Pan fried Sabudana vada

" Koto deri hoye geyche! I need to make that sabu for b'fast! And it is already 9:30!", I exclaimed.

We were sitting ... no piling up on one another on the bed in the first guest room .... chatting and remicising, the cups of our morning tea and the biscuit jars still sitting on the tray.
I sat snuggled to Jethima. My cousin, her younger daughter, had already taken up my Ma's lap.
Another cousin stands near the bed, threatening and jostling with us for space.
Kakima sat in her usual pose with her legs straight in front of her, leaning on the head rest.
She was already onto her second paan.
Shejo kaku and Ranga kaku half sat, half laid at the other  end of the bed. Jethumoni was the only one who sat properly in a chair by the window.

Our talks were all about memories, of the long gone days at Dadu's house and our childhood stories. Small bits and pieces of memories came up spread a warm blanket all over us.
A lot of what we were talking of does not exist anymore. Neither Dadu, nor Thamma, the house and our recent loss of Bapi and then Didi.
All gone.
Leaving us with memories; just happy memories.

And then I realized how late it was and jumped up to go to the kitchen to make breakfast of the Sabudana Khichdi.
And hearing me exclaim, Ranga kaku jumped up too.

"Sabu?!!"
"Yes!"
"Kar jor holo abar? Boudi tomar? "

I laughed.
Sabu or tapioca pearls means two things to a Bengali ... illness or a fast.
If you have fever, you have sabu cooked in milk. If you have an upset tummy you have sabu cooked in water with a little salt and lemon juice.
Every Bengali's 'ugh' memories of childhood will definitely have this ghost of boiled sabu.
And if there was a puja in the house and the ladies are fasting, they would make a mash of soaked sabudana with fruits and milk or curd.

I assured kaku that nobody is ill and I was just going to cook sabudana for breakfast.
"Eyi na na, ami oi sabu tabu khabo na!" , Kaku was truly worried by now.

I had planned to make the Sabudana khichadi and prayed that he liked it.

While writing about this, I was wondering what recipe to publish as I have already posted the Sabudana khichadi.
And then  I came across a few photographs of the Sabudana vadas that I had made once.

These vadas are not deep fried, as the traditional ones are.
Instead I have brushed them with a little ghee and toasted them on a pan.
They are very crisp on the outside and very soft inside.
Perfect melt in the mouth texture.
And guilt free too.

Need :

Sabudana or Tapioca pearls - 1 cup, soaked overnight in enough water
Boiled potatoes - 1, medium
Roasted and crushed groundnuts - 5 to 6 tbsp
Fresh green chillies - chopped
Red chilli powder
Salt - to taste
Sugar - to taste
Ghee - to brush the vadas with

How to :

Mash everything, except the ghee, together.

Shape into small flat tikkis.
The traditional ones are shaped round because they are deep fried.
We need to shape these flat so that they cook well on a flat surface.

Heat a flat pan or a tawa .... ( they should be well seasoned ).
Brush it with a little ghee and place the vadas on it.
You can cover them for a while too.

When one side turns brown, turn them over and brush them with some more ghee.
Let them cook till the outside is crisp and brown.

Serve hot with tea.

These vadas are very high in calories and hence very filling too.
A couple of them will take you through a good part of the day or evening easily.

They go great with this beautiful Amti on the side. A complete meal when you are doing a vrat or fasting.

Enjoy!!

And oh, the family loved the Sabudana khichadi.
Which is why I am going to make these vadas for tea time next.

Take care all.
See you again soon.