sabudana vada

A mental block. I hit one for this post….writing and rewriting and then deleting.  Because I was having a hard time articulating yet another food memory without having it sound repetitive.  I couldn’t bring myself to give up though…especially for these deliciously crunchy and very moreish fritters made of tapioca pearls and potatoes.  Maybe I should say faux fritters since they aren’t deep-fried, but made in the special aebleskiver/appe pan with just a few drops of oil.  Which makes one pick up a few more since they come with no guilt attached 🙂

During my middle and high school years, we moved from Bombay to a smaller industrial town in Maharashtra where my dad was transferred to set up a new factory.  We lived in a sub-division or colony as it was called, close to the factory but far from the city.  No school bus service to that area and no real grocery stores either.  So we would go by car into the city and then ride the school bus to school which was in the furthest part of town.  My mother would often time her trips to the city so that she could pick us up from the bus stop after her grocery store visit.  Sometimes, the fruit and vegetable shopping was done after picking us up and we would wait in the car with the driver while she shopped at the farmer’s market.  Our driver used to park the car strategically at the entrance of the market, right next to this push cart with a huge cast-iron kadai (wok) that fried up batches upon batches of giant sabudana vadas.  They must have been really good because there was always a throng of people but we wouldn’t know, since my parents were quite suspicious of the hygiene of food made in such open air surroundings.  Bored, hungry and with a few squabbles with my little sister thrown in, it was agony to watch the man serve those vadas along with some peanut chutney on the side!  But eventually, my mother learned to make them from friends and when I started cooking, so did I.

I always knew that tapioca pearls were very starchy and thought they were some kind of a seed or grain. It was only much later that I discovered they were man-made from the cassava root.  In Maharashtra, the pilaf-like sabudana khichdi and the fritters, vadas are very famous.  Both having peanuts, green chillies,lemon juice and cilantro.  A must during fasting, they are also a popular snack and street food.

I recently came across a few recipes for making them in the appe pan instead of deep-frying and it was an opportunity to try something new that I couldn’t pass up.  And I am so happy I did, because these are just as good as the deep-fried version.  Crispy and crunchy on the outside and soft inside.  The tapioca pearls on the crust become puffy and crisp when they hit the hot pan and have a wonderful popcorn-like airiness to them.  I also added some carrot and fresh spinach….just to make them a bit more nutritious and skipped the small amount of sugar in the traditional recipe, since the carrots give a natural sweetness.

I know I have more than one recipe on the blog using this special pan and I am hoping that it will convince you to get one too.  Even if you have told yourself that you don’t need yet another pan.  It is so versatile and one can make lower fat versions of many dishes.  Including little pizza puffs that are stuffed with cheese and toppings …….a recipe I will save for another day!  In the meantime, I do hope you try making these vadas….and have them preferably with a cup of strong chai on the side 🙂

(Makes 20-24 vadas)

1 cup sabudana (tapioca pearls)*

1 medium potato, boiled and grated ( approx. 1 cup)

1/2 cup peanuts, roasted and ground very coarsely (I use the ready made dry-roasted, unsalted peanuts)

1/2 cup carrot, finely grated – optional

1 cup fresh spinach, loosely packed and chopped fine- optional

1 cup cilantro, finely chopped

1 tsp lemon juice

1 Thai green chili, chopped finely

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper powder

salt

oil for cooking

Rinse the tapioca 2-3 times.  Drain and add just enough water so that it comes to the top.  You should see the top glisten with the water.  Cover and keep aside for 2 hours.

After a couple of hours, fluff it up and sprinkle 2-3 tsp more water and keep aside again for 3-4 hours.  At the end of this, the tapioca pearls should have puffed up and become soft but not pasty.  When you press a pearl between the fingers, it should flatten out easily.

Add the peanut powder to the tapioca pearls and mix well.  It should form a mixture that is free-flowing.

Add the boiled potato, chopped cilantro, green chili, carrots and spinach (if using), salt, lemon juice and cayenne pepper powder.

Mix well and take about a tablespoon of the mixture and form balls.  Wet your palms often so that it doesn’t stick to your hands.

Heat the pan on medium heat and add 2-3 drops of oil.  Once the pan is heated, add a ball to each well.  Cover and cook on med-low heat for about 2 minutes.  Cook on medium-low to low the entire time to prevent them from burning.

Make a 1/4 turn with the tip of a knife and cover.  Cook for about a minute.  Repeat a couple more times but this time uncovered, adding a drop of oil again on the last turn.  I know it does need some tending but the upside is that it cooks fairly quickly and uses very little oil.

Once it is golden brown on all sides, remove and keep on cooling rack while the next batch is cooking.  This helps them stay crunchy.

Serve with some peanut-coconut chutney on the side.

1/2 cup dry-roasted peanuts

1/2 cup fresh coconut, grated (I use the frozen one)

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

1 Thai green chili

1 tsp lemon juice

salt to taste.

Blend everything with some water to a smooth paste.

*  The soaking of the tapioca pearls depends on the size and quality.  I get them from the Indian grocery store and am partial to the Swad brand.  Just make sure that the pearls are soft when you press them after soaking and they should not have a hard center.  If the center is still hard, add a few more teaspoons of water and soak again for an hour or two.