Had it not been my husband’s suggestion, the idea of microwaving pappadum would not have struck my head. Kudos to my husband…
Pappadum – for South Indians; Papad – for North Indians; or Crispy Indian flatbread or wafers – for others. Pappadums are usually deep fried in oil. I’ve only seen them deep fried since my childhood and so never quite had the thought of microwaving it. Pappadums are made from lentils, chickpeas, black grams or rice. There’s so many varieties of pappadums from plain to those with added flavors. In southern India, pappadum making has been a livelihood for many families in rural areas. If you visit Tamilnadu, you are guaranteed to see women making pappadums which are then dried outside their house under the sun.
Pappadums are mostly served as a side dish with meals in South Indian cuisine. However, in North Indian cuisine, it’s mostly eaten as an appetizer or as a snack by adding various toppings on it. Once eaten, pappadam climbs the ladder of favorite list for anyone, especially for kids. Kids love the crispy texture and are usually seen having fun by smashing them. I used to do the same when I was a kid 🙂
Yesterday, when I was about to fry the pappadums for lunch, my husband happened to enter the kitchen and suggested me to microwave the pappadums. I literally laughed at him and asked him to keep this weird idea with him. Then he convinced me to give it a shot. I placed the pappadums in the microwave and hit the 1 minutes cook button. For the entire minute, my eyes were curiously watching the process through the glass door. When I found nothing happening after 30 seconds of cooking, I stared at my husband with ambiguity. Suddenly, I saw blisters forming on the pappadums which put a smile on my face. I added an extra minute as it wasn’t crispy enough. When it was done, crispy pappadums came out of the microwave. When I tasted the pappadum, it tasted exactly as the fried ones.
If I can make the same tasty crispy pappadums in a microwave without frying it in oil, why would I ever fry them? It’s healthy and non-greasy. Since I don’t reuse fried oil, this saves me a lot of oil.
Pappadum or Indian crispy flatbread
Ingredients:
- Pappadums- depending upon how many you want, available in almost all Indian stores
Instruction:
- Place the pappadums on a microwavable flat dish.
- In my microwave, I had to cook for 2 minutes to get crispy pappadums(cooking time varies with the power settings on your microwave and the type of pappadums used, so watch them until you get the crispy texture sometimes it could be low as 20 seconds).
- Make sure to wear a microwave gloves as the dish would be really hot after the cooking.
- Enjoy the pappadums by itself or by topping it with your choice of topping.
- I topped the pappadums with Tomato Rice and Fenugreek Dal
Tips:
- Pappadums made in microwave are crispy but they won’t puff up like the ones deep fried in oil.
- This is a healthy alternative to deep fried ones.
- Avoid crowding the pappadums while placing them on the microwave dish.
- Cooking time depends on the power settings of your microwave and the kind of pappadum, it could vary from 20 seconds to 2 minutes.
- Pappadums- depending upon how many you want, available in almost all Indian stores
- Place the pappadums on a microwavable flat dish.
- In my microwave, I had to cook for 2 minutes to get crispy pappadums(cooking time varies with the power settings on your microwave and the type of pappadums used, so watch them until you get the crispy texture sometimes it could be low as 20 seconds).
- Make sure to wear a microwave gloves as the dish would be really hot after the cooking.
- Enjoy the pappadums by itself or by topping it with your choice of topping.
- I topped the pappadums with Tomato Rice and Fenugreek Dal
This is a healthy alternative to deep fried ones.
Avoid crowding the pappadums while placing them on the microwave dish.
Cooking time depends on the power settings of your microwave and the kind of pappadum, it could vary from 20 seconds to 2 minutes.
