Papad is synonymous with Sindhis. No meal is complete without this humble dish. Papad or poppadum is vegan and easy to make surprisingly. You can also make it gluten free if you do not add heeng or asafoetida. Home made Sindhi Papad is a delicacy in itself. Just have roasted one with tea or as a deep fry one as an accompaniment with your meals. You can gauge the popularity of papad with everyone by the amount of fried masala papad which gets ordered in a restaurant. We have all eaten it with a topping of some chopped onions, tomatoes and chaat masala while we waited for our curry and roti /flat bread to be served. Papad does give you some best memories.
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Types of papad
There are various types of poppadams. Most common brand is Lijjat papad made by gruhudyog or business by homemakers. Major varieties are Sindhi papad, Punjabi which is quite spicy, ragi, urad dal, rice papad, jeera/cumin, sada/appalam .It also forms a basis of many dishes and starters like papad ki sabzi and besan/ gram flour papad. Everyone loves their masala poppadum when they eat at a restaurant. People may make fun of Sindhis and their love for poppadum. Yet, everyone loves masala papad .Especially, while they wait for their main course. Crunchy and flavorful served with onion tomatoes and a hint of spices. Whether you fry it or just directly make it on the gas, papads will always be your first love.
I have been buying it from small gruh-udyog in Sindhi colonies. Now, that I m far away from those little humble home cooks, its time to make my own. This time when mum came home, she taught me her papad recipe. It was wonderful to get various tips and tricks along with a trip down memory lane. This humble product helped many refugees earn a living when they came back to their own country after losing Sindh to partition. Not many people realize Independence came at a huge price. We Sindhis definitely know it. They rebuilt everything with sheer hard work and reached to great heights!
My foodie memories of this humble masala papad
I remember my grandparents making them so much at Bhopal. Dr. G.H. Bhatia was a visionary. Huge verandas and solar cooker drying and making for all those papad, kheeche, kachri and savories. My grandpa was way ahead of his time. As a doctor, he always stressed on good food. When men hardly ventured into the kitchen, he used to treat us with his sweet and savory recipes. Dear Bhairah ji you were a gem and a pioneer. Your notes still guide us but I wish I could have tried this last year and learnt something more from you. There is something special about Sindhi community. Men are fond of their food but never shy away from making it. They equally help women(working or stay at home) with all chores at home. This is his recipe and it was magical to find his notes. This recipe also was perfected by my MIL and her sister Babli masi who learnt it from their mum. Both of them continued to make it even in USA. If you love your cooking, you will enjoy making it anywhere and anytime! Homemade papad recipe can easily be made using stand mixer too. Saves time.
How to make urad dal papad or Sindhi papad?
You can actually make it at home easily by drying in hot sun or using a dehydrator. It is as simple as dehydrating potato chips. I live in a small apartment and Melbourne weather is so unpredictable. Yet have been able to make a few batches easily. If you cannot make it all at once, just measure the dry ingredients in a bigger quantity and keep ready. Make it in small batches, whenever you get time. Got this tip from my aunt, Sonita. She has watched her dad make it every year. Yes, this is what we called experience 🙂 Made my life simpler abroad. It is difficult to measure small ingredients each time. Now this tip expedites my papad making 🙂
Ingredients
- urad dal flour / split black gram flour
- black pepper
- cumin seeds
- baking soda
- asafoetida
- salt
- water
how papad is made?
- Mix salt with water. Add half of the baking soda as well.
2. Now, mix rest of the ingredients. 
3. Add salt water to the mix. 
4. Knead into a semi hard dough. You can also use a stand mixer for kneading. 
5. If you are kneading the dough with hand, then you need to take a portion of dough, stretch it again and again so that it becomes smooth. Roll into a long cylinder shaped dough. Cut into equal pieces. 
6. Roll into a thin papad by using dry urad flour. Then apply oil and roll thinner. This way it won't stick on the pin. Let it dry for some time. 
7. Dry them on a plastic sheet or a bedsheet. You can also dehydrate them. Store in an air-tight jar once dry. ½ kg of dough makes around 50 papad. Tip: If your papad are slightly wet, store them in the refrigerator. If completely dry, outside at room temperature.
Read the Sindhi papad recipe below
Sindhi papad recipe
Ingredients
- 4 cups urad flour
- 2 tablespoon black pepper
- 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
- 5 teaspoon baking soda
- ⅛ teaspoon asafoetida
- 4 teaspoon salt
- 1 ⅓ cup water
Instructions
- Mix salt and 2 teaspoon soda in water with a spoon.
- mix all dry ingredients with salt water and knead into a semi hard dough
- If you are kneading the dough with hand, then you need to take a portion of dough, stretch it again and again so that it becomes smooth. Roll into a long cylinder shaped dough. Cut into equal pieces.
- Roll it into thin papad using rolling pin.
- Dry it for 2 hours in the sun
- Store in an air-tight box before frying or roasting individually.
Notes
More snacking recipes to go with mains?
- Potato chips are an eternal part of our lunch menu.
- Baked sweet potato chips: Are a great combination for burgers shakes.
- Banana chips : who can stop at one?
- French fries: Perfect with burgers
Click here to see more Sindhi recipes. Also, click here to see more recipe videos.
Ram patra says
Nice details and beautifully presented
Gaurav says
thank you
akash yadav says
Is there a 'jain' version for this papad ?
bhavana bhatia says
hi Akash, for the jain version of this papad,i believe you need to skip hing/asafoetida
Thanks
Kishu Nagrani says
In your recipe I did not see the pounding and stretching of the dough
Is that important?
bhavana bhatia says
hi Kishu ji,
Yes you are right, the dough is good only after it has been stretched enough.Since we have used a stand mixer to knead the dough,hence some of the pounding has been done in the machine. We will update the recipe with additional instructions.
thanks again