Sabudana Vada or Crispy tapioca or Sabu Vada is a irresistibly delicious deep fried Indian snack or finger food that is crispy and crunchy on the outside with chewy texture inside and will simply melt in your mouth.
This snack is vegan, gluten free, no onion no garlic popular in Maharashtra and is also prepared in other parts of the country and served during festivals and fasting, vrat, upvas days like Navratri, Shivratri, Ekadashi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Sankashti, Sai guruvar.
How to serve sabudana vada?
Sabudana vada, sabu vada can be served alone as snack or with spicy green chutney or tomato ketchup and cup of coffee or tea. This vada is also a perfect accompaniment for cocktail or mocktail party or any type of gathering.
Today I have served it with Aloo rasedar and this is one of the best combo that I have ever tried. Make sure you prepare it in plenty as you will crave for more and more.
Like any other vadas, this dish tastes the best when served hot and fresh!
If you are new to cooking and want to know more on what is sabudana, why sabudana is eaten during fasting days, how to soak sabudana and how to cook sabudana or tapioca pearls perfectly, refer to my post on sabudana khichdi where I have explained all my tips and tricks in details.
Preparation time : 30 minutes
Serves : 16 to 20 Vadas
Ingredients for Sabudana Vada
Tapioca pearls or Sabudana or Sago - 1 cup
Big Potato - 1 or 2 medium sized potatoes
Peanuts or Cashewnuts, roasted and crushed - 2 to 3 tbsp
Ginger grated - 1 inch
Green chilies - 2 to 3
Red chile powder - 1 teaspoon (optional)
Asafoetida / Hing - ¼ tsp
Coriander leaves chopped - 2 tbsp
Chat Masala - ½ teaspoon (optional)
Salt - to taste (rock salt if fasting)
Rice flour or Corn flour - 3 tablespoon (check tips, kuttu ka atta if fasting)
Oil - for frying
Steps to prepare Sabudana Vada
Step I
- Soak sabudana or tapioca pearls in water for 2 to 3 hours. Some sabudana need 2 hours while some other may need 5 hours soaking or you can even soak them overnight.
- Once they are soaked, take few pearls between thumb and forefingers. Press them to see if they are softened and get mashed easily. Unsoaked sabudana will burst in oil.
- If its still hard, soak them for some more time.
- Drain them completely to remove any excess water.
Step II
- Next peel the skin of potato and grate them. Squeeze to remove any moisture from the potato and transfer it to bowl.
- Add the sabudana, ginger, chopped green chilies, peanuts or cashew nuts, salt, red chile powder, hing, coriander leaves, chat masala and mix well.
- Now add the rice flour and mix well. Mixing the dough well helps in binding and prevent the vadas from breaking while frying.
Step III
- Heat oil for frying. See that atleast 40 % of pan is covered with oil.
- Make small balls out of the mixture and flatten it to form vadas or patties. Keep it aside.
- Once the oil is hot, fry these flattened vadas or patties on medium flame till they become cripsy and golden brown on both the sides. Make sure you do not disturb them as soon as you drop them in oil as they may break. Once they firm up and become golden in color, flip and cook on the other side.
- The vadas will puff like the one shown in picture, be crispy on outside and chewy inside.
- Transfer it to paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the process for remaining mixture.
- Sabudana Vada is now ready. Serve hot with Aloo rasedar and enjoy!
Tips to make perfect crispy sabudana vada or sago vada:
- Sabudana should be soaked correctly in water. To know if your sabudana is ready for cooking, do smash test. Take one or two soaked sabudana and press it between finger and thumb. It should smash easily.
- To avoid soggy sabudana vada, make sure you have drained water from soaked sabudana completely.
- I have not boiled the potato. Just grated the raw potato and used in the recipe. You can even add boiled potatoes but make sure they are not cooked completely. Mushy potatoes may break your vadas while frying.
- Vary the amount of spices as per your taste.
- Oil should not be too hot or too cold for frying. If its hot, vadas will become dark soon and if its cold, it will absorb excess oil. In both the cases your vadas will become soggy and may break. The best practice is to fry by switching the flame between medium and medium high.
- To check if the oil is hot, add drop of mixture and check if it sizzles and comes up.
- Flour is added mainly to make your vadas crispier. If you are preparing this on fasting day substitute rice flour with corn flour or buckwheat flour or maida.
- To avoid sabudana from breaking in oil, Once dough is ready take small piece of dough and drop in hot oil to see if it separate's and breaks, If it does, then add additional flour around 1 to 2 tablespoon to the mixture and make vadas and fry.
- Do not overcrowd the pan while frying sabudana vadas.
Why does sabudana vada break in oil?
Sabudana vada will break in oil if the dough contains excess moisture or the temperature of oil in not right.
- If excess water is not drained off from soaked sabudana completely, the dough will contain moisture and breaks the vada when dropped in oil. To avoid that, once dough is ready take small piece of dough and drop in hot oil to see if it separate's and breaks, If it does, then add additional flour around 1 to 2 tablespoon to the mixture to remove excess moisture and then make vadas or patties and fry.
- If oil is too hot then sabudana becomes brown but remains soggy, uncooked inside. and if oil is cold, it will absorb excess oil and break. The best practice is to fry them on medium to medium high flame. Once you add the vadas leave it undisturbed for few minutes till they firm up and become golden on one side.
Traditionally sabudana vada is deep fried but to make these vadas or patties more healthy you can cook them on paniyaram or appe pan or air fryer.
Sabudana vada deep fried
- Once the oil is hot on medium flame, fry the flattened vadas or patties till they become cripsy and golden brown on both the sides. Make sure you do not disturb them as soon as you drop them in oil for a minute or 2 minutes as they may break. Once they firm up and become golden in color, flip and cook on the other side.
- Be careful while frying sabudana as individual pearls if not soaked properly may burst in oil.
Sabudana vada in paniyaram pan or appe pan
- Heat paniyaram or appe pan. Add oil in each round. Place the sabudana vada and cook them covered on medium to low flame for about 4 to 5 minutes. The time varies depending on size and thickness of the pan.
- Now flip the vada using chopstick or spoon. add few drops of oil to each vadas and cook for another 4 to 5 minutes or till its crisp and golden brown in color. Centre ones cook faster, so flip that first.
- Repeat the process for reaming patties or vadas.
Sabudana vada in air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 degree C or 350 degree F
- Place parchment paper or lightly grease aluminum foil in basket or tray or grease mesh itself.
- Place the vadas few inches apart on single layer and brush top of it with some oil.
- Air fry for 10 minutes. Remove the vadas, flip, apply oil and air fry again for another 10 to 15 minutes or until it is crisp and golden brown.
SABUDANA VADA IN OVEN
- Preheat the oven to 375 degree F.
- Place the fries on greased parchment paper and bake them for 25 to 35 minutes or until it is crisp and golden brown. Brush each vada with oil if desired flipping it half way through.
OTHER INTERESTING AND EASY SABUDANA OR SAGO OR TAPIOCA PEARLS RECIPE TO TRY
- How to cook perfect, fluffy, non sticky sabudana khichdi
- Sabudana dosa or thalipeeth
- also a popular ingredient in Bubble tea.
INDIAN FASTING, UPVAS, VRAT RECIPES
The fasting (upvas) food or vrat ka khana is different in different regions of India. Check out my list on foods you can prepare and eat,
Detailed recipe for Crispy Sabudana Vada - Vrat, Upvas Recipe
Recipe card
Sabudana Vada | How To Make Crispy Sabudana Vada
Sabudana Vada or Crispy tapioca or Sabu Vada is a irresistibly delicious deep fried Indian snack or finger food that is crispy and crunchy on the outside with chewy texture inside and will simply melt in your mouth. One of the popular fasting or vrat recipe prepared during navratri, ganesh chaturthi and ekadashi.
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sabudana or Sago or Tapioca pearls
- 1 large Potato
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Peanuts or cashewnuts, roasted and crushed.
- 1 inch Ginger , grated
- 2 to 3 Green chilies , finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Red chile powder (optional)
- ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida or Hing
- 2 tablespoon Cilantro or Coriander leaves, chopped
- ½ teaspoon Chat masala (optional)
- Salt , to taste (rock salt if fasting)
- 2 to 3 tablespoon Rice flour or Corn flour (check tips, kuttu ka atta if fasting)
- Oil , for frying
Instructions
Step 1
- Soak sabudana or tapioca pearls in water for 2 to 3 hours. Some sabudana need 2 hours while some other may need 5 hours soaking or you can even soak them overnight.1 cup Sabudana
- Once they are soaked, take few pearls between thumb and forefingers. Press them to see if they are softened and get mashed easily. Unsoaked sabudana will burst in oil.
- If its still hard, soak them for some more time.
- Drain them completely to remove any excess water.
Step 2
- Next peel the skin of potato and grate them. Squeeze to remove any moisture from the potato and transfer it to bowl.1 large Potato
- Add the soaked and drained sabudana (from Step 1), ginger, chopped green chilies, peanuts or cashew nuts, salt, red chile powder, hing, coriander leaves, chat masala and mix well.2 to 3 tablespoon Peanuts, 1 inch Ginger, 2 to 3 Green chilies, 1 teaspoon Red chile powder, ¼ teaspoon Asafoetida, 2 tablespoon Cilantro, Salt, ½ teaspoon Chat masala
- Now add the rice flour and mix well. Mixing the dough well helps in binding and prevent the vadas from breaking while frying.2 to 3 tablespoon Rice flour
Step 3
- Heat oil for frying. See that atleast 40 % of pan is covered with oil.Oil
- Make small balls out of the sabudana mixture (from Step 2) and flatten it to form vadas or patties. Keep it aside.
- Once the oil is hot, fry these flattened vadas or patties on medium flame till they become cripsy and golden brown on both the sides. Make sure you do not disturb them as soon as you drop them in oil as they may break. Once they firm up and become golden in color, flip and cook on the other side.
- The vadas will puff like the one shown in picture, be crispy on outside and chewy inside.
- Transfer it to paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the process for remaining mixture.
- Sabudana Vada is now ready. Serve hot with Aloo rasedar or cup of coffee or tea and enjoy!
Notes
Tips To Make Perfect Crispy Sabudana Vada Or Sago Vada
- Sabudana should be soaked correctly in water. To know if your sabudana is ready for cooking, do smash test. Take one or two soaked sabudana and press them between your finger and thumb. It should smash easily.
- To avoid soggy sabudana vada, make sure you have drained water from soaked sabudana completely.
- I have not boiled the potato. Just grated the raw potato and used in the recipe. You can even add boiled potatoes but make sure they are not cooked completely. Mushy potatoes may break your vadas while frying.
- Vary the amount of spices as per your taste.
- Oil should not be too hot or too cold for frying. If it is hot, vadas will become dark soon, uncooked inside and if it is cold, they will absorb excess oil. In both cases, your vadas will become soggy and may break. The best practice is to fry by switching the flame between medium and medium-high.
- To check if the oil is hot, add a drop of the mixture and check if it sizzles and comes up.
- Flour is added mainly to make your vadas crispier. If you are preparing this on fasting day substitute rice flour with corn flour or buckwheat flour or maida.
- To avoid sabudana from breaking in oil, Once the dough is ready, take a small piece of dough and drop into hot oil to see if it separates and breaks. If it does, then add additional flour, around 1 to 2 tbsp, to the mixture and make vadas or patties and fry.
- Do not overcrowd the pan while frying sabudana vadas.
- Traditionally sabudna vada is deep fried. If you want to make it healthy do read this entire post. I have also shared details on sabudana vada in air fryer and appe pan or paniyaram pan.
Nutrition
Calories: 85kcalCarbohydrates: 12gProtein: 1gFat: 4gSaturated Fat: 0.3gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.01gSodium: 52mgPotassium: 100mgFiber: 1gSugar: 1gVitamin A: 36IUVitamin C: 5mgCalcium: 6mgIron: 0.4mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!
If you like this Sabudana Vada or Sabu Vada or Sago Tikki
Check out some other recipes for fasting, upvas or vrat during Navratri, Ekadashi, Ganesh Chaturthi, Sankashti, Shivratri, Sai Guruvar, varalaxmi vratam
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rups
but rice flour cannot be used during fast..what should be use in place of rice flour..
Kushi
I have added it for additional binding and making it crispy. You can add in all purpose flour or corn flour or kuttu ka atta on fasting days.
bhavyareddy
nice snack i didn't it yesterday in my house my husband liked it very much ??