Crisp on the outside, soft inside, Sabudana vadas are a Maharashtrian snack savoured by people all over India, especially during Navratri and other fasting days. Flavoured with some spices, coriander and peanuts to add texture, these are a feast during fasting. Sabudana or Sago or Tapioca pearl is made of tapioca. It is gluten free, light on stomach and an excellent source of carbs to keep you energised while fasting. They go perfect with mint, coriander & yoghurt dip or chutney.

The key to making these vadas healthy is to skip the usual frying. Like choosing the right ingredients is essential to staying healthy, so is choosing the right cooking method. Avoiding or substituting deep frying when cooking is very essential if your goal is to detoxify in Navratris or fasting days.

I made these Sabudana Vadas made using lesser quantity of boiled potatoes and cooked them in Paniyaram/ Appe pan to cut on oil and much calories from the deep fried variant while still keeping them crisp.

Servings: 4 (16 vadas)
Calories: 350 per person
Preparation Time: 10 minutes + Soaking Time
Cooking Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Sabudana/ Sago/ Tapioca Pearls
• 1-2 Boiled Potato, grated
• ½ cup Peanuts, roasted & crushed
• 1 tsp. Ginger, grated
• 1 tsp. Cumin Seeds
• 1-2 Green Chilies, finely chopped
• 2 tbsp. coriander, finely chopped
• 2- 3 springs Curry Leaves, chopped
• 1½- 2 tbsp. Buckwheat (kuttu)/
• Singhara (waterchestnut)/ Rajgira (amaranth) Flour
• 1½ tsp. Sugar
• ½ tsp. Sendha Salt or to taste
• 1½ tsp. lemon juice
• oil for Cooking/ Frying

Method:

1. Rinse the Sabudana/ Sago in a colander under running water for atleast 2-3 times until you feel that all starch has been rinsed and washed away or till the water draining is no more white or milky.
2. Transfer the washed & drained Sabudana in a bowl and fill it with water about 1 inch above the sabudana or around 1 cup.
3. Cover the bowl and leave the Sabudana/ Sago to soak overnight or atleast 4 hours.
4. In the morning, the Sabudana would have fluffed up and soaked all the water. Drain the Sabudana properly in a colander to remove any left over water.
5. Take the Sabudana in a large bowl and add in all the ingredients except oil. Mix the mixture nicely with light hands till everything is blended well.
6. Divide the Sabudana mixture into 16-18 portions of desired size and shape it into balls.
7. Heat a paniyram pan on low flame with few drops of oil in each cavity.
8. Once the pan is moderately hot, add the prepared balls in each cavity and cook covered on medium flame for 5 minutes.
9. Put few drops of oil on each vada, flip them and cook covered on medium flame for 5 minutes on the other side.
10. Uncover the paniyaram pan and now cook the vadas on medium flame, from all sides, flipping in a couple of minutes till the vadas are crisp and brown from the all sides or about 10 minutes.
11. Take the prepared vadas out on an absorbant paper and serve the Sabudana Vadas hot with some mint coriander chutney and tea.

Notes:

1. Preferably use Peanut oil or Desi Ghee only. Don’t use any seeds oil like sunflower or sesame or mustard, since they aren’t allowed during fasting.
2. You can use less potatoes to make the vadas healthier.
3. Follow the proper soaking method and don’t add water in excess. To check if the sabudana have been properly soaked, press 1 sabudana with your fingers, if it is soft and easily mashes, it is done. Else sprinkle some water and let it soak 30 minutes more.
4. Grate the potatoes instead of mashing to get a better texture.
5. Do not over mix the vada mixture and mix with light hands only, else the potatoes would release their starch, making the vadas wet and gooey from the centre.
6. You can deep fry the Sabudana Vadas, if you don’t have a paniyram pan, on medium flame till the vadas are golden brown from outside.