SABUDANA VADA: A POPULAR MAHARASHTRIAN DISH THAT’S A GOOD EVENING SNACK

Fifteen years ago, I was living for a short time in Mumbai to help out with a movie production and cast actors for a script

I had written called My Desi Wedding.Com. Living in Mumbai is a different experience and if you have been there you will understand it. Mumbai with its rains, taxi rides, traffic, sea, people and variety of food will make you experience some unbelievable incidents. And such incidents become important life lessons and open a gateway to the qualities of another heritage city, its culture, food and identity.

The incident which changed my life happened during the rainy season in Mumbai. It was a heavy rainy day. Like me, there were others who wanted to experience the rains — they stepped out of their houses and walked down the streets. When I walked passed Mount Mary’s statue, I heard a young boy shouting, “Didi

thamba” (Wait, sister). I turned and saw food cart of chaat wallah Suresh. Under the cart, a young boy named Gopal with black curly hair and huge eyes was sitting. I walked towards the cart and at that precise moment, a huge tree fell across the road, which I missed by inches and a few minutes. The little boy Gopal was not only God sent but was irresistibly lovable and cute. Though I was totally shaken by the incident, I remained calm. After some time, I took Gopal to a nearby cafe and ordered hot tea, vada pav, maska pav and sabudana vada. I can never forget Gopal, who is an engineer today, the Mumbai rains and the tasty sabudana vada.

Sabudana is a starch extracted from tapioca roots, which is then processed to form spherical pearls that may vary in size. It is called sago

in Hindi. The largest supply of sago comes from Southeast Asia, particularly Malaysia. It is known as javvarisi in Tamil Nadu and saggubiyyam in Andhra Pradesh. With zero fat or cholesterol, this makes for a popular ingredient to cook, especially, during fasting. Sabudana vada made of roasted peanuts, mashed potatoes, ginger, green chillies and sabudana is a delicacy one must experience. You can have it with mint chutney and hot masala chai.