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A plate of air fryer sabudana vada is on the table.
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5 from 10 votes

Sabudana Vada (Air Fryer, Appe Pan, And Deep Fry)

Sabudana Vada is a popular Indian snack made with tapioca pearls (sago), boiled potatoes, and peanuts. With flavorful ingredients, this air fried dish can be great as a tea time snack or as finger food in your next family event.
Prep Time10 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Soaking Time3 hours
Total Time3 hours 35 minutes
Course: Appetizer, Snack
Cuisine: Indian
Diet: Vegan
Allergen: Dairy free, Gluten free
Difficulty: Easy
Servings: 25 vadas
Calories: 43kcal

Ingredients

  • 1 ½ cup tapioca pearl sabudana
  • 1 cup mashed potatoes 2 medium-size potatoes
  • ¼ roasted peanuts
  • 1 green chili chopped
  • ½ teaspoon red chili powder
  • 2 teaspoon ginger grated
  • Salt
  • ¼ teaspoon black pepper
  • 1 strand curry leaves optional
  • 2 tablespoon cilantro chopped
  • Oil for deep fry (if you prefer to deep fry)
  • pinch turmeric powder

Instructions

  • In a large bowl, take 1 ½ cup sabudana grains and soak them underwater for 3 hours.
    1 ½ cup tapioca pearl
  • Drain off the water and let it sit for 30 minutes, allowing them to drain off all excess moisture.
  • Cook potatoes:  In a pressure cooker, add 2 medium-sized potatoes and water enough to cover them. Pressure cook for 2-3 whistles or until they are soft.
  • Peel the boiled potatoes and mash them well in a mixing bowl.
  • Dry roast peanuts: In a separate pan, fry ¼ cup raw peanuts and cumin seeds (Optional) without oil and grind them to a powder consistency. (Alternatively, you can microwave them for 2 minutes or until they are crispy.)
    ¼ roasted peanuts
  • Add drained soaked sabudana, mashed potatoes, crushed peanuts, grated ginger, green chilies, chopped cilantro, black pepper powder, and salt to taste in a large bowl. Mix well.
    1 cup mashed potatoes, 1 green chili, ½ teaspoon red chili powder, 2 teaspoon ginger, Salt, ¼ teaspoon black pepper, 2 tablespoon cilantro, pinch turmeric powder
  • Divide the mixture into portions and shape them into small, round patties. 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.

Air fryer method

  • Preheat your air fryer to 400°F for 2 minutes. Lightly brush or spray oil on the vadas and place them in the air fryer basket.
  • Cook the patties at 400F for 15 minutes, flipping halfway through and spraying a little bit of oil as you flip.
  • Repeat this process until all the vadas are cooked.
  • Crunchy vadas are ready! Let them cool down and enjoy air fryer sabudana vada; It is quick and mess-free.

Pan-frying method

  • Heat a non-stick pan on medium heat. Add one tablespoon of oil for each vada and cook until both sides turn golden brown.

Appe pan method

  • Place an appe pan or appam pan over medium heat and drop a few teaspoons 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 and cook until they turn crispy golden on both sides.

Deep fry method

  • Place a pan with 2”-3” of oil for deep frying. When the oil has heated up, drop the flattened vada or patties one by one and deep fry them until they turn golden. Place them on a paper towel or a wire rack and let them cool.

Notes

  • Proper Soaking time: Make sure to soak the sabudana pearls adequately. Too little soaking will result in hard and chewy vadas while over-soaking can make them soggy. Typically, 3 hours of soaking is ideal for perfect sabudana vadas.
  • Drain Well: Drain the sabudana well to remove excess water after soaking. Any leftover water can make the vada mixture sticky and difficult to handle, making the vadas break while frying.
  • Adjust the spice level by changing the amount of green chilies in the mix,
  • Peanut Texture: While grinding the peanuts, ensure they retain some chunky texture. This will help to get crispy sabudana vada. 
  • Air Fryer Usage: If you use an air fryer, preheat it, and do not forget to flip the vadas halfway. This will ensure even cooking and result in a crispier vada. Use parchment paper for mess-free 
  • Frying Temperature: Whether you are shallow frying, pan-frying, or deep frying, ensure the oil is hot enough before adding the vadas. If the oil is not hot enough, the vadas will absorb more oil and become soggy instead of crispy.

Nutrition

Calories: 43kcal | Carbohydrates: 11g | Protein: 0.3g | Fat: 0.03g | Saturated Fat: 0.01g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.01g | Sodium: 4mg | Potassium: 36mg | Fiber: 0.3g | Sugar: 1g | Vitamin A: 14IU | Vitamin C: 2mg | Calcium: 4mg | Iron: 0.2mg