Sabudana Vada is a crispy and addictive popular Indian snack or finger food prepared using sago, potatoes, and a few spices. These fried vadas are crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside. Sabudana Vada is specially made during fasting, vrat, and upvas days like Navratri, Ekadashi, etc.
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Sabudana Vada (Crispy)
Sabudana vada (sabu vada or sago vada) is a vegan and gluten-free Indian snack recipe that is crispy and crunchy. It is served with spicy cilantro chutney and a hot cup of chai. This Maharashtrian snack is traditionally deep-fried, but these days, for health reasons, it is also air-fried, baked, or prepared in an appe pan. Check out sabudana vada in appe pan.
Like sabudana khichdi and sabudana kheer, sabudana vada is mainly prepared during fasting, upvas, and vrat days like Navratri, Ekadashi, Shivratri, sai guruvar, etc. Sabudana vadas are made with sago, potatoes, and a few spices. You can add any spices of your choice.
Check out more sabudana recipes, Navratri vrat recipes for 9 days, and simple Indian vrat and fasting recipes.
Ingredients
Sabudana: Available as sago, tapioca pearls, sabakki, javvarisi, saggubiyyam in any Indian or asian stores.
Potato: Boiled and mashed or raw potatoes grated act as a binding agent
Peanuts or cashew nuts roasted and crushed.
Seasoning: salt, green chilies, ginger, cumin seeds, and cilantro for flavor.
Check out the recipe card for the full list of the ingredients.
Step-by-step instructions
Sabudana vada mixture
- Wash the sabudana in water 2 to 3 times until the water runs clear. This is done to remove the excess starch. Soak sabudana or tapioca pearls in 1 cup water for 4 to 5 hours or overnight.
- When done, take a few pearls between your thumb and forefingers. Press them to see if they are softened and easily mashed.
- Unsoaked sabudana will burst in oil. If it's still hard, soak them for some more time.
- Drain sabudana completely to remove any excess water. Add the soaked sabudana to a bowl. Add the potato, peanut, ginger, green chilies, cumin seeds, coriander leaves, salt to taste, and lemon juice, and mix well. Add flour if needed and mix well. This will help bind and prevent the vada from breaking while frying.
Deep fry crispy sabudana vada
- Heat oil for frying. See that atleast 40 % of the pan is covered with oil.
- Make small balls from the mixture and flatten them to form vada or patties. Keep it aside.
- Once the oil is hot, add the vadas; do not overcrowd the pan. Fry these flattened vadas or patties on medium flame until they become crispy and golden brown on both sides. 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 the picture, be crispy on the outside, and chewy inside.
- Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the process for the remaining mixture.
- Serve hot with Aloo rasedar, mint chutney, or ketchup, and enjoy!
Pro Tips
- Sabudana should be soaked correctly in water. Do a smash test to know if your sabudana is ready for cooking. Press one or two soaked sabudana between your finger and thumb. It should smash easily.
- To avoid soggy sabudana vada, completely drain water from the soaked sabudana.
- Vary the amount of spices as per your taste.
- Oil should not be too hot or cold. If it's hot, the vada will soon become dark; if it's cold, it 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 mixture and see if it sizzles and rises.
- Flour is added mainly to make your vadas crispier. If you prepare this on Navratri or a fasting day, substitute rice flour with corn or buckwheat flour.
- To avoid sabudana from breaking in oil, drop a small piece of dough in hot oil to see if it separates and breaks once the dough is ready. If it does, add flour, around 1 to 2 tbsp, to the mixture, make vadas, and fry.
- Do not overcrowd the pan while frying sabudana vadas.
- Check out our recipe of same sabudana vada made in paniyaram pan.
Sabudana vada with raw potatoes: If using boiled potatoes, make sure they're not soggy. Mushy potatoes will break when frying. Feel free to use raw potatoes, too. Peel the skin of the potatoes and grate them. Squeeze to remove any moisture from the potato and transfer it to a bowl. Then, follow the same steps.
Sabudana vada in air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F.
- Place parchment paper or lightly grease aluminum foil in a basket or tray or grease mesh.
- Place the vadas a few inches apart on a single layer and brush the top of it with some oil.
- Air fry for 10 minutes. Remove the vadas, flip them, apply oil, and air fry again for another 10 to 15 minutes or until crisp and golden brown.
Sabudana vada in oven
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the fries on greased parchment paper and bake them for 25 to 35 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Brush the baked sabudana vada with oil if desired, flipping it halfway through.
Serving suggestions
- Sabudana vada, like any Indian snack, can be served with spicy cilantro-mint chutney, tamarind chutney, coconut chutney, garlic chutney, ketchup, and a cup of chai.
- Serve it with aloo rasedar (a recipe without onion and garlic). This is a perfect combo for Navratri fasting or any vrat day.
Storage
- You can soak the sabudana in advance and, drain and keep it in the refrigerator.
- Sabudana vada mixture can be made in advance and used for up to 2 days.
- Sabudana vadas taste best when served fresh, hot, and crispy. Leftovers can be reheated in an air fryer, and they will become crispy.
Recipe FAQs
Sabudana vada will break in oil if the dough contains excess moisture or the oil temperature is not right.
If excess water is not completely drained off from the soaked sabudana, the dough will contain moisture and break the vada when dropped in oil. To avoid that, once the dough is ready, take a small piece of dough and drop it in hot oil to see if it separates and breaks. If it does, add additional flour, around 1 to 2 tbsp, to the mixture to remove excess moisture, then make vadas or patties and fry.
If the oil is too hot, the sabudana will become brown but remain soggy and uncooked. If the 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 them undisturbed for a few minutes until they firm up and become golden on one side.
More sabudana recipes
Recipe card
Sabudana Vada Recipe | Sago Vada
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sabudana tapioca pearls or sago
- 1 Potato large or two medium, boiled, peeled and mashed
- ¼ cup Peanuts or Cashewnuts roasted and crushed
- 1 inch Ginger grated,
- 2 to 3 Green chilies finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 to 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves chopped
- ½ teaspoon Salt to taste sendha namak for fasting
- 2 tablespoon Flour kuttu ka atta for fasting, optional
- 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
- Oil for frying
Instructions
Sabudana vada mixture
- Wash the sabudana in water 2 to 3 times until the water runs clear. This is done to remove the excess starch. Soak sabudana or tapioca pearls in 1 cup water for 4 to 5 hours or overnight.1 cup Sabudana
- When done, take a few pearls between your thumb and forefingers. Press them to see if they are softened and easily mashed.
- Unsoaked sabudana will burst in oil. If it's still hard, soak them for some more time.
- Drain sabudana completely to remove any excess water. Add the soaked sabudana to a bowl. Add the potato, peanut, ginger, green chilies, cumin seeds, coriander leaves, salt to taste, and lemon juice, and mix well. Add flour if needed and mix well. This will help bind and prevent the vada from breaking while frying.1 Potato, ¼ cup Peanuts or Cashewnuts, 1 inch Ginger, 2 to 3 Green chilies, 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds, 1 to 2 tablespoon Coriander leaves, ½ teaspoon Salt to taste, 2 tablespoon Flour, 2 teaspoon Lemon juice
Deep fry crispy sabudana vada
- Heat oil for frying. See that atleast 40 % of the pan is covered with oil.Oil for frying
- Make small balls from the mixture and flatten them to form vada or patties. Keep it aside.
- Once the oil is hot, add the vadas; do not overcrowd the pan. Fry these flattened vadas or patties on medium flame until they become crispy and golden brown on both sides. 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 the picture, be crispy on the outside, and chewy inside.
- Transfer it to a paper towel to absorb any excess oil. Repeat the process for the remaining mixture.
- Serve hot with Aloo rasedar, mint chutney, or ketchup, and enjoy!
Sabudana vada in air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer to 180 degrees C or 350 degrees F.
- Place parchment paper or lightly grease aluminum foil in a basket or tray or grease mesh.
- Place the vadas a few inches apart on a single layer and brush the top of it with some oil.
- Air fry for 10 minutes. Remove the vadas, flip them, apply oil, and air fry again for another 10 to 15 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown.
Baked sabudana vada
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
- Place the fries on greased parchment paper and bake them for 25 to 35 minutes, or until crisp and golden brown. Brush the baked sabudana vada with oil if desired, flipping it halfway through.
Video
Notes
- Sabudana should be soaked correctly in water. Do a smash test to know if your sabudana is ready for cooking. Press one or two soaked sabudana between your finger and thumb. It should smash easily.
- To avoid soggy sabudana vada, completely drain water from the soaked sabudana.
- Vary the amount of spices as per your taste.
- Oil should not be too hot or cold. If it's hot, the vada will soon become dark; if it's cold, it 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 mixture and see if it sizzles and rises.
- Flour is added mainly to make your vadas crispier. If you prepare this on Navratri or a fasting day, substitute rice flour with corn or buckwheat flour.
- To avoid sabudana from breaking in oil, once the dough is ready, drop a small piece of dough in hot oil to see if it separates and breaks. If it does, then add additional flour, around 1 to 2 tbsp, to the mixture, make vadas, and fry.
- Do not overcrowd the pan while frying sabudana vadas.
Nutrition
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Note: We originally posted this Maharastrain style crispy sabudana vada recipe in Dec 2015. It has now been modified in Sep 2024 with Expert Chef Tips, FAQs, Storage Instructions, etc.
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.