoes in a 3 litre cooker. Add water which just about covers the potatoes.

Note that you can choose to cook potatoes in a pan or in an Instant Pot.

1. If cooking in a pan, take water and add peeled and chopped potatoes. The water should cover the potatoes. Add a 2 to 3 pinches of salt if preferred. Cover and simmer potatoes until fork tender. Later drain the water really well and set the cooked potatoes aside.

2. For Instant Pot cooking, place a trivet in the inner steel insert of your Instant Pot. Add 1.5 cups water. Place the rinsed potatoes on the trivet. Seal with the lid and position the valve to sealing. Press the manual/pressure cook button and set the time to 10 or 12 minutes with high pressure option.

4. For the stove-top pressure cooker, boil potatoes for 10 to 12 minutes or 4 to 5 whistles on medium-heat.

Check Doneness & Mash Potatoes Later

5. No matter how you have cooked the potatoes, you need to check if they are tender and softened.

1. For the stove-top pressure cooker, when the pressure settles down on its own in the cooker, then only open the lid and check the potatoes. Pass a knife or fork through the center of the potatoes and it should slide easily without any resistance.

2. For Instant pot, after you hear the beep when the pressure cooking is complete, wait for 5 minutes and then do a quick pressure release. Carefully, remove the potatoes with tongs and place them in a plate or tray. Check the potatoes to see if they are cooked tender with a fork or knife.

3. For pan, check the cooked potatoes with a fork or knife. Then using a strainer, drain all the water.

Whether you have cooked your potatoes on a stove-top or in the Instant Pot, you have to drain the water really well. Ensure that you do not have water logged in the cooked potatoes.

Let the potatoes become warm. Later peel and then chop them or crumble them. You can even mash them.

Remember to crumble or mash them really well. There must not be any potato chunks in the patty mixture.

Roast & Crush Peanuts

6. When the potatoes are cooking, you can roast the peanuts. Heat a pan or kadai and add ½ cup peanuts in it.

If you have pre-made roasted peanuts, then skip these steps on roasting peanuts.

7. On a low to medium heat, stirring often roast the peanuts. Use a heavy pan, so that the peanuts do not get burnt.

8. Roast the peanuts until you see a few black chars or spots on their husks. They should be crunchy and well roasted with no rawness or hardness in the center.

9. Transfer the peanuts to a plate and let them cool at room temperature. Once they are cooled, add them in a dry grinder or spice grinder. I have removed the husks. If you want you can keep them.

How to remove the peanut husks? Take the cooled peanuts in your palms and rub them with your palms over your kitchen sink, so that the thin husks fall in the sink and not fly all around in your kitchen.

You can also take them in a cotton kitchen towel. Bring the edges of the napkin in the center making a bundle and then rub the peanuts in the bundle with your palms.

11. Grind to a semi-coarse powder. Keep the peanut powder aside. You can even make a fine powder if you like.

Make Sago Mixture

3. When the sabudana pearls are drained really well of any extra water, take the pearls in a mixing bowl.

12. Add the mashed potatoes and coarsely roasted groundnuts to the sabudana in the mixing bowl.

13. Next add 1 to 2 chopped green chilies (about ½ to 1 teaspoon), 1 teaspoon peeled & finely chopped ginger and 2 tablespoons chopped coriander leaves.

You can skip coriander leaves if you do not have them.

14. Squeeze 2 teaspoons lemon juice or add according to your taste.

15. Now add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, 1.5 teaspoons sugar and salt as per your taste. You can add less or more sugar as you like.

Mix and Shape into Patties

16. Combine and mix thoroughly with your hands or with a spoon. Check the taste and add more salt, sugar and lemon juice if needed.

17. Now take some portion of the mixture in your hands and shape them into a flat round patty which is neither thin or thick. This way use up all of the sabudana dough mixture. Set the patties aside.

Tip: You can rub a bit of oil in your palms while forming the patties, so that the mixture does not stick to your palms.

Make Sabudana Vada

18. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai (wok) or a pan. Keep the heat to medium. When you see the oil shimmering, add a small patty. It should come up steadily and gradually in the oil.

If it breaks in the oil, then there is more moisture in the mixture. To reduce the moisture, you need to add some binding ingredient.

So you can add some more boiled mashed potatoes (if you have it) or include 2 to 3 tablespoons of kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour), singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour), ragjira atta (amaranth flour).

If making the vada as an evening snack for non-fasting days, add rice flour. Mix again and shape in patties. Ideally, do this step before you fry these patties.

Make sure to use a well-seasoned pan for frying so that the vada does not stick to it.

19. Gently place the patties in hot oil. Fry them at medium heat. Do not overcrowd the pan while frying.

20. When one side is light golden, then only turn them over with a slotted spoon. Do not be in a hurry to turn them as the raw, under-cooked vada will fall apart in the oil.

When the vada looks crispy, light golden, then only gently turn them over.

21. Turn over again when the second side is golden.

22. Continue to fry turning over a couple of times until the vada are evenly golden and crisp.

23. Remove the fried sabudana vada with a slotted spoon draining the extra oil in the pan.

24. Place them on kitchen towels to absorb excess oil. Fry all the sago patties this way. Fry the remaining batches of the prepared vada in this manner.

Serving Suggestions

Sabudana Vada can be made for Hindu fasting days or an evening snack. It is crispy, delicious and tastes great with a simple Coconut Chutney and even sweetened Curd (Yogurt).

To make the sweetened curd, add some sugar to the curd and mix it. If short of time, you can even serve with sweet Tamarind Chutney or homemade Tomato Ketchup. You can also enjoy it with Coriander Chutney.

Serve Sabudana Vada hot or warm. In the photos, I served them with a sweet tamarind and red chilli chutney. I had made these as an evening snack.

Although they taste great while hot or warm, you could also opt to serve them at room temperature. A well made sabudana vada will remain soft even after it cools.

Make Ahead Options

To make ahead, boil, peel, mash and store the potatoes in your refrigerator a day prior. Roast peanuts and powder them. Refrigerate them for 1 to 2 days.

You can soak the sabudana a day earlier and keep it in the refrigerator after draining the water. Any leftover dough mixture stays well in the fridge for 1 to 2 days.

Expert Tips

1. Soaking Sabudana

The sabudana (sago) has to be really soaked well. Not even a little hardness should be left in the sago as these will shatter or burst in the oil when frying.

The water needs to be drained well. Use a sieve or a colander to drain the water. If there is moisture in the mixture, then you won’t get a proper shape of the vada and they will get soggy. As a result they will soak up a lot of oil and can even fall apart or burst in the hot oil.

2. Potatoes

The starch in the potatoes help to bind these sago patties. Be sure to use potatoes which have a high to medium starch content.

Avoid the type of potatoes like new potatoes or baby potatoes that have a low starch content; as it will not be easy to bind the patty mixture and the sabudana vada may fall apart or shatter in the oil while frying.

3. Roasted Peanuts

You could use roasted peanuts which are unsalted. Only if the peanuts are not roasted, then you need to roast them. You can make ahead the roasted peanuts, powder them and refrigerate for 1 to 2 days.

If they are roasted, then on roasting the skin becomes flaky and you can remove the skin easily from the peanuts with your fingers or with the methods I have described in the step-by-step guide above.

About Frying and Oil Temperature

Ideally the temperature of the oil for deep frying must be 180 degrees Celsius to 190 degrees Celsius (360 degrees Fahrenheit to 375 degrees Fahrenheit). With a deep fry or candy thermometer you can easily measure this temperature.

Worry not, if you do not have a thermometer. You can check the temperature by adding a small shaped vada in the oil.

If it emerges on the surface gradually, and is sizzling, bubbling, the oil is ready. If the patty comes up slowly or is sunk at the bottom of the pan, the oil is warm. The oil is very hot, if it rises up on the surface too quickly or briskly.

If the oil is hot, the patties will burn from outside leaving the inside portion uncooked. A lukewarm oil will lead to the patties absorbing more oil, making them loaded and soggy with oil.

For a more crisper texture, you need to brown them a little extra. This can be achieved by frying for a few minutes more.

If the vada or patties fall apart or bursts while frying, then add some flour (buckwheat, amaranth, water chestnut flour) into the vada mixture. If not making as a fasting snack, then add rice flour. 

Ingredients Swaps & Variations

1. With Sweet Potato: Swap potatoes with sweet potatoes and make a sweet tasting sago vada. Boil or steam the sweet potatoes first in enough water. Once tender and softened, let them cool. Later peel and mash before mixing it with the other ingredients.
2. With Onions: Normally onions and garlic and never added in the traditional sabudana vada recipe. If you are willing to experiment, you can add onions or garlic to the vada dough mixture.
3. Nuts: An authentic and traditional sabudana vada recipe always features peanuts. If you do not have peanuts, make the vada without them or swap with cashews. Some fresh grated coconut (about 2 tablespoons) can be added to the vada mixture.
4. Herbs: Feel free to omit coriander leaves in this sago vada recipe. You can replace coriander with about 1 tablespoon of mint leaves or add about 1 tablespoon of chopped curry leaves. Note that the taste and flavor will change with either mint or curry leaves.
5. Spices: The only spice that gives some heat and pungency in the sabudana vada recipe are green chillies. Opt to add some crushed black pepper (about ½ teaspoon) instead of green chillies. For a spicy taste and when not making for the fasting time, add ½ to 1 teaspoon of red chilli powder or cayenne pepper.
6. Scaling: According to your needs, you can easily halve, double or triple this sabudana vada recipe.

FAQs

Sabudana Vada recipe from the blog archives was first published on September 2009.