Sabudana- Potato vada / Tapioca Pearl - Potato Fritters

Another simple but simply delicious snack is the Sabudana-Potato vada. A Maharashtrian delicacy made commonly during fasting, this is a sure winner any time of the year....
Sabudana/Tapioca pearls are very versatile, from savory to sweet, from the simple kichidi to cool cool cold coffee, these tiny gems enhance any dish they grace. Now, I am not even thinking about all the tantalizing dishes made from using tapioca/ kollikazhange/ kappa itself. That would need a totally separate post dedicated to itself.

The following recipe is based on the quantities I used to make these fritters. I normally make smaller batches of these fried munchies as we seem to lose count most of the time.

Ingredients:
Sabudana / Tapioca pearls - 1/4 cup
Potatoes - 2 small sized cubed
Green chili - 1 small copped
Peanuts - 10 to 12
Cumin seeds - 1/2 tsp
Lemon juice - 1/2 tsp
coriander leaves - a few
Salt to taste,
Oil

So as usual we will speed up this making process.Soak sabudana in cold water for 1/2 hr(just enough to soak it) for the amount I have used that was enough. In the meantime, boil the cubed potatoes for 6 minutes in the microwave. While the microwave toast/roast the peanuts for 3 to 4 minutes, and grind to a coarse powder. Mix the peanuts,chili, coriander leaves, cumin seeds, lemon juice, and salt. Cool the potatoes and mash, then add to the mixture. Mix well and finally add the sabudana and gently mix.
make small discs of the mixture, and deep fry in hot oil. Remove when golden in color and crispy.

Sometimes instead of deep frying I like to make it like the aloo tikki, i.e. pan fry with very little oil.. for that you need to heat 1 tsp. oil in a non-stick pan over a very low heat. Once the oil is hot, slowly place in the couple of vadas, and pan-fry on both sides till crisp golden brown, adding couple of drops of oil if required. All fried food taste so much better when you don't have oil oozing out of it ...and it is healthier too.