Sabudana Wada with Sweet Potato

Savory, Nutritious Sabudana Wada is Indian snack eaten especially during the fasting season. Vrat or Upaas special

Guilt free, healthier version of  the popular snack- Sabudana Wada with Sweet Potato adds extra flavor and nutrition. Vrat or upaas special!

Savory Indian snack especially during the fasting season. Vrat or Upaas special
Sabudana Wada with Sweet Potato

According to the Hindu calendar, it is Adhik Maas. Literally translated, adhik is extra and maas is month. This is a brilliant way devised in the Hindu calendar to sync the lunar and solar calendars so Adhik Maas appears every 32 months, 16 days and approximately 8 hours.

This is a month of fasting, praying, performing pujas or religious ceremonies and going on pilgrimages. Some people fast with no food at all for the entire day or half a day and some fast eating only certain foods that are ‘allowed’ to be eaten during fasts.

Foods made with small sized tapioca pearls called sabudana is one such food group. Sabudana wada is a popular snack that is eaten during fasts as well. Traditionally, it is made with soaked and drained sabudana or tapioca pearls, potatoes and peanuts and flavored with cumin seed and green chili peppers. The mixture is then made into ‘wadas’ and deep fried.

There are restaurants that are very popular for their sabudana wadas and even people like me who did not fast, flocked these places to eat the sabudana wadas.

In my quest to make them healthier and guilt free, I have made them in the aape or ebelskiver pan and replaced the potatoes with yams or sweet potatoes. We are hooked on the medium sized sweet potatoes available at Trader Joes in 2 or 3 pound bags. The yams lent a beautiful color and taste to the sabudana wadas and they were gone before I could take pictures! I had to make a second batch just to get some photos. They were a breeze to make and I wanted to eat more too…so it all worked out!

Savory, Nutritious Sabudana Wada is Indian snack eaten especially during the fasting season. Vrat or Upaas special
This is how the mixture looks before cooking.
Savory, Nutritious Sabudana Wada is Indian snack eaten especially during the fasting season. Vrat or Upaas special
Sabudana Wada with Sweet Poatatoes- healthier, more nutritious version of the traditional favorite!

Sabudana Wada with Sweet Potatoes

  • Servings: 14
  • Difficulty: easy
  • Print

Ingredients-

  • 1 cup small sized tapioca pearls or sabudana
  • 1 medium sweet potato/yam
  • ½ cup crushed roasted peanuts
  • ½ teaspoon roasted cumin seed powder
  • ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
  • ¼ ~ ½ teaspoon red chili powder
  • 1 ½ tablespoon tapioca starch
  • Salt to taste
  • Sliced green chili pepper or jalapeno, optional
  • About 1 tablespoon oil

To make the Sabudana Wada with Sweet Potatoes-

  1. Rinse the sabudana/ tapioca pearls in several changes of water and drain all the water except about a tablespoon of it. Cover and let sabudana soak for a minimum of 4 hours or overnight.
  2. Cook the sweet potato, peel and mash.
  3. In a bowl, combine all the soaked sabudana with the mashed sweet potato, crushed peanuts, cumin seed powder, cumin seeds, red chili powder, tapioca starch and salt.
  4. Divide into 14 and make balls. If desired add a sliced chili pepper or jalapeno.
  5. Heat the aape/ ebelskiver pan with a drop of oil in each indentation. Reduce heat to low. Add the sabudana wada balls, cover and let them cook for about 2 minutes. Turn, add another drop of oil to each indentation and cover and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes, or until the sabudana wadas are crisp on the outside and cooked inside.
  6. Repeat with the next 7 wadas.
  7. Enjoy!

Have a great weekend all!

Love,

❤

Sandhya

92 thoughts on “Sabudana Wada with Sweet Potato”

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    1. Thanks Arv, They are a very popular snack in Maharashtra. My version is not deep fried and I substituted sweet potato for the usual potato.

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      1. Some of us are a lot more conscious today about eating healthy but when I look at how people queue up outside shops selling deep-fried street food, I wonder if it’s a fad!
        Keep innovating, Sandhya! 🙂

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    1. Thanks Archana! I really liked the taste of sweet potatoes in it. D give it a try.
      How was the fb conference?

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  16. It’s great to learn about Adhik Maas! This recipe sounds incredible. I love the thought of sweet potatoes with tapioca starch and all those lovely spices.

    Liked by 1 person

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  22. Sabudana vada with sweet potato sounds so healthy and flavorful Sandhya..loved the idea of making them in paniyaram pan..such a lovely share for Adhik Maas !

    Liked by 2 people

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    2. Pavani I liked your Sesame mushroom tofu and asparagus stir fry but could not comment on it on your blog.

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  28. First I love the Sabudana vada using with sweet potato sounds so yummy. Loved this oil free, guilt free and healthier version of Vada.

    Liked by 1 person

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  29. Definitely a guilt free snacks, sabudana vada with sweet potato sounds absolutley interesting. Feel like munching some with some spicy chutney.

    Liked by 1 person

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  47. Wow, low fat sabudana vada that too with sweet potato – that sounds both healthy and delicious. They look crispy and inviting. Thanks for sharing the recipe.

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  48. How wonderful to use sweet potato instead of the normal potatoes, Sandhya. Lovely tempting fasting food. I can’t remember the last time I fried sabudana wada as I too use the appe pan. A guilt free indulgence as they are not oily.

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  49. Wonderful healthy recipe especially for fasting days.. I love the idea of using sweet potato in Sabudana Vada. Pics are tempting me to try these soon.

    Liked by 1 person

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  50. What a brilliant idea to use sweet potato in sabudana vada. The appe pan is a blessing as we don’t have to deep fry. We love sweet potato and the flavors would be perfect. And those jalapeno pepper peeking out makes me drool!

    Liked by 1 person

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    1. Jeena, I am sorry about the delay in replying. there was a problem with my site. 1 tablespoon of water worked for me but I know that sabudana packets differ.So if you use more water please do so. We want well soaked sabudana for the wadas to taste good.

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      1. Thanks for the clarification Sandhya. I didnt know there were different kinds of Sabudana. I tried with 1 tbsp first, but mine was still dry so i ended up adding more water to get it soaked.

        Liked by 1 person

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