Name: Homemade Poppadoms
Prep time: 25 min
Cook time: 10 min
Total time: 4 h 35 min
Yield: 10
Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients: 1 cup urad dhal flour; 1/2 tsp salt; 1 tsp Bicarbonate Soda; 1/2 tsp asafoetida; ¼ cup (approx.) water

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Once you’ve tried this homemade poppadom recipe, You’ll want to make it again and again!

This is a homemade poppadom recipe for those who really want perfection. If you have ever tried the poppadoms in India or at good Indian restaurants in the West where they make everything from scratch, you’ll know that their poppadoms are so much better than anything you can purchase at your local supermarket.

Here you will learn how to make homemade poppadoms! I have included step by step photographs below that you will want to look at as a guide.

This homemade poppadom recipe is not difficult but you will want to study the step by step photographs to ensure you get the recipe right the first time. If you would rather just learn to make poppadoms using shop bought papads, click here.

Homemade poppadoms are amazing!

Papad vs. Poppadom

Just so there is no confusion, let’s start with what a papad is and what a poppadom is.

Papads are what you are making here. They are the flat discs that when fried or grilled, quickly become poppadoms.

Useful Equipment and cooking aids.

A large high-sided pan such as a wok: I find a wok to ge the best for this poppadom recipe. The wide top makes it easier to turn the poppadoms when frying.
Tongs: These are essential for flipping the papads as they cook in oil or on the grill.
Paper towels or a wire rack: You can transfer the cooked poppadoms to a paper towel or wire rack to drip any excess oil.

About this poppadom recipe…

Just look at those amazing homemade poppadoms in the photo above. With this no-fail poppadom recipe, you will be making poppadoms just like these in no time. I promise!

I had tried to make homemade papads a few times but it wasn’t until I visited a poppadom shop in Kerala that I learned how to make them just like they are there. I even purchased some of their fresh papads to take home with me so that I could compare what I made to what was on offer there.

You are going to get the real deal here.

What should you expect?

This recipe gets fantastic results. You can expect crispy and in places chewy poppadoms. That’s right, the best and freshest papads have many different textures when fried or grilled.

In fact, the poppadoms served in Kerala and all over India are not just served as a starter as they are in the West. They are much too good for that.

It’s not only the delicious flavour you will get from this homemade poppadom recipe but those fantastic textures. What’s more, you are completely in control of the textures. From crispy to soft or a little bit of both, you will be in complete control of the end result, so you can make your poppadoms exactly as you like them.

How do you easily adjust the different textures in your homemade poppadoms?

If you only dry the them for about four hours as explained in my poppadom recipe and photos below, your papads will puff up and be deliciously crispy and soft in places when you fry or grill them into poppadoms.

By drying the papads longer, they will of course have less moisture in them and will become crispier when fried or grilled.

To get extra crispy poppadoms, you could run the dough through a pasta machine until super thin. I personally prefer different textures in my poppadoms so rarely go to this trouble.

Can you flavour your papads?

Yes and it’s really good to do so. In the photos below, I added toasted cumin seeds to mine.

You could also add other spices such as cracked black pepper, chilli flakes or even chilli powder which will give the poppadoms a red tone as well as make them spicy.

How do you serve poppadoms?

If you have dined at the curry houses in the West, you will know that they are usually just served as a crispy starter with a selection of chutneys. That’s a good way to serve them.

When you make your own poppadoms using this poppadom recipe, you might like to try serving them as they are in southern India. Poppadoms are often served on top of a curry which adds to the experience. The crispy texture of the delicious poppadoms goes so well with a good curry like this chicken coconut curry. You’ll love it!

How long can you store fried or grilled poppadoms?

These will keep in an air-tight container for at least 3 days and be just as good as the day you made them.

Can you freeze homemade poppadoms?

Follow this recipe up until you fry or grill the papads. Then stack the individual papad discs, separating each with wax paper and freeze.

You can freeze the papads for up to a year and they are great to have on hand. All you need to do is let them defrost and fry or grill them as in the recipe card below.

Frying vs. Grilling

The most popular option for cooking homemade papads is to fry them. Heat about 10cm (4 inches) of neutral flavoured oil such as rapeseed (canola) oil to 190C/350F. If you don’t have an oil thermometer, toss in a small piece of papad. If it bubbles and rises to the top immediately, your oil is hot enough for frying.

Each fried poppadom will be ready in about 10 seconds so it’s. a quick job.

To grill, the best way to do it is on your barbecue. Get the coals nice and hot and then place a popad on the grill. Cook it, turning every few seconds until it turns crispy.

Step by step photographs of this homemade poppadom recipe…

Place the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl.

Adding water to dry ingredients for papads

Slowly add the water. You might not need it all to form a soft, somewhat wet dough.

Other ingredients can be added such as cumin, chilli flakes, coursely ground black pepper or even finely chopped green chillies.

Once you’ve got your dough ball, it’s time to get pounding.

Pound the dough, turning from time to time for about 10 minutes. Then knead it by hand for about 3 minutes.

When your dough it ready, you should be able to stretch it. It will break but you should get a good stretch before it does.

You can make your poppadoms as small or large as you like. I usually use golf ball sized balls of dough.

Using a tortilla press makes the job a lot easier. You could also roll it all out on a lightly greased surface until paper thin.

The longer you air dry you papads the crispier they become. I like mine only lightly dried so they puff up when frying.

Once you make your poppadoms, you might like to make one or more of these to dip them in.

Mixed Vegetable Pickle
Lime Pickle
Cold Curry House Style Onion Chutney
Coriander and Mint Chutney
Mint Coriander and Mango Chutney
Smooth Garlic, Chilli and Mint Raita
Tomato Raita

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Homemade poppadom recipe photo selection

Crispy and delicious. These are what poppadoms should be!

If you like this homemade poppadom recipe, you might like to try some of the Indian Vegetarian favourites.

Dum Aloo
Pakistani Chickpea Biryani
Punjabi Saag Curry
Punjabi Rajma
Butternut Squash Curry
Sri Lankan Green Beans Curry
Aloo Gobi
Saag Paneer
Onion Pakora Curry
Chana Saag Curry
Potato Curry
Mushroom Curry
Masala Corn
Gobi Manchurian
Bombay Potatoes
Masala Dosa
Saag Aloo
Tandoori Hummus
Tarka Dal
Masoor Dal
Dal Makhani
Chana Dal
Green Bean Thoran
Cabbage Thoran
Chai Tea (masala chai)

Have you tried this homemade poppadom recipe?

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Yield: 10

Homemade Poppadoms

Using this poppadom recipe, you will get excellent results. Frying the papads is by far the most popular way to cook them but you can make lighter and equally as delicious poppadoms by grilling or dry frying them. See Note.

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 10 minutes

Additional Time 4 hours

Total Time 4 hours 35 minutes

Ingredients

1 cup urad dhal flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp Bicarbonate Soda
1/2 tsp asafoetida
¼ cup (approx.) water

Instructions

Place the flour in a mixing bowl and stir in the salt and bicarbonate of soda. Slowly add the water, you may not need it all, to form into a soft dough. The dough should be slightly wet and a little difficult to work with.
Place this dough on a clean surface and pound it with a pestle or something similar for about 10 minutes, flipping the dough from time to time. This s the authentic way of making the dough, which gets better results than simply kneading as the flour is pounded harder together.
After about ten minutes of pounding, you are ready to knead the dough. Squish and squeeze it in your hands for a couple of minutes. If the dough is still quite wet, add a little flour until you have a very soft and dry
dough ball. You shouldn’t need to add much.
If you have a tortilla press, your job of flattening the papads will be much easier. Otherwise, you will need to roll your dough balls out until paper thin on a lightly greased surface. You will need a knife to help remove the papad fro the surface. For a neater appearance, you could also use a round cookie cutter to but I rarely do.
Dry the flattened papads in the sun, flipping from time to time on wax paper. In the winter, I place them next to a wood fire or electric heater to dry. I have also dried them in a dehydrator.
When dried out, the papads will still be a bit flexible and not so dry that they snap in two when bent.
To cook, heat about 10cm/4inches of vegetable oil in a wok or large pan. The oil is hot enough when you can throw a small piece of papad in and it sizzles and floats to the top immediately.
Cook one or two at a time. They should cook through in a matter of seconds so watch them carefully so that you don't burn them. Transfer the cooked poppadoms to papertowels using tongs and continue cooking the remaining poppadoms.
These cooked poppadoms will keep in an air-tight container for at least three days.

Notes

BBQ METHOD

If you would like to grill your papads you can do this over hot coals on your barbecue. Use tongs to turn the papad every few seconds until it is crispy and cooked through.

PAN METHOD

Lightly grease a pan or spray it with kitchen spray oil. Not too much! Then dry fry the papads over a medium-high heat flipping it with tongs every few seconds until cooked through and cripsy.

Homemade Poppadom Recipe From Scratch