Crispy Papdi Recipe | How To Make Papdi For Indian Chaat

Crispy Papdi Recipe | How To Make Papdi For Indian Chaat

Author: Rumki Paul
Course: Snacks
Cuisine: Indian
Preparation Time: 30 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Total time: 60 minutes
Servings: 10-12 Persons

Papdi is one of the most essential components of Chaat recipes of India. It is a small crispy flat bread which adds a supreme crunch and unbeatable taste to many chaat recipes. Papdi is prepared by the dough of All-purpose flour, semolina and some carom seeds. This dough is rolled out and cut into small discs and then deep fried in low flame. Papdi is also accompanied with a cup of tea as evening snacks.

Chaat recipes are heart of Indian street food recipes. Papdi is the base of many luscious chaats like Papdi chaat, Bhel puri, sev puri and many more. To make things accessible and easy, now a days papdi is easily available in market not only in India but also in many foreign countries. I stay in London and Papdi is available in many Gujrati snacks shop. Now, you can imagine the immense popularity of Indian Street Food worldwide.

Though Papdi is readily available in market but I always prefer homemade papdi over market packaged food. Homemade papdi not only tastes better but is also much healthier than readymade ones. The palm oil or rapeseed oil which is used in readymade papdi is not very good for health. Though a small effort would be required to prepare papdi at home, but it will be thousand times healthier and tastier. You can easily see the difference after making it at home. From kids to aged people, everyone in the house love Chaat and if your minimal effort makes your chaat healthy for your family then nothing can be better than it.

Papdi is a wonderful option of Indian snacks recipes for evening. A cup of tea with some crispy and flaky papdi makes the tea more interesting and delicious. Many people think that making papdi at home is a very complicated and messy process, but I believe that’s not correct. The main thing you need to prepare papdi at home is time. If you have time, then it is always fun to make papdis at home.

Papdi recipe is very simple and easy to make. It requires minimal ingredients to get prepared. The best part is you can store it in an airtight container and use it afterwards. It will be an asset for your evening snacks. It can be prepared in both ways, by deep frying or baking. Deep fried papdi always tastes better than the baked version. Today, I will share the deep fried papdi recipe with you.

I am a crazy fan of Indian snacks easy recipes and papdi can be a perfect example of it. Since my childhood, I am the only person of my family who does not drink tea. But I always needed something to munch during that time of the day. So, my mom always used to stock many homemade snacks at home to restrict me to eat chaats frequently from outside. But my eternal love for Indian street food drags me towards the healthy path of eating chaat.

Now, I prepare most of the recipes for Chaat at home very easily. It not only makes the chaat yummier & healthier but gives me an inner satisfaction. I serve my handmade chaat to the elders and kids of my family without a pinch of hesitation. A homemade snack is always an ideal treat for each member of any family.

Papdi 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 and flaky papdi which will remain crispy until the last minute after preparing chaat.

How to make papdi?

For a perfect papdi recipe, it is very important to prepare a perfect dough for it. The dough for papdi should not be too soft. It should be stiff. We should apply enough pressure to roll them to a sheet. As the dough is stiff, so the sheet does not become too thin. But you need to be careful here. The sheet should be of normal thickness not too thick or else you will not get the perfect texture.

For the papdi recipe dough, I have used all-purpose flour, semolina, oil, salt, carom seeds and the required amount of water. Semolina plays a vital role here. It helps to keep the papdi crispy. The carom seeds that I have used here gives a nice soothing flavour to the papdi and enhances its flavour. After making the dough, I have covered it and allowed it to rest for half an hour.

Many people use Ata (Wheat Flour) instead of Maida (All-purpose flour) for health consciousness. But I have used Maida (All-purpose flour) for the recipe. It gives better texture and taste to the papdi.

To make papdi, I have made medium size balls of the dough with the help of hands and flattened them. Then I have rolled out the dough ball to a large chapati on a chapati board with rolling pin. Then I have pierced the chapati with the help of a fork. It is one of the very important steps of preparing papdi. These holes resist the papdis to puff during the time of deep frying.

I have cut them to small discs with the help of a cookie cutter. You can also use a small bowl or a narrow-necked glass instead of a cookie cutter. You can roll small chapatis too instead of it. But this process would be too lengthy and time consuming. I always prefer to roll large chapatis and then cut them into smaller discs. With this process, the papdis remain even in shape. Many people cut the papdi in different shapes, but I always like them in small round shape. According to me, this is the handiest shape for preparing chaat.

Temperature of oil is an important factor during the time of frying papdi. To get perfect texture, it is very important to fry them in low temperature till golden brown. It takes a little longer but gives perfectly crispy and flaky papdis as you always desire.

How to store papdi at home?

After frying the papdi, let them become completely cool. Then store them in an airtight container. Keep the container in a cool and dry place. You can store the papdis for 4 weeks and enjoy it.

Ingredients:

• 1 cup Maida (All purpose Flour)
• 1/3 cup Rava (Fine Semolina)
• 1 teaspoon Ajwain (Carom Seeds)
• 1 and ½ tablespoons Oil for the dough
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 120 ml Water to knead the dough (Use as required)
• Oil for deep frying

1. Measure all the dry ingredients and put them in a large mixing bowl.
   
   

2. Mix all the ingredients nicely with the help of a spoon.
   

3. Then add oil into the mixing bowl.
   

4. Mix the oil nicely and evenly with the help of hand.
   

5. Add the required amount of water in small portions slowly into the mixture and mix it nicely to make a stiff dough.
   

6. Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rest for half an hour.
   

7. Again, Knead the dough for a minute and divide them to equal portions to make large chapati balls.
   

8. Put the chapati balls on a roller board.
   

9. Roll out a thin large chapati with the help of a rolling pin.
   

10. Prick on the chapatis repeatedly to make small holes with the help of a fork.
    

11. Cut the chapati to small discs with the help of a cookie cutter or small bowl or lid of any proper sized container.
    
    

12. Put a pan on medium low flame.
13. Add oil into a pan for deep frying the papdi.
    

14. When the oil is moderate hot, add the papdi discs (Step 11) in batches into the oil.
    

    Tip: Don’t over crowd the pan. Papdis will not get cooked properly if you overcrowd them. Make sure space is there to turn the papdis.
    

15. Put the flame in low and fry the papdis for 5-6 minutes from both the sides till golden.
    

16. Drain the papdis from the oil. I have used Chinese strainer ladle to drain the excess oil from the papdis.
    

17. Transfer the papdis on to a kitchen tissue lined plate. The kitchen tissue will absorb the excess oil from the papdis.
    

18. Let the papdis become cool and then store them in an airtight container.