Papad refers to a side or a snack had alongside meals or over tea from India. It is known by various names all over the country including “Papad” in North, “appalam” in Tamil Nadu, “happala” in Karnataka, “appadam” in Andhra Pradesh and as “poppadum” in the United Kingdom. It is crispy deep fried dried seasoned flat bread. Papads vary across the country with regional influences in the Papad recipe such as rice Papad, masala Papad, urad dal Papad, etc.
The word “pappadam” in Malayalam, Tamil and Sanskrit is the root word of Papad. In Sanskrit it stands for a thin type of cake prepared with rice or pea-flour and baked or cooked in grease or in a nutshell a thin brittle cake.
Papad is made generally using urad dal flour or the black gram flour, salt, oil and pepper. The urad dal is ground to form a fine powder to which salt, a little oil and crushed pepper are mixed. Thereafter water is added to it and mixed to form tight dough. Sometimes the dough is also pounded using a wooden pounding stick to turn consistently firm. The dough is divided and shaped into small balls which are rolled out. The rolled rounds of dough or the raw Papads are spread over mats and dried in shade or sun baked for a little while as they dry quickly. When being made in a commercial scale they are collected after drying and packed to be sold. The final crisp Papad is the outcome of deep frying the raw dried one in hot oil. Some Papads can also be made by roasting on a flat pan or the Indian tawa. They can alternately be made by roasting in a microwave oven.
Papad can be had as a side or as a snack. When having as a side, it is had alongside rice and as a meal accompaniment. In Kerala crisp Papads hand crushed while eating and had with jackfruit payasam or porridge. As a snack crisp Papad can be had with hot tea. A chat or street snack called “papri chaat” makes use of deep fried or roasted Papad that is crushed and mixed with other ingredients including chopped onions, tomatoes, cucumber, seasonings and tangy spice mixes.
Raw Papad recipe varies with regions although the standard recipe makes use of the flour urad dal or black gram as the main ingredient.
· The rice Papad is made using rice flour, salt and a little oil and in the recipe rice flour is stewed in hot water to form with the consistency of dough and is flattened and dried in the sun.
· Masala Papad recipe incorporates ground spices such as chili powder, garlic and cumin besides ground black pepper.
· The South Canarian jack fruit Papad recipe from Karnataka makes use of jack fruit with chickpea flour.
Papad making industry in India is one among the most thriving cottage industries that supports many impoverished households across the country. Mostly the womenfolk from rural and underdeveloped areas are encouraged to indulge in the occupation. Papad making business in India caters to the demands of the overseas market making Papad a valued export commodity.