Masala papar aka masala papad recipe is a popular vegan Indian snacks recipe. It’s crispy, spicy and tangy in taste and is loaded with flavors. It is a super easy-to-make, quick and fuss-free recipe. In this preparation, roasted or fried papad is topped with masala which is prepared by mixing onion, tomatoes, coriander leaves, green chillies, lemon juice, sev and some spices. Masala papads is a healthy, nutritious and luscious Indian street food which can be served as an appetizer or tea-time snack. It could be a perfect option for sudden guests.
Table of Contents
About the recipe
Tips and Suggestions
How to make Masala Papad (step wise photos)
Recipe Card
What is Masala papad?
Masala papad is a crazily popular north Indian snack recipe which is prepared with a handful of ingredients and gets prepared within a few minutes. It is frequently prepared by street vendors, restaurants and in Indian households. The name of the recipe itself tells about it.
The word ‘Masala’ means ‘Spice’. In this preparation, the masala is prepared with a mixture of veggies, spices, salt, and lemon juice. ‘Papad’ is a ‘thin Indian wafer‘.
Papad is basically sun-dried thin flat disc-shaped dough prepared with gram flour aka besan or rice flour, tapioca or other lentils. It is normally either roasted or deep-fried till crispy. There are varieties of papad that are easily available in the market with different tastes and flavors. In this recipe, I have used urad dal papad with black peppers.
Papad is one of the most versatile elements which are used in myriad Indian street food to enhance the taste and texture of the dish.
Indian street food has always been a centre of attraction in Indian cuisine. Masala papad is one of the finest examples of it. It is known for its amazing flavors, different layers of texture and combinational hot and tangy taste which tickles all the taste buds of the mouth and dominates the senses. All these reasons have been drooling people for the dish for decades. Though it is easily available in every small town, city and village in India, but people never feel enough or get bored of it.
The first time, I had this wonderful masala papad recipe was in one of the chaat centres of Pune and I just loved the preparation. It was so delicious and full of flavors. Then I decided to prepare it at home and it came out pretty well. Everyone just loved the masala papad and now it has become one of our frequently served tea-time snacks.
Masala papar aka masala papad is very simple and easy to make. It gets prepared very quickly and can be prepared in big batches without investing any extra time and effort. So, it is a perfect snack for any get-together, kitty parties and small birthday parties. To save time and effort, you can roast or fry the papad in advance and keep them in an airtight container. Then chop the veggies and make the masala ready to make the dish handy before your guests arrive. You just need to top all the ingredients on the papad in front of them and serve your guests immediately. It’s a matter of a few minutes to make a plate of masala papad recipe if all the ingredients are ready.
Ingredients for masala papad
Papad: It is the primary element of the recipe which proves the body of the dish.
Onion & Tomato: These are the other most important ingredients of the recipe which add taste, flavour and texture to the dish.
Coriander leaves: It gives a nice refreshing flavour to the dish.
Green chillies: The addition of green chillies gives a heaty taste to the dish. You can adjust the amount according to your preference.
Lemon juice: It adds tanginess and a refreshing taste to the dish. Add the lemon juice just before serving or else it can make the papad damp.
Sev: The addition of sev gives a nice bite and taste to the masala papad.
Salt, red chilli powder and chaat masala: Salt adds a basic savoury taste to the dish and chaat masala adds taste and flavour to the dish. The addition of red chilli powder gives a heaty touch to the dish. If you don’t prefer then you can skip the chilli powder.
Oil: Oil is used to roast the papad. You can use and variety of flavourless oil for the recipe.
Masala papad recipe with step-by-step photos and instructions have been provided in the ‘Instruction’ section of the recipe. If you follow each step of my recipe precisely then you will get the perfectly crispy masala papar which will taste better than the chaat centre.
Tips to prepare perfect masala papad
- To get crispy masala papad, always serve them immediately or else the papad will become soggy if it sits for longer. The moisture present in the veggies will turn the papad soggy slowly.
- If you are using masala papad then you can skip the spices from the recipe. But for plain papad, spices are necessary.
- You can add a choice of your veggies like carrots and cucumber other than onion, tomato, green chilli, and coriander leaves for the recipe.
Frequently asked Questions
What type of papad works best for the recipe?
Any kind of papad can be used for the recipe. But according to me, urad dal papad, moong dal papad, or the mixture of urad dal and moong dal papad works best for the recipe. You can use a plain, mild or spicy variety of papad according to your own preference.
Shall I deep fry the papad?
Yes, of course. It’s completely up to you. You can roast the papad on the gas hob or microwave it or can deep fry it. Other than these options, you can choose my way to roast the papad on tawa with a little bit of oil.
How to store masala papad?
You can roast or fry the papad and keep them in an air-tight container for 3-5 days. You can even prepare the masala and refrigerate it for 2 days. But make sure you don’t add salt and lemon juice to the masala.
How to serve masala papad?
Usually, masala papad is served as a snack with a cup of tea during tea time or as an appetizer or as a side with a meal.
How to make masala papad?
To prepare the masala papad recipe, First put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Brush ½ teaspoon of oil on the pan. Turn the flame to medium and add the papad to the pan. Brush ½ teaspoon oil on the top side of the papad.
Press the papad with a spatula on a regular basis so that shape of the papad remains flat and gets roasted evenly. Roast the papad from both sides till it becomes crunchy and brown spots occur. It takes around 2-3 minutes to roast one papad. Keep the papad aside on a separate plate and repeat the process to roast the other papads.
To prepare masala papar, it is very important to assemble all the ingredients before you start plating.
First chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies, coriander leaves and keep them aside. Take a bowl and add the chopped onions, tomatoes, green chillies, coriander leaves and mix them with a spoon.
Take papad on a plate and spread the onion-tomato mixture on it. Squeeze some lemon juice on top of the papad. Then sprinkle some salt, sev, chaat masala, and red chilli powder, one by one as topping on the papad. The combinations of all these spices give a perfect flavor to the dish. Now the masala papad recipe is ready to serve. Serve it immediately or else the papad will lose its crunch.
Many Indian Street food recipes have already been shared in my previous posts. You can check a few of them like
Bhelpuri
Papdi Chaat
Aloo Chaat
Chana chaat
..And Many more…
Ingredients:
To roast the papad
- 2 pieces of round Papad
- 2 teaspoons Oil to roast the papad
For the masala
- ⅓ cup Onion
- ⅓ cup Tomato
- ¼ cup Coriander leaves
- 1 green Chilli
- ½ Lemon, to squeeze fresh juice
- 4 tablespoons Sev
- ½ teaspoon red Chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat masala
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions:
- First, put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Brush ½ teaspoon oil on the pan.
- Turn the flame to medium and add the papad to the pan. Brush ½ teaspoon oil on the top side of the papad.
- Press the papad with a spatula on a regular basis so that shape of the papad remains flat and gets roasted evenly. Roast the papad from both sides till it becomes crunchy and brown spots occur. It takes around 2-3 minutes to roast one papad.
- Keep the papad aside on a separate plate and repeat the same process to roast the other papads.
- Chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies, coriander leaves and keep them aside.
- Take a bowl and add ⅓ cup chopped onions, ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves and 1 chopped green chilli into it.
- Mix all the ingredients with a spoon.
For one serving
- Take papad on a plate and spread half of the onion-tomato mixture on it.
- Squeeze some lemon juice on top of the papad.
- Sprinkle around ⅛ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sev, ¼ teaspoon chaat masala, and ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder, one by one as topping on the papad.
- Now the masala papad recipe is ready to serve. Serve it immediately or else the papad will lose its crunch.
Serving Instruction
Serve the masala papad recipe immediately after preparing. Enjoy the healthy salivating snack with your family and friends with lots of gossip.
Ingredients
To roast the papad
- 2 pieces of round Papad
- 2 teaspoons Oil to roast the papad
For the masala
- ⅓ cup Onion
- ⅓ cup Tomato
- ¼ cup Coriander leaves
- 1 green Chilli
- ½ Lemon, to squeeze fresh juice
- 4 tablespoons Sev
- ½ teaspoon red Chilli powder
- ½ teaspoon Chaat masala
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
Instructions
- First, put a pan on flame and allow it to become completely dry. Brush ½ teaspoon oil on the pan.
- Turn the flame to medium and add the papad to the pan. Brush ½ teaspoon oil on the top side of the papad.
- Press the papad with a spatula on a regular basis so that shape of the papad remains flat and gets roasted evenly. Roast the papad from both sides till it becomes crunchy and brown spots occur. It takes around 2-3 minutes to roast one papad.
- Keep the papad aside on a separate plate and repeat the same process to roast the other papads.
- Chop the onions, tomatoes, green chillies, coriander leaves and keep them aside.
- Take a bowl and add ⅓ cup chopped onions, ⅓ cup chopped tomatoes, ¼ cup chopped coriander leaves and 1 chopped green chilli into it.
- Mix all the ingredients with a spoon.
For one serving
- Take papad on a plate and spread half of the onion-tomato mixture on it.
- Squeeze some lemon juice on top of the papad.
- Sprinkle around ⅛ teaspoon salt, 2 tablespoons sev, ¼ teaspoon chaat masala, and ¼ teaspoon red chilli powder, one by one as topping on the papad.
- Now the masala papad recipe is ready to serve. Serve it immediately or else the papad will lose its crunch.
