Sabakki Sandige | Sabunada Papad | Tapioca Fritters

If you know anything about making papads, appalams or any type of sandige then you must be wondering how in the world I managed to make them when Bangalore just faced the wrath of Cyclone Nilam (Those of you in Chennai and surrounding areas, I hope you are fine after the havoc). 

Now, back to the crunchy side dish that will perk up every meal. One of my mother-in-law's friend was nice enough to lend us her expertise to make these for us. All we did was follow her instructions.

We made this  way back in Summer. I just did not find the time to post it. But hey, you have enough time to read and memorize this recipe until next summer. And, try it!! Just make sure you're up early in the morning so you're not working on your roof-top in the hot mid-day heat of Summer.

These fritters are more than just a side dish. They stay fresh in an air-tight container forever! All you need is to cook up a good South Indian meal (Think drumstick sambar, rice and a dry vegetable on the side) and deep fry these babies to perfection. Yum-O!

Ingredients

1.5 kg Sabudana/Sabakki/Tapioca pearls, soaked for about 6 hours
12-15 Green chillies, very very finely chopped (add more if you desire)
3-4 tbsp Jeera/Cumin seeds
2 small Onions, finely chopped (Optional)
A large sheet of plastic to dry the papads
And, some salt to taste!

Method

This is probably my first step-wise pictorial recipe description. So just go with the flow and drop me a line if you think I've missed something out.

Making this is no rocket science. Just needs a LOT of patience and an equal amount of sunshine!!

STEP 1 - Soak the sabudana for about 6 hours

STEP 2 - Place the soaked sabudana on a stove, over medium flame, continuously stirring, allowing the little pearls to cook.

STEP 3 - Add the chopped green chillies, jeera, onions and salt to the hot sabudana mix and stir to mix. Add more water if you find the mixture becoming too thick. Sabudana has a tendency to absorb water and thicken. Transfer it into a dish with a handle. Yup, we used a bucket!

STEP 4 - Haul your dish to your roof-top terrace. Don't forget a spoon. Lay a mat/bedspread on the floor. Place a large plastic sheet of paper over this and fastened on the ends with something heavy. The sabudana mixture has to be hot while you're at this step. DO NOT DELAY!

STEP 5 - Spoon little circles of the sabudana mixture onto the plastic sheet. Now, the waiting game begins! Allow the sun to do his job and let the papads-in-the-making get bone dry.

STEP 6 - As the papads dry, they tend to peel of become transparent, bubbly and fragile to touch. When they peel off easily from the plastic sheet (takes a whole day), pick up a cut of tea and a air-tight container and hit your terrace again.Sip tea as you peel away the papads and store them into your air-tight container.
Ensure that they are completely dry. If they're not, you might want to lay them out in the sun again the next day.

Once completely dry, the papads are ready to be deep-fried. Make that scrumptious meal and get chomping away. Now!