Sabudana vada is a crisp and tasty snack made with soaked sabudana, potatoes, herbs, and simple spices. It is especially popular during vrat or fasting days, but it also works well as a tea-time snack. You can make it either in the air fryer for a low-oil version or deep fry it the traditional way.
Sabudana, also called sago or tapioca pearls, is commonly used in Indian fasting recipes such as sabudana kheer, sabudana usal, and the famous Maharashtrian sabudana khichdi. You can serve sabudana vada with sweet yogurt peanut chutney, mint cilantro chutney, or coconut chutney.
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How to make air fryer sabudana vada? (Recipe video)
Ingredients
- sabudana - soaked for 4 hours (results in 1 cup sabudana)
- boiled mashed potatoes or sweet potato
- ginger paste or grated ginger
- coriander or mint leaves (Note: Do not use coriander leaves for vrat recipe)
- green chilies - adjust as per taste
- rock salt as needed
- oil for deep frying or 1 tablespoon oil for air fryer
Refer to recipe card for exact measurements and detailed quantities.
Prep sabudana and make the vada mixture
- Wash sabudana well under water until most of the starch is removed.
- Soak it in enough water for about 4 hours or overnight, until the pearls soften and puff up. Drain any excess water and keep the sabudana in a sieve for a while so it does not stay wet.
- Mix together soaked sabudana, mashed potatoes, ginger, green chilies, herbs, and salt. If you are making them for vrat, use mint leaves and sendha namak or rock salt.
- Shape the mixture into 10 to 12 small balls and flatten them gently into patties or vada.
- If the mixture feels soft, c
Air fryer cooking option
Freeze the shaped vadas in the freezer for 4-6 before cooking.
Preheat the air fryer to 180C. Brush the sabudana vadas lightly with oil and place them in a single layer in the air fryer basket.
Cook for 20 to 22 minutes, flipping during cooking and brushing lightly with oil once or twice so they turn crisp and golden on both sides.
If you are cooking frozen vadas, they may need about 5 more minutes. Serve warm with chutney.
Deep fryer cooking option
Heat oil in a wok or kadai over medium heat. To check if the oil is ready, drop in a tiny bit of mixture. If it rises and bubbles gently, the oil is ready.
Deep fry the sabudana vada over medium heat until golden brown and crisp from all sides. Remove and place on paper towel to absorb extra oil. Serve hot with spicy green chutney or sweet yogurt.
Sweet potato variation
You can also make sabudana vada with sweet potato instead of regular potato. For best results, boil the sweet potato, let it cool completely, and then move it to the fridge before using. Chilled sweet potato is easier to shape and holds better.
- Mix the soaked sabudana with mashed sweet potato and other spices.
- Divide the mixture into equal portions and shape into small flat vada.
- Allow them to set in the fridge or freezer if the mixture feels soft.
- Preheat the air fryer to 180C or 355F, brush the vada with oil, and cook them for 20 to 22 minutes. Flip during cooking and brush lightly with oil once or twice.
- If you are using frozen vada, they may need at least 5 more minutes to cook.
What is Navratre and Sawan fasting?
During periods of religious fasting like Navratre, many people avoid grains such as wheat and rice and choose simple ingredients like potatoes, sabudana, and vrat-friendly flours. Sabudana vada is one such popular fasting snack. During Sawan, many people also prepare simple vegetarian fasting foods, especially on Mondays.
Related recipes
air fryer sabudana vada | Sabudana vada recipe
Equipment
- kadai/frying pan (traditional method)
- or air fryer for low oil version
- Mixing bowl
- Sieve
- skimmer spoon / chhana for frying
Ingredients
- ½ cup sabudana soaked for 4 hours(results in 1 ½ cup sabudana)
- 2 medium potatoes mashed and peeled (refer notes) You can use sweet potatoes . for 1 ½ cup sabudana, use ½ cup boiled sweet potato
- 1 tablespoon ginger paste
- 1 tbsp. coriander/mint leaves Do not use coriander during fasting/vrat
- 1-2 chopped green chilies adjust as per taste
- salt as per taste
- 2 tbsp. oil for air fryer
- Oil for deep frying if you are deep frying
Instructions
- Wash sabudana and soak them in enough water for 4 hours to overnight. After soaking, they will swell up and will become double the size.
- Mix together mashed potatoes, sabudana and all dry ingredients.
- Make 6 to 8 balls and then flatten them to make patties or vada.
Frying (Traditional method)
- Deep fry in medium hot oil in a kadai, until golden brown evenly on all sides.
For air fryer version (with potato or sweet potato)
- Freeze the raw vada for few hours or more in the freezer for best results,else allow them to set for some time in the fridge.
- Preheat the airfryer at 180 deg C|355F for 5 minutes.
- Air fry them(straight from the fridge or freezer) for 20-22 mins at 180 deg C, brushing oil for 2-3 times during the cook. Also flip them over once.
- Please note, if you are using frozen vada then it will take atleast 5 minutes more to cook.
- Serve them warm
Video
Notes
Add enough water upto 1 ½ inches above the sabudana.
If the mixture becomes too sticky and soft, add kuttu or rajgiri ka aata.
Oil should be hot enough for frying the vadas.
FAQs
If there is moisture in vadas or oil temperature is not right, it will burst while frying.
Run the sabudana under water 3-4 times,in a sieve until you get clear water. This way you can remove starch.Then soak it with just enough water for 30-40 mins.
Kuttu ka atta or buckwheat flour. Other flours you can use are rajgira ka atta(amaranth flour), singhare ka atta (water chestnut flour).These days people also eat quinoa.
Place sabudana or tapioca pearls in bowl and cover it with enough water. Keep it aside for 3-4 hours until it fluffs up. Drain the excess water by keeping the soaked sabudana in a sieve. If you add less water, it will result in under-soaked sabudana which is still tough to mash. In that case just add more water to the bowl and check after 30 minutes.
Storage
Store them in an air-tight container in the fridge and serve again by shallow frying in a little oil or air frying for 3 to 5 minutes in a preheated air fryer.
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