Sago Vada / Sabudana Vada

Sago vada reminds me of Ekadasi (Eleventh Lunar day as per Hindu calendar) when a lot of people in India observe a fast. The rules on fasting in India are quite loose and funny and its severity(or lack thereof) ranges from very hard to very friendly. You can eat a 100 different types of food but if you abstain from eating grains and dals you have observed a “legitimate” fast. There are quite a few “fast foods” that are popular and Sabudana vada is one of them. Fasting or not, try these crispy vadas with a cup of garam chai.

1 cup sabudana/sago soaked for about 4 hours. Overnight works too.

3 medium size potatoes

8-10 hot green chilies finely chopped

3 table spoon peanuts, coarsely powdered

1/4 tea spoon jeera/cumin seeds

1/2 bunch chopped cilantro/hara dhaniya

1 sprig curry leaves/kadhi patta/mitho limdo cut into tiny pieces

1 tea spoon red chili powder

salt

Boil and mash potatoes.
Drain all the water from sabudana and add to mashed potatoes. Mix well.
Add salt, jeera, red chili powder, peanuts, cilantro and curry leaves.
Heat 3 cups of oil.
Make 2 inch diameter balls from the dough, flatten it a little in your palm and deep fry in hot oil 6-8 vadas at a time.

Tips:

1. Oil should be really hot when you immerse the vadas. After that, reduce the heat to medium hot and fry on both sides until golden brown in color.

2. Sometime the vadas break in oil if the potatoes and sago are not mixed well or if the oil isn’t hot enough. You can blend the potatoes and sago in a food processor to avoid this problem. It really helps.