Sabudana Vada (Crispy Sago/tapioca pearl fritters) is a widely popular snack from Maharashtra especially during the fasting times. These deep-fried vadas are crispy on the outside and soft on the inside with a surprise addition of beet leaves. Serve them hot with green chutney/ketchup and enjoy this mouth-watering snack.

Aha! My all-time favorite snack on any given day is Sabudana Vada! In fact even KR loves it so much that he keeps asking me to prepare it for him. This dish goes back a long way for me. My Maharashtrian neighbor would make this every week. My neighbor aunty would fast every Thursday and sabudana khichdi would be her lunch/dinner. While she made the khichdi for herself, she would prepare garama garam (piping hot) sabudana wada for us, kids. She knew that we all loved this dish and therefore she would make it for all of us every Thursday without fail. My South Indian mom who had never cooked with sabudana or pearl millet before coming to Bombay, too had mastered the art of making perfect sabudana wada from this neighbor. 

That is one of the many perils of living in a cosmopolitan neighborhood! We cross learnt so many different recipes from each other that today those dishes have become an integral part of our routine and it doesn’t feel like it originally didn’t belong to us. Sabudana Wada is one such dish. Like I said before, although it’s a snack from western India, it is enjoyed all over. In fact, my mom even taught her sisters this recipe and they make it back home in Coimbatore (South of India) even today. They absolutely love it. While its supposed to be a dish to be enjoyed during fasting mainly, I have no shame in admitting that I have never fasted to enjoy it. I just make it when ever I feel like eating it. Simple!

The recipe is fairly easy. I however, decided to give it my own twist and added fresh beetroot leaves in the mixture to bring in the green quotient along with some new and different flavor. You need to soak sabudana/tapioca pearls overnight. Pro Tip- The water should be about the same level as the sabudana. 

The next day, the sabudana would be all puffed up and dry. Transfer it to a mixing bowl. Add boiled potatoes, coarsely ground unsalted roasted peanuts, paste of beet leaves and green chillies along with salt. Mix it all together. Shape them as lemon sized balls and deep fry them in hot oil till they turn golden. You can fry them in an appe pan as well if you are watching the calories. But it tastes best when fried and some occasional frying never really hurt anybody!

Beet leaves Sabudana Wadas are ready. Serve them hot with some freshly prepared green chutney/ketchup. You would be interested to know that Sago or sabudana is a food which is full of energy and carbohydrates (no wonder it is the go-to food during fasting). It is extracted from the center of sago palm stems in the form of starch. Also known as tapioca pearls its one of the wholesome diet of starch and carbs. It is one food which possess a high cooling effect in the system and it is quite easy to digest. If you not making Sabudana Khichdi or wada, then you can try to make Sabudana Chakli. Tapioca flour is also used in cooking breads and is easily available in all popular grocery stores. 

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Looking for more inspiration? Check out these delicious appetizers for yourself! Edamame Hara Bhara Kebab, Cheese, Rice & Methi Kebab With Tater Tot Stuffing, Paneer Cheese Corn Balls, Black Rice & Chickpea Fritters, Baked Zucchini Parmesan Chips, Chutney & Cheese Puff Pastry Straws, Puff Pastry Samosa, Spinach & Paneer Puffs, Masala Dal Vada/Lentil Fritters, Bombay Special Vada Pav, Chettinad Kuzhi Paniyaram Recipe and Pathrode | Patra | Colcassia Rolls.