Sweet Potato and Tapioca Cakes or Fritters (Sabudana Vada)

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March 7, 2015

Amidst all of this, I just heard some news about someone breaking up! It filled me with a sense of melancholy. Somewhere, it rustled back memories of the first time I had made this Sabudana Vada. In their original potato version. This medley is fun as well. Another fun recipe is this sabudana or tapioca stir fry.

My Sabudana Vada Story

This recipe is picked up from an old cookbook somewhere and made for my father. Crisp, crunch filled with the citrus like flavors of curry leaves, nicely spiked with green chilies and fresh cilantro leaves. I serve them with ketchup and every time I make them I think of my father.

The Sweet Potato Modification

Today’s recipe modifies the original just a little to make it healthy enough to even be considered a side dish with a meal. I have added some chickpea flour as a binder since sweet potatoes are not quite as starchy as regular potatoes. In this recipe I add amchur or dried mango powder to neutralize some of the sweetness.

I have dealt with so many little things over the past couple of days, I cannot believe that it is Tuesday. The fact that my Monday started with a hangover, did not help my case. LOL! There is a lot of excitement and work building up to the release Spices and Seasons, and I do hope everyone is keeping it in mind for a gift or their next cookbook.

Well, the highlight of my weekend was actually making a couple of recipes (two from the book) and a random sweet potato variation of these classic crisp and savory tapioca spiked cakes.

Sweet Potato and Tapioca Fritters

Prep Time: 1 hour

Cook Time: 20 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour, 20 minutes

A healthier remake of the classic potato and tapioca savory cakes, this one made with sweet potato.

Ingredients

1/2 cup tapioca seeds or pearls (not instant)
1 large sweet potato (about 1 pound)
1 medium sized russet potato
1 tablespoon amchur (dried mango powder)
1 medium sized red onion, diced
11/2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
10 -15 curry leaves, chopped
3 green chilies, chopped
salt to taste
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
3 tablespoons chickpea flour or besan
Canola oil for frying

Instructions

Soak the tapioca pearls in 1 cup of hot water for at least 1 hour.
In the meantime, quarter the potato and the sweet potato and boil them for about 20 minutes, until soft.
Drain the tapioca and place in a mixing bowl. Cook the sweet potato and potato, peel and place in the same mixing bowl and mash coarsely.
Add in the red onion, ginger, curry leaves, green chilies, salt and the cilantro and mash well until evenly mixed. Mix in the chickpea flour and mix well.
Shape the mixture into 3 inch cakes.
Place the oil in a large skillet to a depth of about 3 inches and heat until a dropped crumb rises to the surface.
Place the cakes in batches (leave enough room to turn without crowding). Cook each side undisturbed for about 3-4 minutes. Carefully remove the cakes, drain on paper towels and serve with chutney or ketchup.

Notes

You can substitute lemon or lime juice (about 2 tablespoons) for the amchoor or dried mango powder and increase the chickpea flour or besan by 11/2 tablespoons.

https://spicechronicles.com/sweet-potato-tapioca-cakes-fritters-sabudana-vada/