Masala Papad Poppadom Recipe – How many times you have got papad / poppadam as condiment in a restaurant? A few times, I think the answer would be if you have visited an authentic Indian restaurant. Most of the Indian restaurants will serve papad or poppadum aka papadum as condiment with chutneys. But have you tried masala papad? Masala papad or poppadom is crispy papad fried in oil, topped with onion, tomatoes, coriander leaves, chillies and spices primarily.
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What is Papad, Poppadom, Papadum
Papad is a wafer thin disc. Papad is an attribute of Indian cuisine. Some may call papad as crackers. There are numerous types of papad available suiting everyone’s taste. You can make Papad from lentil paste, and adding spices like chilli, asafoetida, cumin seeds, black salt, edible oil etc. Then dry papad this papad in natural sunlight, yielding a crispy disc. You can then eat this raw papad by roasting on fire or deep frying. Lentils used are normally Urad or moong, sometimes mixed. Papad can also be made from rice flour.
There are two main types of papad.
- North Indian Papad, these are relatively bigger in size.
- South Indian Papad, these are smaller in size, like that of a cd-disc.
Normally, in India, people do not call these as Poppadum. Poppadum is term coined in western countries. I remember my initial days in UK, when I visited an Indian restaurant. I got papad offered, but was called poppadum. Later I learnt that everyone in UK calls it Poppadum.
I must confess that I look for the papad plate or basket every time I go out to eat in Indian / Desi restaurant. Some will offer complimentary and other will put a price tag. Ideally, I like papad or poppadum with green chutney, mango chutney, and pickled Indian onions.
What is Masala Papad or Poppdum
This masala papad is a popular starter in many North Indian restaurants and popular with kids too. Over here I am not just sharing a recipe, but a technique to prepare masala papad with variation of masala / herbs, along with toppings that you choose to add. To make masala papad, deep fry the papad and sprinkle chopped onion, tomatoes, coriander, salt, chilli and chaat masala.
This is one favourite snack for the people who drink as it acts as spicy nibble too. My hubby will always ask for masala papad on the side when is having his whisky.
In this version of mine I have given a quick fry of papad in hot oil, but you can also try other variants like making papad on tava, where you will simply need to add little oil and shallow fry papad, or as well you can try super healthy dry roast version of papad, which you can do on open fire or in microwave.
Method to make Masala Poppadum
- Heat the oil in a Kadai / Pan and deep fry the poppadums.
- Now in a bowl, add all the ingredients listed above and squeeze the juice of lemon to it.
- Mix well and spread this mixture on all the poppadum evenly. Masala Papad is ready.
Pro Tips
- You can use any papad to make masala papad, however, look for the small sized one which when put in oil almost triples in size. You need to be using plain papad, not the one with spices already added for the best taste.
- Since this recipe does not take long, you need to make it when you want to eat, you can not really make it in advance, else poppadum will get soggy and not good in taste.
- When deep frying, make sure oil is hot. Drop a piece of papad and it should come to surface of oil almost immediately. As soon as you will drop a pappadom to fry, it will get fried immediately. You need to be prepared to pull it out, else pappadum will get burnt.
- Always use a wide mouth pan or kadai for frying.
- Exercise care when frying as oil will be hot and can splitter out.
Storage
Store bought raw poppadum will normally have a long shelf life. You need to keep this papad in dry place. Raw papad is fragile and flaky. It will brake into small pieces if not stored properly. Though it comes with long life, these are perishable, so buy in small portions as required.
This Masala Pappadum Is
- Great appetiser and digestive.
- Normally made from lentils, which means good in protein and fibres.
- Gluten-free. Please check the contents of the pack. Some may contain asafoetida. Asafoetida is gluten-free, but normally its processed with wheat, so can be not gluten-free.
- Vegan and thus making it a great vegan appetiser.
- Kids enjoy less spicy version in general. Make sure that if kids or spice averse people going to eat masala poppadum, then adjust the spices added in toppings.
- Loved by almost everyone.
- Versatile. You can choose toppings of your choice, such as avocado, reddish or even beetroot.
Serving Suggestion
Get the toppings ready 10mins before you want to fry papad. Else the topping will get watery, due to tomatoes oozing out water. Fry the papad in batch and then add toppings just before serving. Serve these poppadums as appetiser to your meal.
Let me detail out the step by step method of making masala papad or poppadom.
Recipe Card
Masala Papad | Poppadam Recipe
Ingredients
- 8 Papad / Poppadom
- 1 Onion Large Size – Finely Chopped
- 2 Tomatoes Medium Size – Finely Chopped
- 3 Green chillies Finely Chopped
- 1 Lemon
- 2 Tablespoon Fresh Coriander Leaves Finely Chopped
- 1/4 Teaspoon Black Salt
- 1/4 Teaspoon Red Chilli Powder
- 1/4 Teaspoon Salt As per taste
- 1/2 Teaspoon Roasted cumin powder
- 1/2 Teaspoon Chaat Masala
- A Pinch Black pepper powder
- Oil For Frying
Instructions
- Heat the oil in a Kadhai / Pan and deep fry the poppadums.
- Now in a bowl, add all the ingredients listed above and squeeze the juice of lemon to it.
- Mix well and spread this mixture on all the poppadum evenly. Serve immediately and enjoy…
Notes
- You can top up the masala papad with nylon sev too.
- I have deep fried the poppadum in my recipe, but you can dry roast them in microwave too.
- You can adjust the spice level and quantity of mixture on poppadum according to your taste.
- Remember to fry and add toppings just before serving, else papad will get soggy.