Papadam

Did You Know?

• The word papadam is a loanword from Tamil பப்படம், likely ultimately from Sanskrit पर्पट borrowed from Prakrits, meaning a flattened disc described in early Jain and Buddhist literature.
• It may be derived from a Dravidian term meaning 'lentil cake'.
• Other language versions include Hindi papad and Kannada happala.

Regional variations

Papad recipes vary by region and household, using flours or pastes from lentils, chickpeas, black gram, rice, or potatoes. The dough, made with salt and peanut oil, can be flavored with chili, cumin, garlic, or black pepper, and sometimes includes baking soda or slaked lime. After shaping into thin rounds and drying in the sun, the papads are cooked by deep frying, roasting over an open flame, toasting, or microwaving. In many Indian restaurants worldwide, they are served as an appetizer with mango chutney, lime pickle, onion chutney, or raita. Masala papad, topped with sev, onion, tomato, and coriander leaves, is a popular appetizer in India. Kappa pappadam, a variety from Kerala, uses tapioca as its main ingredient, known as "kappa" in Malayalam. It is also called Maracheni, Cheeni pappadam/Appalam, or Cassava Papad. The tapioca is spiced with red chili, peppers, salt, cumin, and asafoetida, giving it a brownish-orange color; green chili can replace red chili for a white variant. The diced tapioca is ground with chili, pepper, cumin, and water into a paste, then boiled with salt, asafoetida, coconut oil, and more water until thickened. This paste is spread in circles on cheesecloth or plastic and sun-dried, traditionally on a straw mat. After a few hours, the pappadams are peeled and reversed; after 2–3 days of sunlight, they become crisp and ready to fry. They are deep-fried in oil, or can be coated with minimal oil and microwaved for one minute. A 2017 film starring Fahadh Fazil is titled Kappa Pappadam.

Ingredients and preparation

There is no single way to make papadam. A common version starts with a dough of black gram flour, black pepper, salt, a little vegetable oil, and a food-grade alkali. This dough is rolled into very thin circles, dried, and saved for later cooking. Other main ingredients can be rice, jackfruit, or sago. For flavor, cooks often add cracked black pepper, red chili powder, asafoetida, cumin, or sesame seeds. Papadam can also be made from rice flakes, ragi, or horsegram.