Sabudana Vada
Typical Maharashtrian-style Sabudana Vada – for a perfect tea-time snack!

My best memories of the sabudana vada date back a few years… I met 2 girls (who would then go on to become good friends) on one of our work assignments and together, and we bonded over free snacks and endless laughter!
And what do you know, the thing that brought us together was our common love for Sabudana Vada! 🙂
So: what the is a Sabudana Vada?
Well, if you’re an Indian, I’m sure you already know. Now, for the rest of you – it is a deep-fried snack made primarily with Tapioca Pearls (a.k.a Sabudana!). Sabudana is also known as Sago / Jevvarisi / Pearl Tapioca.

I can’t begin to explain just how great this snack is! It doubles in size when soaked in water. And when fried, it gets crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside – making it a perfect component for Vadas!
And what is even better? You can make these vadas ahead of time and freeze them. They’re great in the freezer for upto a month! What we usually do is make this in large batches and freeze them up. If you have a party, all you need to do is get them out, deep fry and serve! Please do serve these hot, or else they lose some of their crispiness.

Lastly, if you need to make a healthier version, you can always bake it (at 170 C for 30 minutes or so) or pan-fry it. The sabudana pearls wont puff up as well as they would if you deep fried the vadas, but they’re still pretty tasty.
Here is a video tutorial on how to make the Sabudana Vada –
PrintSabudana Vada
- Prep Time: 8 hours
- Cook Time: 30 minutes
- Total Time: 8 hours 30 minutes
- Yield: 25 pieces 1x
Description
Sabudana Vada is a tasty deep-fried snack from Maharashtra (western part of India). It is primarily made with Tapioca Pearls
Ingredients
- 1 cup Sabudana (Tapioca Pearls / Sago / Jevvarisi)
- 1/3 cup Peanuts
- 2 large Potatoes, boiled & mashed
- 4–8 Tablespoons Coriander or Cilantro leaves, finely chopped
- 2 Tablespoons Curry Leaves
- 4 finely chopped Green Chilli
- 1 teaspoon Cumin Seeds or Jeera, crushed
- 1 Tablespoon Salt (adjust to taste)
- Vegetable Oil, for deep frying
Instructions
- Wash and soak the Sabudana in water just enough to cover it, let it rest for 6 hours or overnight. The Sabudana will soak up the water, get softer and plump up in size
- Add the softened Sabudana to a mixing bowl
- Crush peanuts in a mortar and pestle or a mixer. Add the peanuts to the Sabudana
- Add potatoes, cumin seeds, coriander (or cilantro) leaves, curry leaves, and salt
- Mix everything together with your hands. The mixture will start to form a thick dough-like consistency
- Divide into equal portions. Form tight balls and flatten into patties. Repeat with rest of the mixture
- Heat vegetable oil in a wok or pan with high sides
- Gently drop in the formed vadas (do not overcrowd the pan)
- Fry on medium heat for 4-5 minutes on each side, or until the Vadas turn golden brown and crispy
- Remove, serve hot with coconut chutney, ketchup, or your favorite condiment
Notes
- If you do not wish to deep fry them, then you could bake them in an oven or make them using an air fryer as well
- To make a Jain version of this recipe, replace boiled and mashed potato with raw banana
- Category: Snack
- Method: Deep-Frying
- Cuisine: Indian
Keywords: sabudana vada, tapioca fritters, maharashtrian sabudana vada, deep fried sabudana vada
f you liked this tasty Sabudana Vada recipe, do leave a comment down below with your thoughts! ? You can also have my recipes delivered to your inbox or follow me on social media – YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter or TikTok.
Until next time,
KR
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