Make Easy Poppadoms at home, in just under 10 minutes, just like the ones you get in an Indian restaurant. Serve with your favourite Indian mint sauce, Tamarind Sauce, Mango Chutney, and enjoy. Home fried poppadoms are so much cheaper and better than the Ready to Eat Restaurant Style Pappadums.
If you want something to nibble on before the main course, this is also great served as a starter - just scoop some dip and enjoy. Learn how I make the Poppadom recipe step by step in a jiffy! (Video Instructions included)
Why make This Poppadoms recipe?
Only 2 Ingredients - Papad and Oil - Make this easy Curry House snack at home.
Versatile - Make Oil-Free Poppadoms too!
Dietary Requirements - Vegan-friendly.
Super Easy Party Nibble - Make Poppadums at home in just 15 seconds!
Budget-Friendly - Ready to fry Pappadom packets cost between 0.80£ to 2£ depending on the size.
Cheaper and Better than Restaurant Style - Home-fried Crispy Papad is superior to ready-to-eat ones. Supermarket ready to eat poppadom costs 1.25£ for 8 and they are so small in size.
Make-Ahead - Prepare ahead of time and store in an airtight container for up to a week.
Tasty with Dips and More - Enjoy with your favourite poppadom dips, chutneys, raitas, or pickles.
What is Poppadom?
Poppadom is a thin, crisp, round-shaped lentil disc usually made of urad flour or rice flour. It is also known as Papad, Papadam, Pappadam, or Appalam. There are two types of Poppadoms available in the market - uncooked Poppadoms that are ready to fry and serve, and restaurant-style Pappadom that is pre-packed and ready to eat.
Uncooked Papads are available at Asian Grocery stores or in the Asian Isle in most supermarkets for 80p - 2.5£, each containing approximately 20 of them. TRS Special Madras Poppadoms, Natco Madras Plain Poppadum, Ajwa Pappadam, Lijjat Papad are some of the brands available to buy. You can cook them in microwave, deep fry it or cook over an open flame until crispy and serve with chutney or raita. Personally I am not a fan of miceowave and open flame method.
Some of the ready-to-eat pre-fried pappadams available in the market are Patak's Plain Pappadums or even Tesco or Sainsbury's own brand. Also, you only get 8 Ready to Eat Restaurant Style Pappadums for 1.25£.
I like Home fried poppadoms. They are so much better and quicker than the pre-fried ones or the ones from the takeaway. And it only takes 2 minutes to fry!!
About Poppadom Recipe
Most Curry Houses and Takeaways in the UK serve Papadum's as a tasty snack with a variety of chutney dips, pickles, and sometimes raita too.
There is a super easy solution to make Papadum at home and enjoy every single day. It is as easy as One Two and Three. You just need to buy a store-bought uncooked dried papadum's packet, easily available in any Asian stores or Asian Isle in Supermarket, and deep fry it. Tadaa... Stack of homemade papadum is ready in less than 10 minutes.
I prefer opting for Store Bought Papadams in the UK as they are super quick and tasty too with everything!
How to fry Poppadoms at home like an expert?
You will only need 2 Ingredients - Uncooked Poppadom and Oil of your choice. I prefer using Coconut Oil or Sunflower Oil.
Heat oil in a wok or a deep pan over medium-high heat. Add a piece of uncooked papad to check if the oil is hot enough. If it puffs up al-most instantly, I know the oil is hot enough to cook the remaining ones.
Slide 1 papad at a time to the heated oil. The poppadoms will quickly spread and curl up in the edges. Gently press the edges and middle down to ensure they cook properly. The papadum will cook in 10 -12 seconds.
Remove the fried poppadum with the tongs and place it on a kitchen paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
How to make Poppadoms from scratch?
To make Poppadoms from scratch, start by combining 1 cup urad flour, ½ cup water, 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, and salt to make a stiff dough. After kneading the dough, cover it and let it rest for 30 minutes before dividing it into small balls and rolling them out into thin round shapes. Cook the Poppadoms on a skillet until the surface is dry, then let them dry in sunlight for 2-3 days until crispy. Finally, deep fry the Poppadoms and serve!
If you like add your own flavour like garlic powder, cayenne pepper, chilli powder etc.
How to make Poppadoms in the microwave?
To make Poppadoms in the microwave, brush each poppadom with a little oil on both sides and place them on a plate. Microwave the plate for 30-40 seconds and watch the poppadoms crisp up quickly.
However Deep Fried Papad tastes the best!! Just like the ones from your favourite takeaway served with curry and biryani.
What do you eat with Poppadoms?
- People typically eat Plain Poppadums as an accompaniment to an everyday Indian meal.
- One can also serve Masala Poppadums as a starter or appetiser, topped with onion, tomato, carrots, chilli, and coriander.
- In traditional sadhya meals (like Onam Sadhya / Vishu Sadhya), people serve Kerala Pappadams along with Steamed rice, Erissery, Olan, Green beans Poriyal, Sambar, Rasam, Parippu, Puli Inji, and Payasam.
- One can also enjoy Poppadums with paneer curry, split pea dal, biryani and raita.
Poppadom dips
Indian Restaurants in the UK serve Appetisers and Poppadoms with dipping sauces and popular poppadom condiments before the main meal.
- Mint Sauce - Indian mint yogurt sauce is a tangy, sweet, and refreshing dip that pairs perfectly with crispy Poppadoms. It is made with fresh mint leaves, yogurt, and spices.
- Indian Onion Chutney - This cold red onion dip goes well with Poppadums. It is made with onions with spices and mixing them with a tomato-based sauce.
- Mango Chutney - Popular Indian condiment that is slightly sweet and spicy. My homemade mango chutney is made by cooking mangoes with sugar, vinegar, and spices. It keeps well for months!
Storing homemade poppadoms
Store the fried poppadoms in air tight containers in a cool dry place. My mum always stores the papadam in tall stainless steel containers, lined with a paper at the bottom. Alternatively you can also store them in ziplock bags.
Most restaurants make them in bulk at least a week in advance. Still they are so good - isn't it!!
Tips to keep Poppadom's Crispy
If you're wondering why your poppadoms from last night aren't crispy, it's because they've been exposed to air. To revive them, heat up a frying pan without any oil and dry-fry them for a few seconds on each side. This will restore their crispiness.
Remember to fry the papadams in hot oil rather than warm oil, and always do a test check before frying them.
To keep your prepared papadams crispy, store them in zip-lock bags or airtight containers in a cool, dry place.
Recipe FAQ's
Pappadum and Appalam are the same - they are simply known by different names in different states of India. However, there are two kinds of papadam in India - Kerala Pappadams puffs up like Puri when fried and the Madras Poppadoms are like a flat crispy disc that curls up. Puffed-up Kerala Papadams are my favorite most.
Yes, Papadams are 100% Vegan. There may only be risk on cross contamination in factories they are made.
There are many ways to cook Poppadoms - Shallow fry like the restaurants, Air fry, Microwave, or Roast on open flames.
How to make Easy Poppadoms ( just like Curry house)?
Ingredients
- 20 Uncooked Poppadom
- 250 ml Oil of your choice. I prefer using Coconut Oil or Sunflower Oil.
Instructions
Deep frying method ( like Restaurant )
- Heat oil in a wok or a deep pan over medium-high heat.
- Add a piece of papad to check if the oil is hot enough. If it puffs up quickly, I know the oil is hot enough to cook the remaining ones.
- Slide 1 papad at a time to the heated oil. The poppadoms will quickly spread and curl up in the edges. Gently press the edges and middle down to ensure they cook properly. The papadum will cook in 10 -12 seconds.
- Remove the fried poppadum with the tongs and place it on a kitchen paper towel to absorb any excess oil.
- Serve with Indian Mint Sauce, Tamarind Chutney and Raita.
Microwave Method for Oil free Poppadoms.
- Place the Papad / Papadam on a microwave safe plate. Microwave for 40 seconds - 60 seconds. Once you see they have cooked well, transfer it to a serving platter. Enjoy Oil free Poppadoms.
Air fryer Method for Lijjat Papad
- Place the Papad in the Air fryer Basket. Air fry at 200 C for 2-3 minutes.
Roasting the Papad
- Hold the papad with tongs. Roast them on flame or grill until you see them crisp up.
Wendy Latham says
I CANNOT find papads in italy I need a FULL Recipe to make my own please. This is just a half recipe you have put.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
Please visit Asian stores in Italy. They are sure to have Pappads.
DD says
Hello Sandhya, love your website.
Please tell me, should I be putting oil on the poppadoms for the air fryer method? If so, how?
Thank you
Sandhya's Kitchen says
You can brush the poppadoms with oil and then air-fry them. For this, please use lijjat papad.
Anandh says
Good explanation about the difference between appalam,poppadom,pappadam. Most of the people don't know this they get confused with Kerala pappadam and Tamilnadu appalam(poppadom in UK). Really good.
We also manufacture appalam (madras poppadoms) in tamilnadu,india
Biana says
The poppadoms look simple to make, and so delicious! Will be delicious with a dip!
Jamie says
I've had these at restaurants before but never knew what they were called. Thanks so much for the info and recipe on how to make these.
Anjali says
I always buy Papad at the store pre-made but I agree, making these at home tastes so much better!! I'll never go back to pre-made again!
Sara Welch says
I've hadn't heard of Poppadoms until now and I have been missing out! These were not only quick, but delicious too! Easily, a new favorite snack!
Pam says
This post was a complete education for me as I wasn't familiar at all with poppadoms. Thanks for all the awesome info.
Sandhya's Kitchen says
I am so glad Pam - that this post educated you about Poppadoms - such a quick and easy Starter, so budget-friendly to make at home.