Pappadams are dried disks of dough made from legume fl ours. They
are often fl avored with chili, black pepper, garlic and cumin seeds.
Some will be brittle and so thin that they’re almost translucent, while
others will be relatively thick and made perhaps from a different kind
of legumes or lentils. Pappadams are a great way to bring fl avor and
texture to a meal.
There are several different ways to cook the pappadums. A common
way is to deep-fry them, by sliding them one at a time into a skillet
fi lled with hot oil. They will instantly start to expand and change
color. With a pair of tongs, try to hold each one under the surface of
the oil until the whole disk has cooked, a process that should take
no more than 10 seconds. Remove from the fryer, drain excess oil,
and stack them to cool and become crisp. Another method to cook
the pappadums is to hold each one over a fl ame of a gas burner or
a grill, quickly exposing all sides and edges to the heat. They crinkle
up into beautiful shapes almost at once, and as they cool, they
become very crisp. They can be shaped into pockets, rolls or any
desired shapes before they cool. Cooked pappadums can be stuffed
or topped with toasted coconut, chopped herbs, spice mixtures,
mince meats and nuts.