Kids love fritters (pakodas) as anytime snack. They can have it anyway they like; just as it is, with ketchup or with a sauce/dip of their choice. For health conscious parents, challenge is to make these family favorites more nutritionally enhanced. In other words, how do we make these fritters richer in vitamins, minerals, proteins and other useful nutrients? Here is one way which may inspire you to be creative with your fritter recipes.
Tapioca Fritters (sabudana/sago vada) are everyone’s childhood favorite, but as I grew to be more aware and health conscious, I started avoiding them because of two reasons. First, tapioca pearls (sabudana/sago) are made from tapioca starch which mostly comprises of carbohydrates. Secondly, fritters are deep fried conventionally. But my love for these fritters forced me into making a healthier version of Tapioca Fritters (sabudana/sago vada) for my kids. In my recipe, in addition to tapioca I have used beetroot and carrots to add the fibers, vitamin C, iron and other nutrients. Other advantage of this is the enhanced colors of fritters that attracts kids. Further, by roasting them in ebleskiver (appe) pan with only a few drops of oil, makes them low-fat and guilt free snack. I use avocado oil which has a high smoke point. When you heat it up, it does not get disintegrated easily hence keeping the flavors and nutritional value intact. Using ebleskiver (appe) pan helps avoid the reuse of cooking oil, which has its own disadvantages.
All you need for this recipe is some boiled potatoes and soaked tapioca. Once you have these two core ingredients ready, grate and mix the other nutrition enhancing ingredients to the fritters mix. Cook in the ebleskiver (appe) pan and serve with your kids favorite sauce/dip.
You can get the detailed recipe with step-by-step instructions and pictures at the link below on my blog ‘Enhance Your Palate’ website. Hope you like this version
Recipe Link: Low Fat Beetroot Tapioca Fritters (Sabudana/Sago Vada)
By Rupali Agarwal
She is the creator of Enhance Your Palate, a food blog and a mother to two lovely kids.
New Parent’s Program – Expert led program on fitness, nutrition for moms, child food, sleep, safety guidance and more at Happy Minds International, Powai and Safari Kid India, Bandra.
