

Step 1: Gather tools and supplies.





Step 2: Open the package & separate the papads

Raw papadums (or papads) are thin flexible sheets that look and feel like the illegitimate love child of a tortilla and a sheet of notebook paper. They are made mostly of Udad Dal, which is a type of bean that is ground up to make (bean) flour, a process not so different from grinding wheat to make (wheat) flour. Papads keep on your shelf about as well as dried pasta, so it's easy to keep a stock around for when you need them.

Papads come packed something like a dozen to a package, which usually costs around $1.50. Depending on which brand you have and how fresh they are, it's possible for them to stick together slightly, a little bit like tortillas sometimes do. Figure out how many you'll be cooking, and put the rest away. We usually go through a whole pack every time that we make some.

(Can you make your own papads from scratch, rather than buying these pre-made blanks? Well, yes you can. However, it's probably not worth the effort. These are very inexepensive, quick to prepare, and quite good. Even our Indian food cookbooks say that you should do it this way.)

Step 3: Get your stove on.

A high flame works best, but you'll need to be super-vigilant, since ten seconds can make the difference between perfection and a room full of smoke from your burnt papadum.

If you're timid, you might want to start with a medium-low flame to begin with. Don't worry too much about cleaning the grates; that high flame will sterilize them pretty quickly.

Step 4: Put Papadum in Peril.

Take your first victim and place it, centered, on the grill. Keep a close eye on it, and watch for changes. Depending on how high your flame is, it can be anywhere from five to thirty seconds before you'll see anything.

Step 5: First bubbles

As the papadum cooks, it starts to blister like crazy, throughout the part that's over the flame. In the photo here, you can see a few large bubbles that have just popped up.

Step 6: Wait until it's cooked on one side...

Here you can see that the papadum is covered in bubbles except for the parts right above the grill grates. There is a distinct color change in the parts that have already bubbled. In practice, you'll want to move it a little bit with your tongs to avoid this sort of shadowing. The first side is done when the top surface is just barely covered with bubbles.

Step 7: Flip it good.

With your tongs, flip the papadum over to brown it slightly on the back side. I like them to have just a few black spots on each side.

Take the papadum off the stove and put it on a plate for serving or to cool.

Once you've had a little practice and are comfortable turning up the flame, the total cooking time can be under 30 seconds per piece. I budget about five minutes to cook a dozen papadums.

Step 8: Serve and eat

Even when you take the papadums off the stove, they are still quite flexible. It isn't until they've had time to cool down just a little bit (about one minute) that they transition from chewy to the crisp brittle consistency that you expect.

Simply stacking the papadums works well to get them out of the way and let them cool. They're especially nice when they're fresh and still warm, so serve them that way if at all possible.

Step 9: Making it more interesting

Since the raw papads are a lot like paper, you can cut them quite easily with scissors. Let's get crafty!

Step 10: Cooking a reshaped papadum

Cutting and reshaping papadums doesn't substantially affect the cooking procedure; just throw the new shape on the burner.

Step 11: Serving suggestion

Papadums lend themselves to dipping in a number of interesting Indian sauces. We suggest dipping them in (L-R) corriander-mint chutney, tomato relish, mint raita, and tamarind chutney.

Have fun cooking and eating these things, and see some of our other projects at http://www.evilmadscientist.com/
But it looks cool and there is fire. :)
Deep fried is always good
its guddie
Personally I put them in a microwave for a few seconds.
You did what?!
Hey, that's a great tip-- Thanks!
Great instructable! I actually make my own pappads from scratch - I'll do an instructable if I get time.<br/>Anyway, for those in the UK, instead of buying the usual Sharwoods etc paps, try : <a rel="nofollow" href="http://www.simplyspice.co.uk/">http://www.simplyspice.co.uk/</a><br/>These guys are great and extremely cheap - I use them all the time.<br/><br/>E<br/>
There are a lot of different Indian breads; some are cooked on stovetop, on a grill, in an oven, or fried. They seem to be universally tasty. There's a list of different types of flatbreads at wikipedia ( <a rel="nofollow" href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatbread">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatbread</a> ) that links to a bunch of other types as well. I've learned to make six of them so far. =)<br/>
May give it a try on sunday

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