Sabudana Vada

Sabudana Vada is a crispy & delicious snack made by frying sago pearls mixed with peanuts,potato, herbs and spices. Sabudana Vada is a popular Maharashtrian recipe commonly made during vrat or fasting days. Sabudana Vada Recipe is posted here with step by step pictures and video.

Sabudana Vada is loved by all for its taste and it is an addictive snack. Sabudana Vada with chutney is a great combo that is savoured by all however it tastes great when had as such too.

About Sabudana Vada

Sabudana Vada is a popular vrat or fasting dish made commonly during Navarathri, Pradhosha and Shivrathri days.  Sabudana Vada is made without onions or garlic as it is commonly made on fasting days. Sabudana Vada is a great tasting vada that is crispy outside and soft inside.

Sabudana Vada Recipe is quite time consuming as sago pearls have to be soaked, peanuts has to be roasted & ground, potato has to be cooked separately and mashed after which all of them has to be mixed well and deep fried. However Sabudana Vada is worth the effort for its taste.

Sabudana Vada or Khichdi – Why sago has to be soaked? 

 Sabudana or sago are starchy pearl extracts of tapioca / cassava root. Since the pearls are extracted after dehydrating the root, they became hard & crunchy. To make them soft & starchy, soaking of sago is necessary before cooking it for any recipe. 

Soaking sago with water ½ inch above sago and allowing to rest for a minimum of 4 hrs makes the sago soft & bubbly. If water is lesser, sago vada tends to be hard and if water is excess you can drain them else it may separate in oil. Soaking as prescribed is the key for getting Sabudana Vada without breaking when we fry in oil.

Is Sabudana Vada healthy?

Sabudana is rich in carbohydrates making it an instant energy booster – the reason behind eating it during vrat / fasting days. Sabudana reduces blood pressure, improves digestion, promotes bone health, and helps in weight gain. However, daily intake should be moderated as it is high carb & high calorie food. 

Ingredients

• Sabudana or Sago Pearls: Sago pearls are available in stores commonly in 2 forms – one transparent nylon type variety and another white starchy variety. The white starch variety is most commonly used and preferred for this recipe.
• Peanuts: Buy peeled & roasted peanuts if it is available, else you may buy the skinned variety, roast them, peel the skin and use. If you are getting peeled roasted variety, dry roast for a minute till they develop brown spots.  Peanuts give a crunchy feel and flavour to the vada. You can skip them if you do not have them.
• Potato & other veggies: Use 2 medium sized cubed potato for this recipe. Ginger, green chilli &coriander leaves are finely chopped, tempered and added to the vada mixture. Green chilli make vada aptly spicier and jeera & lemon extract gives a flavourful & tangy tint to the vada.
• Oil: I have used groundnut oil as I use it as regular cooking oil But you can use refined sunflower / groundnut / any neutral tasting cooking oil for frying the Vada.

If you have any more questions about this Sadudana Vada Recipe do mail me at [email protected]. In addition, follow me on Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest ,Youtube and Twitter .

Tried this Sadudana Vada ? Do let me know how you liked it. Also tag us on Instagram @sharmispassions and hash tag it on #sharmispassions.

📖 Recipe Card

Sabudana Vada Recipe Step by Step

1.Rinse sago well with water and soak sago overnight or for atleast 4 hrs with enough water just to immerse it well.Dont add more water as it will become mushy…just sprinkle little water if you feel its very dry.

2.After the mentioned time if you see the sago must have absorbed the water well.

3.If you press it with your fingers it will be soft, Set aside.

Roast peanuts till the skin splutters and brown spots appear here and there.

Discard the skin and grind the peanuts to a coarse mixture.

4.Boil potatoes or cut into half and pressure cook for 3-4 whistles. Peel the skin.

5.Mash it using a masher or you can just crumble it with your fingers too. Just mash it roughly need not be very smooth.Set aside.

6.Dry roast peanuts until brown spots appear here and there.

7.Remove the skin byu rubbing between your palms and blowing away the skin this way it is easy to remove the skin.

8.I used my hand mortar and pestle as it is a small quantity. You can use mixie to crush too.

9.Crush it coarsely.

10.To a mixing bowl – add sago,peanut powder,mashed potato,jeera,ginger,green chilli,lemonjuice,coriander leaves and required salt.

11.Mix it well until it forms a dough like.

12.Pinch lemon sized ball and firstshape them into a ball using your fist.

13.Then flatten it using your palms.

14.Vada is shaped.

15.Repeat to finish, Make all the vadas ready.

16.Heat oil – add the sago vadas in batches , carefully turn over and cook till golden brown on both sides.

17.Cook in medium flame to avoid burning. Fry until golden brown.

18.Remove and drain. Repeat and fry the remaining vadas too.

Crispy Sabudana Vada ready! Serve hot with green chutney or tomato sauce.

Expert Tips

• Dont choose the nylon transparent variety sago. The bigger white starchy variety of sago suits well for Sabudana Vada.
• Take care while adding water to soak sago…this is a very important step….if you add more water then it will become mushy.
• Do not fry for more time,make sure you remove them when it’s golden brown.
• Pressure cook potatoes with skin for at least 4-5 whistles or until soft…Peel of the skin and mash it up.
• If you are soaking in the morning then you can check it now and then, fluff it up in between this gives non sticky sago.
• You can even add 2 teaspoon of rice flour while mixing.

Serving & Storing Suggestions

Sabudana Vada tastes great when it both hot & cold and keeps good for a day. Refrigeration is not needed and you can microwave if you prefer it hot when using later.

Enjoy Sabudana Vada as is or with a chutney! Sabudana Vada is a good choice for lunch box and for travel.

FAQs

1.What is Sabudana Vada?

Sabudana Vada is a crispy & delicious snack made by frying sago pearls mixed with peanuts, potato, herbs and spices.

2.How do you make Sabudana Vada?

• Soak sago for 4-6 hrs and rinse 2-3 times before cooking the recipe. Set aside.
• Dry roast peanuts till golden brown then grind it coarsely just to break it into pieces, don’t powder it.
• Pressure cook potatoes until soft for 4 whistles, mash them and make it ready.
• Mix soaked sago, coarsely crushed peanuts, potatoes, spices & herbs and make them into small vada shapes.
• Heat the oil and fry the vada till the vada gets golden brown. Enjoy hot vadas!

3.Why my vada is gets separated in oil?

Three common reasons for vada to get separated in oil

• Improper or insufficient soaking of sago (Water level & soaking time)
• Moisture content for sago mix (Vada mix should not be crumbly or watery)
• Oil temperature should be hot and flame should be in medium while frying.

4.How do I know that oil is hot enough for frying?

Heat the oil before frying the vadas. Take a pearl from the mix and drop in the hot oil, if comes to the top bubbling – the oil is sufficiently hot & ready for frying vada. If it is not hot, the pearl would be in the bottom, take time to fry and makes the vada oilier. Make sure to adjust heat then and there.

5.Can I bake Sabudana Vada?

Yes. Preheat the oven to 180 deg C. Brush the vadas with oil and spread it on a tray with butter paper and bake it at 200 deg C for 30-40 mins till they become golden brown. Baked version is significantly not crispier & tastier as the fried version.