Papadam

For the 2009 film, see Papadom (film).

Papadum

Jackfruit papadums from Bangalore, India
Alternative names	Papad, papar, pampad, happala, poppadam, appalam
Place of origin	India, Pakistan
Main ingredients	Lentils, black gram, chickpeas, rice flour
Variations	Rice or potato papad
Cookbook: Papadum   Media: Papadum

Papadam, (Hindi: पापड़म) (also known as Papad in Northern India or Appadam in Telugu and Pappadum in the rest of south India; spellings vary) is a thin, crisp disc-shaped Indian food typically based on a seasoned dough made from black gram (urad flour), fried or cooked with dry heat. Flours made from other sources such as lentils, chickpeas, rice, or potato, can be used. Papadams are typically served as an accompaniment to a meal in India, or as an appetizer or snack, sometimes with toppings such as chopped onions, chutneys or other dips and condiments. In certain parts of India, papadums which have been dried but not precooked are used in curries and vegetable dishes.

In Kerala, guruvayoor pappadums are very popular as an ingredient of Kerala Sadhya. In Kerala, people from the Pandaaram caste prepare pappadums. In North India, the lentil variety is more popular and is usually called 'papad'.

Etymology

Papadum is a loanword from Tamil பப்படம் pappaṭam.

It's called Appadam in Telugu. In the Tulu language, spoken in coastal Karnataka, it is called appala and happala in Kannada language. It is often made with black gram, jackfruit, and tapioca.

Alternative names for papadum
pāpaṛ	pappad	papparde	pappadom
pappadum	popadam	pompadum	poppadam
poppadom	appadum	appalum	appala
appoll	papari	pamporo	puppodum
pampad	happala	"popper"

Regions

Rolled spicy papadums India.

As papadums are an important part of Indian cuisine, recipes vary from region to region and family to family. They are typically made from flour or paste derived from either lentils, chickpeas, black gram (urad flour), rice, or potato.

In Kerala, guruvayoor pappadums are very popular as an ingredient of Kerala Sadhya. In Kerala, people from the Pandaaram caste prepare pappadums. In North India, the lentil variety is more popular and is usually called 'papad'.

Salt and peanut oil are added to make a dough, which can be flavored with seasonings such as chili, cumin, garlic, or black pepper. Sometimes baking soda or slaked lime is also added. The dough is shaped into a thin, round flatbread and then dried (traditionally in the sun), and can be cooked by deep frying, roasting over an open flame, toasting, or microwaving, depending on the desired texture.

In most curry houses in the United Kingdom and Australia, they are served as an appetiser with dips which often include mango chutney and lime pickle.

Ingredients and preparation

Papad can be prepared from different ingredients and methods. Arguably the most popular recipe uses urad dal or blackgram. Blackgram flour is mixed with black pepper, salt and then mixture is kneaded together. A well-kneaded mixture is then flattened into thin rounds and kept for sun-drying. Once dried, papad can be stored for later consumption. Papad may also contain rice, jackfruit, sabudana, etc. as main ingredients. Cracked black pepper, red chilli powder, asafoetida, or cumin or sesame seeds are often used as flavouring agents.

Business

File:Lijjat Papad pack.jpg

The Rabbit mascot on the Lijjat Papad packing

Papad is often associated with the feminist empowerment of women in India. Many individual and organized businesses run by women produce papad, pickles, and other snacks. This provides them regular income from minimal financial investments. Shri Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad is an organization owned and run solely by women that produces large quantities of papadums on the open market which started as a small business in the late 1950s, with an annual income in 2005 of about Rs.3.15 billion, or US$80 million.

Spelling

Some divergence of transliteration may be noted in the third consonant in the Hindi/Urdu word pāpaṛ. The sound is the retroflex flap [ɽ], which is written in Hindi with the Devanagari letter ड़, and in Urdu script with the Perso-Arabic letter ڑ. Although in IAST the Hindi letter ड़ is transliterated as <ṛ>, popular or nonstandard transliterations of Hindi use <d> for this sound, because etymologically it derives from ड /ɖ/. The occurrence of this consonant in the word pāpaṛ has given rise to two alternative spellings in English: papad, which reflects its etymology, and papar (anglicized as "popper"), which reflects its phonology.

Gallery

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  A stack of roasted papadums, ready to be served.
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  Rice papadum
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  Deep fried papad at an expo in Guntur.
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  Paparis served in Lisbon, Portugal.