Sabudana Vada (sago fritter) is a crispy Indian snack made with soaked sabudana (sago), boiled potatoes, coarsely ground peanuts, and a few other ingredients. Popular during fasting days, these vadas can be deep-fried, air-fried, or cooked in an appe pan. Serve hot with green chutney or tomato ketchup.
Sabudana Vada, also known as sabbakki vada in Kannada, is a crispy Indian snack or appetizer made with soaked sabudana (tapioca pearls or sago), potatoes, peanuts, and spices. It is especially popular during fasting (vrat) days like Navratri, Maha Shivaratri, Ekadashi, Ganesh Chaturthi, and Sankashti. Traditionally deep-fried, it can also be made in an air fryer, appe pan, or oven and served with homemade yogurt, green chutney, or ketchup.
Growing up, my mom made these vadas during the monsoon and served them with hot masala chai. I learned the recipe from her and have shared her tips below. For regular days, you can add onions, curry leaves, and chaat masala for extra flavor.
When I make these sago fritters on regular days, I add finely chopped onions, curry leaves, and chaat masala to the vada mixture to enhance the taste and flavor. You may also enjoy my sabudana kheer, and sabudana khichdi.
If you like this recipe, then check out more Indian Air Fryer Recipes
Jump to:
- Sabudana Vada Ingredients
- How to Make Best Sabudana Vada
- Step 1: Preparation
- Step 2: Making the dough & shaping the vadas
- Step 3: Cook the Sabudana Vada, using one of 3 Ways
- Serving Suggestions
- Make-Ahead & Storage Suggestions
- Tips to Make the Best Sabudana Vada
- Variations
- Frequently Asked Questions
- More Indian Appetizer Recipes
- Sabudana Vada Recipe (Deep Fry, Air Fryer and Appe Pan)
Sabudana Vada Ingredients
- Sabudana: Also known as Tapioca Pearls or Sago. I like to use regular tapioca pearls (sago pearls) in this recipe. They can be easily found in Indian Grocery stores or on Amazon. The soaking time will vary depending on the quality of the sabudana.
- Potatoes: I used boiled and mashed potatoes for this recipe. This helps to bind the vada mixture well.
- Peanuts: I used raw peanuts, which I dry-roasted, peeled, and then lightly crushed in a blender. You may also use store-bought unsalted roasted peanuts to reduce the roasting time.
- Corn starch (or rice flour): helps to soak up excess moisture and makes the vadas crispier. This is optional. When making it for fasting, substitute it with Kuttu ka atta (buckwheat flour) or Rajgira (amaranth flour).
How to Make Best Sabudana Vada
Step 1: Preparation
Rinse ½ cup sabudana 1-2 times and drain. Soak in 2 cups water for 2-4 hours, depending on the quality. Some varieties may need 4-6 hours.
The soaked sabudana should double in size and mash easily between your fingers. Ensure they are fully soaked to prevent them from bursting while frying.
Dry roast ¼ cup of raw peanuts in a pan on medium heat till they get brown spots, and let them cool. You can also roast the peanuts in the air fryer or use store-bought roasted peanuts.
Pulse them into a coarse powder.
If using a stovetop pressure cooker, cook 2 medium potatoes in water for 2 to 3 whistles until they are tender.
After the pressure has been released naturally, drain the water, peel the potato skin, either grate or mash it well and set it aside. (You should get about 1 cup of mashed potato.)
You can also use an instant pot pressure cooker to boil the potatoes. Pressure cook for 4-5 minutes in manual/pressure cook mode and allow natural pressure release.
Step 2: Making the dough & shaping the vadas
In a mixing bowl, combine soaked sabudana, mashed potatoes (about 1 cup), crushed peanut powder, 2 green chilies (finely chopped), 1 teaspoon grated ginger, ½ teaspoon cumin seeds, 1-2 tablespoons cornstarch, 1 tablespoon lemon juice, 2 tablespoons coriander leaves, and salt.
Mix everything well. The dough should be stiff and not soft or sticky. If it is smooth, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of cornflour on regular days or kuttu ka atta if fasting.
Divide the dough into equal-sized balls (around 8-10). Grease your palms with a little oil and make flat vadas like a patty. Keep aside.
Step 3: Cook the Sabudana Vada, using one of 3 Ways
Method 1: Traditional Deep Frying
Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat for deep frying. Carefully add the vadas to the oil.
Deep fry them on medium heat from both sides till they turn golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
Serve sabudana tikkis hot with green coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.
Method 2: Air fryer Sabudana Vada using Instant Vortex Plus Air fryer
I have used Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer for this method. However, you can use an air fryer, which is available. Preheat your air fryer to 395°F (200°C).
Spray or brush the air fryer basket with oil so the vadas don't stick. Now, place the vadas in a single layer and brush some oil on top of them.
Air fry at 395°F (200°C) for 15-18 minutes or until the vadas start browning and turn crispy. Flip the vadas, halfway through and spray some oil on the top.
Once vadas are crispy and golden brown, take them onto the plate and serve air fryer sabudana vada hot with ketchup or green chutney. They should be eaten right away, or else they can turn chewy.
Method 3: Sabudana Vada using Appe Pan
Heat the appe / paniyaram / aebleskiver pan on medium low heat. Add a few drops of oil to each round section.
Next, place the lemon-sized balls in each section and cook for 2-3 mins over medium-low flame.
Turn over each ball, and drizzle a few more drops of oil.
Cover and cook again for another 3-4 minutes until they turn crisp and golden brown.
Serve these Appe pan sabudana vadas or Sago Fritters hot with green chutney or ketchup.
Serving Suggestions
Serve this crispy sabudana vada hot with coriander mint chutney or tomato ketchup and a cup of adrak wali chai for the perfect evening snack.
During fasting days or Navratri days, you can serve this vada with farali chutney or even sweetened yogurt (curd).
Make-Ahead & Storage Suggestions
- Meal Prep: Soak and drain sabudana, boil and mash potatoes, and roast and crush peanuts a day ahead. Refrigerate until ready to use.
- Store: Shape the uncooked vadas and refrigerate until ready to fry. You can also freeze them for up to 1 month. Thaw before frying.
Tips to Make the Best Sabudana Vada
- Know your Sabudana: Soaking time mainly depends on the quality of the sabudana (tapioca pearls), it can vary from 2-4 hours to a few more hours.
- Soak Sabudana well: Perfectly soaked sabudana will double in size, be fluffy, and can be easily mashed between the fingers. If it is not soaked correctly, it can burst in oil and make the vadas hard and chewy.
- Drain Sabudana well: Ensure to drain the water from the soaked sabudana completely using a fine mesh sieve or colander. Otherwise, moisture in the sabudana can make the vadas soggy.
- Add flour: I like to add 1-2 tablespoons of corn flour (or rice flour) to the vada mixture. This helps to bind the mixture, absorb moisture, and make the vada crispier. During fasting, add vrat atta like kuttu (buckwheat flour) or rajgira (amaranth flour).
- Oil Temperature: Make sure to deep fry the vada on medium-high heat. Frying on high heat will quickly brown the vada from the outside and make it undercooked inside. Frying at low temperatures will break or make the vadas oily.
- Bake in an Oven: You can bake sabudana vadas by preheating the oven and baking at 360°F (180°C) for 25-30 minutes.
Variations
- With Onions: On regular days, you can also add finely chopped onions to the vada while mixing it. They taste delicious.
- With Sweet Potatoes: You can swap potatoes with boiled sweet potatoes. However, it will result in a sweeter-tasting sabudana wada.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. Rinsing sabudana 1-2 times under the water, helps to get rid of excess starch and prevents sabudana from sticking to each other.
Soaking time will vary based on the quality of the sabudana. Ideally, it takes 2-4 hours to soak perfectly. Soaked sago pearls should double in size, and be easily mashed between the fingers.
If your vadas are breaking in the oil, it means it has excess moisture or needs more binding agents like boiled potatoes. You may add more boiled potatoes and/or cornstarch (or rice flour) to reduce the moisture and prevent them from breaking.
Improperly soaked sabudana can burst while frying or due to excess moisture, i.e., if you have not drained the sabudana well.
Yes. You can store the leftover soaked sabudana in the fridge for up to 2 days in an airtight container.
Sabudana Vada Recipe (Deep Fry, Air Fryer and Appe Pan)
Recipe Video
Ingredients
- ½ cup sabudana (sago or tapioca pearls)
- 2 medium potatoes boiled & mashed, (about 1 cup)
- ¼ cup roasted & coarsely crushed peanuts
- 2 green chilies finely chopped
- 1 teaspoon ginger grated, optional
- ½ teaspoon cumin (jeera) seeds
- 1-2 tablespoons corn starch (or rice flour or kuttu ka atta if fasting), optional
- 1 tablespoon lemon juice
- 2 tablespoons coriander leaves finely chopped
- salt to taste
- oil for frying
Instructions
Preparation:
- Rinse the sabudana 1-2 times and drain all the water. Next, soak the sabudana in 2 cups of water for 2-4 hours (time may vary based on the quality of sabudana. I soaked mine for 2 hrs). Some need only 2 hours while other need 4-6 hours.They will double in size after soaking, and you can easily mash them between your fingers. Also, make sure they are soaked well else unsoaked sabudana may burst in oil.
- Dry roast peanuts in a pan on medium heat till they get brown spots, and let them cool. You can also roast the peanuts in the air fryer or use store-bought roasted peanuts.
- Pulse into a coarse powder.
- If using a stovetop pressure cooker, pressure cook the potatoes in water for 2 to 3 whistles.After the pressure has released naturally, drain water, peel the potato skin, mash it well and keep aside.You can also use an instant pot pressure cooker to boil the potatoes. Pressure cook for 4-5 minutes in manual/pressure cook mode and allow natural pressure release.
- Take soaked sabudana, mashed potatoes, peanut powder, chilies, ginger, cumin seeds, corn starch, lemon juice, coriander leaves, and salt in a mixing bowl.
- Mix everything well. Also, make sure the dough should be stiff and not soft or sticky. If it is smooth, you can add 1-2 tablespoons of cornflour on regular days or kuttu ka atta if fasting.
- Divide the dough into equal size of balls (around 8-10). Grease your palms with little oil and make flat vadas like a patty. Keep aside.
Traditional Deep Frying:
- Heat the oil in a pan on medium-high heat for deep frying. Add the vadas into the oil very carefully.Fry them on medium heat from both sides till they turn golden brown. Drain on a paper towel.
- Serve steaming hot vadas with green coriander chutney or tomato ketchup.
Using Air Fryer:
- I have used Instant Vortex Plus Air Fryer for this method. However, you can use an air fryer which is available.
- Preheat your air fryer to 395°F (200°C).
- Spray or brush the air fryer basket with some oil, so the vada doesn't stick. Now place the vadas into a single layer. Brush some oil on top of the vadas.
- Air fry at 395°F (200°C) for 15-18 minutes or until the vadas start browning and turn crispy. Flip the vadas, halfway through and spray some oil on the top.
- Once vadas are crispy and golden brown, take them onto the plate and serve air fryer sabudana vada hot with ketchup or green chutney.They should be eaten right away, or else they can turn chewy.
Using Appe Pan:
- Heat the appe / paniyaram / aebleskiver pan on medium low heat. Add a few drops of oil to each round section.Next, place the lemon-sized balls in each section and cook for 2-3 mins over medium-low flame.
- Turn over each ball, drizzle a few more drops of oil. Cover and cook again for another 3-4 minutes until they turn crisp and golden brown
- Serve these vadas hot with green chutney or ketchup.
Notes
Tips to Make the Best Sabudana Wada
- Know your Sabudana: Soaking time mainly depends on the quality of the sabudana (tapioca pearls), it can vary from 2-4 hours to a few more hours.
- Soak Sabudana well: Perfectly soaked sabudana will double in size, be fluffy, and can be easily mashed between the fingers. If it is not soaked correctly, it can burst in oil and make the vadas hard and chewy.
- Drain Sabudana well: Ensure to drain the water from the soaked sabudana completely using a fine mesh sieve or colander. Otherwise, moisture in the sabudana can make the vadas soggy.
- Add flour: I like to add 1-2 tablespoons of corn flour (or rice flour) to the vada mixture. This helps to bind the mixture, absorb moisture and make the vada crispier. During fasting, add vrat atta like kuttu (buckwheat flour) or rajgira (amaranth flour).
- Oil Temperature: Make sure to deep fry the vada on medium-high heat. Frying on high heat will quickly brown the vada from the outside and make it undercooked inside. Frying at low temperatures will break or make the vadas oily.
- Baking in an Oven: You can bake sabudana vadas by preheating the oven and baking at 360°F (180°C) for 25-30 minutes.
Variations
- With Onions: On regular days, you can also add finely chopped onions while mixing vada. They taste delicious.
- With Sweet Potatoes: You can swap potatoes with sweet potatoes. However, it will result in a sweeter-tasting sabudana wada.
- Spices: You may also use red chili powder to make it extra spicy, when you are not fasting.
Nutrition
★ Like this recipe? FOLLOW ME on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and Youtube for more quick & easy recipes.
Anonymous
yummy
bhavana
Thank you 🙂
Sonuja
awsome recipe ,turned out nice in airfryer
bhavana
Thank you Sonuja