Coming from a Singaporean-Chinese background, I have always associated sago with sweet dishes. Thanks to my Indian friends, I learnt a new dish that uses sago, and it’s savoury too! These sabudana vada or sago potato patties are crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside. They look great, taste delicious, and have a very interesting mouthfeel. I love them!
Sago is called sabudana in India and it is a common ingredient used during fasting. Fasting in the context of Hinduism is not the same as in other religions. When devout Hindus fast, they may skip only one or many meals. Meat-eaters may eat only vegetarian food. While others may choose to avoid alliums, lentils, pulses, or grains. The idea of fasting in Hinduism is to cleanse the body and be spiritually more connected to consumption. In these times, sabudana is a perfect ingredient as it is gluten-free and naturally a source of light carbohydrates.
Sabudana vada are great tea-time snacks and perfectly paired with a cup of hot chai. They are normally served with green (coriander) chutney, amchur (sour mango) chutney, tomato sauce, or all of the above.
Tips
- Leave out the chillies if preparing for kids.
- For more crunch, use more sago. For a softer patty, use more potato.
- I added 1 tbsp of rice flour so it binds better. If you don’t like it too sticky, you can leave it out.
- Add the sago to the mashed potato while it’s hot so they bind better.
- Shaping the patties while the mixture is warm. It will be sticky! You can wear gloves or oil your hands if you like.
- Resting the patties after shaping will let them bind and hold their shape better.
Ingredients
- Green Chutney
Instructions
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Wash and soak the tapioca sago in a big bowl of water for at least 2 hours until they double in size.
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Toast the peanuts in the pan.
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Use a blender on pulse to crush the peanuts, or have some anger management therapy by doing it in a bowl with a rolling pin.
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Boil potatoes until soft.
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Mash with a fork.
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Mix the hot mashed potato, crushed peanuts, drained sago, green chillies, coriander, cumin, sugar, salt, and lemon juice all together.
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Then add the rice flour and mix again.
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Make sure everything is well mixed. It should be quite sticky now.
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Shape into 10 patties. Leave to rest 15 minutes.
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Heat two fingers depth of oil in a large and deep saucepan until very hot. Drop a small amount of mix into the oil, if it bubbles, the oil is hot enough. Carefully slide your patties into the pan. Be careful not to overcrowd the pan.
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Remove when golden brown. (I ran out of gas halfway through so some of mine are less golden than ideal.) Serve hot with green chutney!
Green Chutney
- Blend everything together except the desiccated coconut and lemon juice. Mix them into the blended mixture.
