Easy Tomato Sabudana Fryums | Sabakki Sandige (Video Recipe)

Tomato sabudana fryums / Tapioca pearl fryums a popular fried snack from South India.

Easy to make crispy glutenfree, nut-free and vegan summer snack recipe. Munching on these crispy small pearl fryums in winter and rainy season is a bliss.

Sabudana fryums are called by different names sabakki sandige / sago papad / sabudana papad/ seeme akki sandige.

These sun dried fryums are called as sandige or happala in Kannada language. These can be stored or consumed throughout the year. Summers are the best time to make these. They can be served as snacks for everyone.

A great accompaniment with any meal. Must have side dish served in every function in most states of South India.

It is prepared using tomato, sabudana, green chilies and cumin. Sundried until the fryums shrink in size, crisp and brittle (nearly 2 to 3 days).

These South Indian style sabakki sandige is best served with hot rice, rasam or sambar.

During summer, every household in most of the South India prepare different types of fryums. Tomato sabudana fryums are tasty with mild flavours from tomato and cumin, spiced with green chilies.

This sandige recipe is easy way of making tasty flavoured fryums.

Before marriage I never used to make fryums, since we were not having good sunlight. After marriage, I started making fryums and papad learnt from my mother-in-law. And my kids love munching on these fryums.

Over the years I have learned many tricks and tips to get a perfect fryums. So in this post I am giving complete details on making these sabakki sandige.

You can find more such sandige recipe

Sabudana fryums are……..

Glutenfree

Vegan

Nutfree

No raising agents

Crispy tasty

Deep fried snacks

Grain free

Check a quick video of this tomato sabudana fryums and try this summer snack in your kitchen. If you have enjoyed the video do subscribe to Dice n Cook Youtube channel for more food videos.

Dice n Cook is a participant in Amazon Services LLC Associate Program. Hence this site may contain some of these links to Amazon.com. If you make a purchase through one of those links, Dice n Cook will receive a small commission from the purchase at no additional cost of you. Read the privacy policy here.

Tomato Sabudana fryums ingredients

Ingredients required to make sabudana fryums are listed below

Sabudana / Sabakki – medium sized whole sago or sabudana pearls are used

Water – for soaking and cooking water is used

Tomatoes – fully ripe tomatoes are used

Green chilies – chilies are added as per taste preference

Cumin – whole cumin or jeera is added

Salt as per taste

Which type of sabudana is used for soaking?

Sabudana or sago is the key ingredient in making these fryums. There is no other substitute for sabudana in this recipe.

Sabudana or sago are even sized white starch pearls from roots of tapioca. These in general do not have any taste. Its slightly chewy and takes up the flavours from the spices that are added.

Sabudana are high in calories and low fat with high glycaemic index. It contains good amount of dietary fiber. 

It is predominantly used in native Indian kitchen for fasting during festivals.

Selection of Sabudana is an important step in making this fryums.

There are different types of sabudana available in the shops.

It should be round and not broken. They should be whole even sized. Always buy fresh sabudana for making fryums. In this recipe, I have used medium sized sabudana pearls.

If the sabudana are broken, they completely dissolve while cooking and you don’t get pearls when fryums are fried.

After selecting a perfect sabudana, next we will see how to cook them.

How to get perfectly cooked sabudana?

Soaking the sabudana in water is an important step to get perfect pearls.

Cleaning the sabudana is first step before soaking. Clean the sabudana pearls with water. Do not mash the pearls while cleaning. Since these are starchy, they tend to dissolve if we wash it too much.

Soak the pearls in equal quantity of water or add water just enough to cover them. Other option is adding water 1/4^th level more than sabudana level.

We must add enough water for the complete cooking of sabudana. They absorb water and helps in cooking.

Therefore, we add water after cooking in masala and leave it as it for complete absorption and the pearls are separately cooked. Sabudana will fluff after cooking in masala for 6 to 8 hours.

These large tapioca pearls require more water, otherwise the inner part remains uncooked and upon making fryums they become hard.

After sabudana, next we will look into tomatoes that we add into the fryums.

What type of tomatoes are used?

Tomatoes in this recipe add flavour and tanginess to fryums. Use pest or worm free tomatoes.

Fresh fully ripe farm tomatoes are used in this recipe. I prefer to use tomatoes with less seeds.

If you prefer more tanginess in the fryums, add more sour tomatoes while making the masala.

Frequently asked questions

Can we use small sabudana pearls for fryums?

Yes any type of sabudana pearls can be used. But they should be good quality whole pearls.  However, I prefer using big pearls, as they fluff well upon frying in oil.

Can we make fryums without soaking sabudana?

No, we cannot make sabudana fryums without soaking. Soaking sabudana or sago is important to get perfectly cooked fryums.

Can we add roasted cumin powder?

Yes roasted cumin powder can also be added to these fryums. It gives nice aroma to fryums.

Can we add any other whole spices?

Yes ajwain or carom seeds can also be added to tomato sabudana fryums.

Can we add red chilies to sabudana fryums?

Yes red chili powder or paste can be added to these fryums. However, the taste and colour of fryums vary compared to green chillies.

How much water to be added?

Enough water should be added for soaking and cooking sabudana. We add water in two stages. First we add water while soaking and second while cooking.

If we add less water, water becomes starchy as sabudana starts cooking and water doesn’t enter the pearls. This makes the sabudana undercooked.

How to boil sabudana?

Boiling sabudana is particularly important step to get perfect pearls.

If you boil the pearls beyond 10 minutes, the outer layer of sabudana dissolves and releases starch into water. This makes inner part sabudana undercooked.

Instead boil for 10 minutes on medium heat and leave the mixture overnight or 6 to 8 hours to cool. This way all the pearls get cooked well.

How to sundry tomato sabudana fryums?

Sun drying fryums is an important step while making fryums. My kids are always excited to see the change that takes place when fryums loses its water and shrink in size.

Tomato sabudana fryums should dry completely. This is particularly important to keep them free from fungal growth and increase the shelf life.

Dry these tomato sabudana fryums under direct sunlight. These fryums cannot be dried under shade.

It requires two to three days for drying. Morning sun drying with afternoon drying is the best time for perfectly dried tomato sabudana fryums.

Tomato sabudana fryums are dried on thick plastic sheets or thin cotton clothes or dhoti.

Do not make thick fryums, instead spread slightly and make them single layer.

Which oil is used in frying?

Any refined oil can be used to fry the tomato sabudana fryums. Coconut oil can also be used for frying however you get the aftertaste of coconut.

Can we microwave sabudana fryums?

Tomato sabudana fryums can be microwaved. Take few fryums at a time and microwave them. So you can make oil free healthy fryums too!!!

Detailed recipe of making tomato sabudana fryums

Cleaning and soaking of sabudana

Wash sabudana or sabakki well and add one cup water. Keep this aside for 2 hours.

Preparation of tomato masala

Make a fine paste of chopped tomatoes, green chilies, and cumin. Cook the tomato masala in thick bottomed pan. Fry well until raw smell vanishes.

Add the soaked sabudana to this tomato masala and mix. Next add water to this mixture, salt as per taste and cook for exactly 10 minutes on low heat. Keep stirring while cooking otherwise they will stick to bottom and get burnt.

Keep this mixture for 6 to 8 hours or overnight. The pearls get cooked and fluff up.

Sun drying fryums

Tomato sabudana fryums mixture is ready for sun drying.

Take a thick plastic sheet or cotton dhoti. Take water with one tablespoon of oil, mix well.  Apply water oil mixture on the sheet.

Place one spoon of sabudana fryums mixture and spread lightly. Place all the mixture on the sheet equally spaced.

Sun dry them under direct sunlight for 2 to 3 days. The fryums should be completely dry.

Storing fryums

Fryums should be completely dried before storing them. If there is any moisture in the fryums, they get spoilt and attacked by fungal growth.

Store in airtight container. It can be glass or steel airtight container.

Frying tomato sabudana fryums

Fry the fryums in hot oil at medium heat. If the heat is very high, fryums remain uncooked and turn brown and burnt.

Serving the fryums

Serve them with any meal of the day or as evening snacks. Kids with everyone in the family will love munching on these.

Recipe Variations

Endless possibility of variations of flavours to make these fryums.

The classic one is plain sabudana fryums without tomato. Salt and green chili paste are added.

Mint and coriander leaves can be added to flavor these fryums.

Dried tomato powder can be added for making these fryums.

Do not miss a recipe, sign up for updates from Dice n Cook

PIN IT FOR LATER