Sabudana Vada Recipe

Sabudana Vada is a very popular Indian snack made with tapioca pearls (sago), boiled potatoes, and peanuts. With flavorful ingredients, this deep-fried (or pan-fried) dish can be great as a tea time snack or as finger food in your next family event.

this recipe

As the festival and holiday seasons come closer, here’s an awesome recipe for Sabudana vada! Who would say no to fritters on a cold wintery day? So bookmark this recipe for that special day when you are craving crispy fritters during tea time.

As sabudana is rich in complex carbohydrates, it is used to make various dishes as an alternative to rice in India. This is especially true on days that people observe religious fasting. Nevertheless, the crunchy snack is an all-time favorite for me during any time of the year. 

The names for these tapioca pearls can be a little confusing. “Sabudana” or “sagu” or “sabakki” or ‘javvarisi” all refer to the same grain.  The recipe is as simple as it gets but it does have a little bit of prep work involved. But I will show you the steps in detail and you will be able to prepare them in the exact way that I wowed my family.  

All recipes with sabudana involve soaking them in water or boiling them to soften them. Sabudana vada recipe requires the grains to soak in water well over 2 hours to soften them. Missing this step can result in a hard grainy core that could be hard to chew or the vada could end up being too dry. Soaking them is very important to get a crunchy, tasty, and spongy vada that provides a filling feel quickly. 

Pairing options

With seasoning like ginger, cilantro and black pepper, the vada certainly is full of flavor, but the right pairing makes it a delectable combo. I like to time these with tea time as a snack. Pairing with a spicy green chili chutney can be great if you make your vadas not so spicy. Other pairings can be coriander chutney or tamarind chutney.

There are two different ways to cook the batter and I have included detailed instructions for both methods. As long as you use the right ingredients and prep the grains well, the method of cooking does not matter a whole lot and the recipe is definitely worth a try!

Main ingredients

Sabudana 

Potato

Peanuts

Ginger 

Cilantro 

Black pepper

And salt

Tips and variations

• Soaking sabudana is a crucial part in preparing this recipe. You need to soak them for 2-3 hours. 
• Potatoes help in holding the vada intact. So if your vada breaks down during deep frying, just mash another boiled potato and prepare the dough. 
• One alternative to adding potatoes is to add rice flour. Rice flour helps in binding the ingredients together. 
• Be sure not to skip peanuts as they only help in getting a crunchy bite, but also help absorb moisture from the grains.

Method 

In a large bowl, take 1 ½ cup sabudana grains and soak them underwater for 3 hours. Meanwhile peel the skins of 2 boiled potatoes. Grate them and set aside for later. After the grains soak for 3 hours, drain off the water and let it sit for 30 minutes, allowing them to drain off the water completely. 

In a separate pan, fry ¼  cup peanuts without oil and grind them to a powder consistency. In a large bowl, mix the peanuts and grated potatoes to the soaked sabudana grains. 

Follow up with 2 teaspoon grated ginger, ¼  teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 chili, 2 tablespoon coriander leaves, and salt.

Mix well and prep them according to your cooking preference. If you prefer to use the appe pan, make round balls that fit the slots or flatten them like patties to deep fry. Let us look at each method in more detail.

Deep fry method -Place a pan with 2”-3” of oil for deep frying. When oil has heated up, drop the flattened vada or patties one by one and deep fry until it turns golden. 

For appe pan method: Place an appe pan or appam pan over medium heat and drop a few teaspoon of oil in each slot. When the pan heats up, place the vada balls and cover it with a lid.  Turn over the vadas after 2 minutes or so and continue to cook until they turn crispy golden on both sides. 

Finally, serve these crispy sabudana vada fritters warm along with a hot cup of masala tea.

To avoid excess grease, be sure to let the deep fried vadas sit on a piece of tissue paper as it cools down. Using the appe pan is less greasy to begin with.  Appe pan gets you the same taste but a healthier version. My family enjoyed both versions equally well and the fitters disappeared in less than 15 minutes. The trick lies in timing the snacks to tea time and striking the balance between crispy outer and a soft core. I hope your family will enjoy it as much as my family did.

If this recipe interests you, look for similar recipes in my blog such as the

• Sabudana Kheer - Tapioca Pearl Pudding
• Masala Vada - Channa Dal Vada Recipe
• Crispy Bread Vada Recipe
• Cabbage Masala Vada
• Cabbage Kofta - Cabbage Kofta Curry

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📖 Recipe

Sabudana Vada Recipe - Javvarisi Vadai

Uma Raghupathi

Sabudana Vada is a very popular Indian snack made with tapioca pearls (sago), boiled potatoes, and peanuts. With flavorful ingredients, this deep-fried (or pan-fried) dish can be great as a tea time snack or as finger food in your next family event.

5 from 10 votes

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Prep Time:10 mins

Cook Time:25 mins

Soaking Time:3 hrs

Total Time:3 hrs 35 mins

Course :Appetizer, Snack

Cuisine :Indian

Servings 6 people

Calories 51 kcal

Equipment

• Pyrex Glass Mixing Bowl
• Appe Pan OR Appam Pan

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 1 ½ cup sabudana
• ▢ 2 medium-size potato
• ▢ ¼ roasted peanuts
• ▢ 1 green chili
• ▢ 2 teaspoon grated ginger
• ▢ Salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 1 strand curry leaves - optional
• ▢ 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped
• ▢ Oil for deep fry - (if you prefer to deep fry)

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Instructions

 

• In a large bowl, take 1 ½ cup sabudana grains and soak them underwater for 3 hours. Meanwhile, peel the skins of 2 boiled potatoes. Grate them and set aside for later. After the grains soak for 3 hours, drain off the water and let it sit for 30 minutes, allowing them to drain off the water completely.
• In a separate pan, fry ¼ cup peanuts without oil and grind them to a powder consistency. In a large bowl, mix the peanuts and grated potatoes to the soaked sabudana grains.
• Follow up with 2 teaspoon grated ginger, ¼ teaspoon black pepper powder, 1 chili, 2 tablespoon coriander leaves, and salt.
• Mix well and prep them according to your cooking preference. If you prefer to use the appe pan, make round balls that fit the slots or flatten them like patties to deep fry. Let us look at each method in more detail.
• Deep fry method -Place a pan with 2”-3” of oil for deep frying. When oil has heated up, drop the flattened vada or patties one by one and deep fry until it turns golden.
• For appe pan method: Place an appe pan or appam pan over medium heat and drop a few teaspoon of oil in each slot. When the pan heats up, place the vada balls and cover it with a lid. Turn over the vadas after 2 minutes or so and continue to cook until they turn crispy golden on both sides.
• Finally, serve these crispy sabudana vada fritters warm along with a hot cup of masala tea.

Process Shot

Check above for step-by-step pictures (most of my recipes include pictures)

Video

Notes

To avoid excess grease, be sure to let the deep-fried vadas sit on a piece of tissue paper as it cools down. Using the appe pan is less greasy, to begin with.

 

Note: The nutrition values I show here are my best estimates. Please be sure to check your preferred nutrition calculator, if you are relying on accurate calculations in your diet.

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Nutrition

Calories: 51kcal | Carbohydrates: 7g | Protein: 1g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Sodium: 1mg | Potassium: 27mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 1mg

Nutritional information is an estimation only.

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