Recipe: Nandita's No-Fry Sabudana Vadas

Nandita Chaturvedi has a healthier take on the classic deep-fried snack -- No-Fry Sabudana Vadas!

Crispy on the outside and soft on the inside, the vadas are made with soaked sago pearls and minimal oil.

Perfect for fasting, or as a wholesome nashta, a few guilt-free vadas will exhaust your hankering for something chatpata, while keeping your health in mind.

Nandita, a homemaker and food YouTuber, delights in sharing her love for healthy cooking. She hopes her passion for cooking encourages more people to embrace healthy eating habits. Nandita makes her home in the Delhi NCR but her urge to travel often takes her to the hills, where she finds inspiration in the local cuisine and natural beauty.

No-Fry Sabudana Vadas

Serves: 3 to 4

Ingredients

• 1 cup sabudana or sago or tapioca pearls
• 1 large boiled potato, peeled, mashed
• ¼ cup peanuts, dry-roasted and coarsely ground
• 1 green chilly, finely chopped
• ½ tsp jeera or cumin seeds
• ¼ cup chopped green dhaniya or coriander or cilantro
• Ghee or oil
• Salt to taste, about 1½ tsp
• Water, only if needed

Method

• In a bowl, soak the sabudana in water for 4 to 6 hours or overnight.
  Drain and rinse.
• In a large bowl, add the mashed potato, sago, peanuts, green chilly, cumin seeds, green coriander, salt.
  Mix well to make a stiff dough.
• Take small portions of the dough and make 1½-inch diameter balls, and then flatten like vadas.
  Heat a thick-bottomed frying pan or an appe or panyaram pan over medium heat.
  Add a few drops of ghee or oil.
  Place the vadas in the pan.
  Cover and cook over medium-low heat for 4 to 5 minutes on each side or until golden brown and firm.
  Be gentle while flipping, to avoid breaking.
• Serve this healthy snack or appetiser with green chutney.

Editor's Note: Make your own mint chutney. Use Lahu Kapduskar's recipe for Green Mint Chutney.

Nandita lives in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.

• REDIFF FOOD