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Sabudana Vada (Fried Dumplings of Potatoes and Tapioca)

Sabudana Vada (Fried Dumplings of Potatoes and Tapioca)Sabudana Vada is a delicious snack with a great texture. It is crunchy on the outside and soft inside. This can satisfy just about anybody, even those on a gluten-free diet. This recipe is completely gluten free.

Recipe will serve 4 people.

Ingredients

  • 3 medium potatoes
  • 1/3 cup tapioca (sabudana)
  • teaspoon salt adjust to taste(namak)
  • 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)
  • 1 finely chopped green chili adjust to taste
  • Approximately 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro (hara dhania)
  • 1 teaspoon lemon juice
  • Oil to fry

Method

  1. Wash the tapioca and soak it in 3 cups of water for 3 to 4 hours.
  2. Drain the water. After soaking, the tapioca will have increased in volume, by about 2 times. Set aside.
  3. Par-boil the potatoes, so they are only half-cooked. Insert a knife into the potato to ensure that it is still somewhat firm.
  4. Cool the potatoes, then peel and grate them using a vegetable grater.
  5. Mix all the ingredients together. The dough will be a little sticky and soft in consistency.
  6. Divide the potato dough into 16 parts.
  7. Roll each one into a smooth patty. You will need to lightly oil your palms to prevent the dough from sticking.
  8. Heat the oil in a frying pan on medium high heat. There should be at least 1½ inches of oil in the frying pan. To check if the oil is ready, drop a small piece of dough into the oil. The dough should rise to the surface, and not change its color immediately.
  9. Slowly drop the patties into the frying pan.
  10. Fry the vada until both sides are golden brown. Turn them occasionally. It will take approx. 4 to 5 minutes to cook.
  11. Remove the vada and place over a paper towel so the excess oil is absorbed.
  12. Sabudana vada should be crunchy on the outside and soft inside.
  13. Serve them as is or with cilantro or tamarind chutney.

Tip

The frying oil needs to be sufficiently hot, or else the Vadas will turn out greasy and may break into pieces while cooking.

Serving suggestions

  1. Sabudana Vadas are best served with cilantro chutney or tamarind chutney as a dip.
  2. Vadas taste best when they are served hot.
  3. Sabudana Vadas can be made one day in advance and stored at room temperature. Do not refrigerate. When ready to serve, place on a cookie sheet and heat in the oven at 300 degrees till warm.

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44 thoughts on “Sabudana Vada (Fried Dumplings of Potatoes and Tapioca)

  1. hi mam,

    am trying all your recipes and it comes out well…looking forward for more…..while frying this vada it started breaking for me…what should i do for it…….

  2. Hi Manjulaji,

    Thank you for the recipe.
    Tried this recipe today, but when the frying is done all the contents from inside the sabudana vada comes out. Any solution for this?

    Thanks,
    Mahima

  3. Dear Manjulaji,
    Thank you so much for sharing this recipe!!
    I am in love with these vadas. I have an Indian friend here who does delicious ones. Here in Brazil we are used only to sweet tapioca, it was the first time I had it spicy, and it is so good!!! Now with your help I’ll try doing it myself. Absolutely *wonderful*!!! : )

  4. Manjula’s kitchen is A true miror of indian receipies.the dishes are amazaing.Me and my wife always try some which always go well.As the receipies are nicely presented.Thanks Manjula kitchen.

    1. May be you had more water content – example, the potatoes boiled more or too much water in sabudana? Or if you turn it over too soon, then also they will break. Manjulaji has talked about them in the video.

  5. Hello Manjulaji, thanks so much for all your wonderful recipes.Can you please tell me how long you cook the 3 medium potatoes for? Did you do them in the microwave or on in the pressure cooker? Can you please share the method and time? Thanks much!

    1. Hi Suja,

      I use a Microwave for cooking potatoes. For this recipe since the potatoes should be firm and not over boiled I cook for 15 minutes. My microwave is 750W and I use Medium High setting (last but one) and not High setting (last). You can always pause, check the potatoes with a knife or fork and cook for more time as required if you are using a microwave. You can’t do the same as easily with a cooker cuz it takes time for the pressure to build before it starts cooking, then the pressure to release after you have turned off the heat.

      Cheers,

      Akshatha

  6. We made these for the first night of Chaunkah this year! So delicious, thank you, Manjula! We try to eat gluten-free as much as possible, so these worked well. I think I par-boiled my potato a little bit too much, but they were still excellent. We are in very RURAL America and no chutneys in sight, but spicy mustard was good too. (Yikes! I hope that’s not an offense! 😉 Nice change from the usual latke. 😀

  7. hi Manjula

    What kind of oil do you prefer for frying? The oil looks very clear and clean – wondering what it is.
    Thanks for website – so interesting and helpful!

  8. Thanks Manjulaji for the wonderful recipe.
    I generally make these for vrata and it generally came out quite soft from inside. So I added my own variation of adding equal quantities of potatoes, raw bananas and arbis. like in this recipe -1 medium potato, 1 raw banana and two small arbis. this made the vadas really crisp. arbi helped making the outer crust more crispy while raw banana helped making the inside more compact.

  9. hi manjulaji,
    I have become fan of your recipes.I have tried few of them till now they turn out to be excellent.Best thing is gravies are without onions.
    Please keep up the good work.
    For sabudana vada My tapoica are bigger in size as compared to yours Will they work too?
    anita

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