Sabudana vada (tapioca fritters) are a famous snack originating from the western part of India. They are usually served with green chutney and enjoyed with hot tea and are really a treat on a cool rainy day.
Typically, sabudana vada is deep-fried in oil hence, may not appeal from a healthy diet perspective. My love for this delicacy inspired me to explore a healthier option.
Air fryer sabudana vada was my savior and my experiment was a great success and hence thought of sharing with you all. Hope you will try and love it as well.
Making sabudana vada needs a little bit of planning ahead as sabudana must be soaked for few hours before it is ready to use.
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How long should you soak Sabudana?
First step towards making the vadas is to wash and soak the sabudana for about 8 hours (or overnight). Once washed, soak it in water such that sabudana is completely covered and the level of water is slightly above it.
Bear in mind that sabudana will expand in volume and should ideally soak all the water. The amount of water will also depend on the quality of sabudana.
How to make sabudana tikki (patty)?
The next step is to make sabudana tikki or patty. Make a mixture by adding the boiled mashed potatoes, ground peanuts, chopped serrano peppers, sugar, salt, and cumin seeds.
I prefer using red potatoes as they bind well. Any spicy pepper can be used however serrano peppers give a perfect spicy taste. Peppers can also be adjusted to the desired spiciness level.
If you are able to find deskinned peanuts in the grocery store, they work great, but sometimes I just have to work with the skinned ones. Peanuts can be coarsely ground in a morsel or a blender.
The mixture is then mashed up and I prefer to wear a kitchen glove while doing it as the serrano peppers can cause a burning sensation. The mixture should be like a well-mashed dough ball.
Take a small amount of mixture to make a ball about two inches in size. Roll it between your palms until it is well rounded and smooth. Some people prefer round vadas and some prefer flat sabudana tikki or patty.
To make flat vadas, press the mixture ball between your palms to make a patty about a centimeter thick and smoothen it around the edges.
How to make sabudana vada in air fryer?
Traditionally,
For air fryer sabudana vada
Place sabudana tikki in
How to freeze sabudana vada?
Sabudana vadas can be made in advance and frozen. Uncooked vadas can be frozen for few months. Be sure to use a parchment paper in between two layers else it will be difficult to separate the vadas after freezing.
To cook the frozen vadas in Air fryer, they must be thawed and then cooked at 350 °F. Lot of moisture is lost in freezing and thawing the vadas, cooking at higher temperature will make them very dry.
How to Serve Sabudana vada?
Sabudana vada are served with green chutney or sweet yogurt accompanied with hot tea / beverage. Personally I also love to eat them with a spicy masala powder "jiralu" (made by dear mom).
Don't forget to check out these Indian street food recipes
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📖 Recipe
Sabudana Vada in Air Fryer
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup Sabudana (Tapioca pearls) (soaked in 1 ½ cup water)
- ½ cup Peanuts (coarsely crushed)
- 3 Serrano pepper (finely chopped)
- 1 teaspoon Cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon Salt (to taste)
- 1 tablespoon Organic cane sugar
- 2 Potatoes (medium size, boiled and mashed)
Instructions
- Wash the sabudana thoroughly until water runs clear. Soak it with water, water should be above the sabudana level.
- After about 8 hours, the sabudana will soak up all water and will increase in volume.
- Add all the ingredients - potatoes, cumin seeds, crushed peanuts, serrano peppers, salt, sugar
- Mix everything with hands and mash well.
- Take a small portion, roll it in your palm to make a smooth ball and then press it to make a vada (patty) about 2 - 3 inches in diameter
- Brush the vada with oil on both sides and cook in preheated air fryer at 390 °F for 5 mins on each side. They will be crispy and golden brown.
- Serve the vadas hot with green chutney and sweet yogurt.
Notes
- Sabudana vada can be made in advance and frozen for a couple of months. Using parchment paper between layers will help them not sticking to each other.
- Frozen sabudana vada can be thawed in the microwave and cooked in the preheated air fryer at 350 °F for 5 mins on each side.
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