Sabudana Wada ( Fritters made from Tapioca pearls).

Sabudana ( tapioca pearls) is one of the most commonly consumed item during fasting. Sabudana is basically tapioca pearls. Sabudana can be used to make kheer ( pudding), khichidi , thalipeeth ( pancakes), idlis and wadas. For all these items, Sabudananeeds to be soaked in water for 3-4 hours first and is then used. Dry Sabudana pearls are hard and therefore inedible. Soaking it in water makes it soft , tender and edible. Today, I am sharing with you the recipe for Sabudana wadas that is super-easy, quick and delicious.

Servings: makes around 6-8 wadas

Prep time: 3 hours ( includes soaking time)

Cook time: 10 mins 

Total time: 3 hours & 10 mins

Ingredients:

Sabudana: 1/2 cup
Potato: 1 medium sized
Green chillies: 2-3, finely chopped
Cumin powder: 1/4 tsp
Coriander leaves: 1 tbsp, finely chopped
Crushed peanut halves: 2 tbsp ( optional)
Salt/rock salt/ sendha namak: 1/8 tsp
Sugar: 1/2 tsp
Oil for frying or greasing the appe pan.
Water: for soaking Sabudana and boiling potato.

Method:

Soak Sabudana for 3-4 hours with just enough water to cover it.

Boil whole potato with skin, in water, until tender enough to mash, around 10-15 mins.

When the potato has cooled, remove from water, peel, dice and mash it coarsely without adding any water.

To this add chopped green chillies, cumin powder, salt, sugar, soaked and drained Sabudana, coriander leaves, crushed peanuts and mix well to make a dough.

Pinch lemon sized portion of dough and shape it into a ball. Gently pat it down to shape it into a patty. 

Do this with all available dough and keep aside.

You can fry it using the deep-fried method or the using the appe pan ( healthier version). If using the appe pan, don't flatten the ball too much.

For deep-fried version:

Heat oil on medium heat in a small wok/ frying pan. 

Once the oil is hot enough, add the prepared patties into the oil.

 Do not drop more than 2-4 at a time as it will overcrowd the pan. If overcrowded, it will not fry well.

Fry for 2-3 mins on one side or until golden brown. 

Flip and fry for 2-3 mins on the other side. Drain onto paper towels.

Serve hot with a chutney of your choice.

Appe pan method: ( healthier version)

Heat the appe pan on medium heat. 

Grease the appe pan thoroughly. 

Place the prepared balls of dough into the indentations in the pan. 

Cook for 3-4 minutes on each side or until cooked thoroughly.

Serve hot with a chutney of your choice.

Enjoy.

Cooking made easy:

How do you know if your oil is hot enough??
If you drop a little drop of batter into the oil, it should come up and float on top of the oil. This means the oil is at the right temperature.
If the batter sinks, the oil is not hot enough.
If the oil is smoking, then the oil is too hot and most likely will burn the food.

Tip for healthy living:

Any given day, cooking something in the appe pan is healthier than deep-frying as the appe pan uses less oil and therefore the calorie content of the food item is less.

Food for thought:

True friendship is like sound health; the value of it is seldom known until it is lost. Charles Caleb Colton

Doodhpak (Sabudana Kheer/ Tapioca Pudding)

Ever since I can remember, every year my mother made this delicious dessert on my birthday. The reason being that out of all the Indian desserts, this one used to be my favorite.Today is my birthday. I was nostalgic, being that my mother is thousands of miles away. I decided to make this dessert for myself:) . Usually kheer is made with rice and milk or vermicelli and milk. I like it best with Sabudana or tapioca pearls which is known as Doodhpak in konkani. This is a traditional konkani dessert. "Doodh" means milk, and "Pak" means thick syrup, in Konkani. This one is a little difficult to make just because it takes a long time to cook sabudana and one has to constantly stir the sabudana(tapioca pearls) while cooking as otherwise it will stick to the bottom of the pot and get burnt very easily. Even a little bit of burnt Sabudana  completely ruins the flavor of the dish! Generally kheer is white in color while doodhpak( Sabudana kheer) is made yellow in color by dissolving saffron in warm milk. The recipe is really simple as given below.

Servings: 6

Ingredients:

Sabudana ( tapioca pearls) : 1/2 cup
Water : 2 1/2 cups
Milk : 1 cup
Sugar : 1/2 cup
Cardamom powder: 1/4tsp
Cashew halves: 1 tbsp
Raisins: 1 tbsp
Saffron: 4 strands

Method:

Wash the sabudana until all starch is gone. 

Put it in a saucepan with 2 1/2 cups water and bring it to a boil. Once it comes to a boil, reduce the flame to low and let it cook, stirring constantly until the white sabudana(tapioca pearls) turn transparent.

This should take about 30-45 minutes.

Now add sugar to the sabudana and switch off the flame.

Warm milk on stove/ microwave to lukewarm. Take 2 tbsp in a small cup and mix the saffron threads in there. Keep it aside for 10-15 minutes.

Add this milk to the sabudana-sugar mixture.

Now add the freshly powdered cardamom.

Heat ghee in a small frying pan and sauté the cashew halves and raisins until golden brown.

Garnish the Sabudana Kheer with this mixture.

Serve hot or cold. Both taste yummy!

Enjoy!

Cooking made easy:

Do not cut onion or garlic on wooden cutting boards. It retains the smell of onion/ garlic. Maintain separate boards to cut onion/ garlic.

Tip for healthy living:

Cardamom is a commonly used spice in Indian desserts . It is known to have significant health benefits especially for the digestive system. It is supposed to help with heartburn, gas, constipation, liver and gall bladder complaints. It helps prevent nausea too.  It is also known to be useful during common cold.

Food for thought:

Love is the energy of life. Robert Browning