First, a word on this dish
Nothing in sabudana vada comes from a grain, and that is the reason it is so closely tied to vrat, the religious fasts observed in parts of India where grains, lentils and some other staples are set aside. Sago (tapioca pearls), potato and peanuts are all accepted in many of those fasts. You do not need to be fasting to enjoy it, though. People eat it as an everyday snack because of the contrast between the crisp fried crust and the soft, slightly chewy, pearly interior. Everything depends on soaking the sago correctly, and that is where first attempts so often go wrong, so give the soaking your attention before you think about the frying.
The story behind the dish
Maharashtra is where sabudana vada is most at home. It is a staple of fasting-day cooking there, especially around festivals and weekly observances, and it is also a much-loved everyday snack at street stalls and in home kitchens whether or not anyone is fasting. Sago, which is made from tapioca or cassava root, did not originate in India and arrived fairly recently in food-history terms. It became widely available and popular in Indian kitchens from about the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Its place in fasting cuisine shows how Indian food culture keeps taking in new ingredients and fitting them into existing dietary and religious customs, rather than staying fixed.
The method, in order
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Prep
Soak the pearls with a light hand
Put the sago in a bowl and rinse it a few times, swirling with your hand, until the water stops looking milky. That milkiness is loose starch, and if you leave it in, it glues the pearls together. Pour off the water, then add fresh water only up to the level of the pearls, so they just peek above it. Sago drinks what it needs, and a deep bath turns it to paste. Leave the bowl on the counter for 4 to 6 hours or overnight. A pearl is ready when it looks glassy all the way through and gives when you squeeze it between thumb and finger. If you spot a white dot in the middle, it needs more time.
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Prep
Get rid of every drop of extra water
Here is where many batches are decided. Tip the sago into a sieve and leave it for a quarter of an hour, giving it a shake whenever you walk past. Pearls that are still dripping make a sticky mixture, and a sticky mixture slumps in the pan and soaks up oil. The sago should feel dry on the surface, with each pearl separate from the next.
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Prep
Bring the mixture together
Put the drained sago, mashed potato, crushed peanuts, chilli, ginger, coriander, lemon juice, cumin and salt into one bowl and squeeze it all together with clean hands. A good mixture holds when you press a lump in your palm. If it feels wet and loose instead, work in a spoonful or two of coarsely ground roasted peanuts to take up the moisture. Rice flour is the other option, but keep it out if your fast does not allow grains.
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Assemble
Press into flat discs
Rub a little water on your palms first so nothing clings, then press out discs roughly 2 inches wide. Resist making round balls. Without a jacket of batter, this mixture is slow to warm through, and a thinner disc gets hot in the middle before the outside darkens too much.
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Cook
Fry them in hot oil
Warm the oil until it reaches 170 to 180°C, then lower in a few vada at once, never a crowd. Let them fry for 4 to 5 minutes and turn them once, going by colour: you want a firm, deep golden crust. Nothing inside is raw, so all you are doing is browning the outside and heating the centre.
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Serve
Rest on a rack, then eat
Put them on a wire rack, not paper towels, and bring them out while they are still hot. Cool yogurt with a pinch of sugar and salt, or a peanut chutney, is how most households serve them on fast days.
Ingredient stand-ins
Fasting rules differ from house to house, so before you cook, check what your own observance allows for salt and oil. Sendha namak (rock salt) is the usual choice in place of iodised table salt. On an ordinary day, table salt and whichever neutral oil you fry with are fine.
Making it milder or fiercer
Chilli is the only source of heat in this vada, and because potato and sago are so bland, a little goes a long way. If you are unsure, start with one chilli, taste a pinch of the mixture before shaping, and add more until it suits you.
The slip most cooks make
Pearls with a hard white core are the usual culprit when vada turn out chalky. The sago got too little time, or sat in water that was too deep, and frying cannot fix that, so squeeze a pearl before you mix. If your vada collapse in the oil, look back at the draining step, because wet sago makes a mixture that cannot hold together. And if they come out heavy and oily, the oil was not hot enough when they went in.
Storing what is left
Fridge or counter: You can mix the sago and potato a few hours before frying and keep the covered bowl in the refrigerator, but the same day is best. Left overnight, the mixture turns gummy. Cooked vada will last two days in the refrigerator, though they are at their best straight from the pan.
Bringing it back to life: Crisp them again in a 180°C (350°F) oven or air fryer for 6 to 8 minutes. Avoid the microwave if you can, as it softens the crust and leaves the inside gluey.
Handle with care
Cooked potato is the part to watch. If you boil and mash it ahead of time, chill it quickly instead of leaving it out on the counter. When you fry, keep an eye on the oil and stay in the kitchen. Strain it afterwards, and discard it once it has gone dark or starts smoking sooner than it did when new.