poppadom (papadam, papad, appalam)

These are quite thin wafers made from a paste of lentil (gram) flours, rice flour or even tapioca or sago flour, which is rolled out very thin and then sun-dried. Poppadoms come in different sizes and flavours. Northern Indian ones often have chilli flakes or spices added. To fry poppadoms, heat about 2.5 cm (1 inch) oil in a frying pan until very hot, add the poppadoms one at a time and press them down into the oil with a spatula until they expand and lighten in colour. To flame-roast them, hold a poppadom in some tongs above a gas flame until it expands in size, curls and gets flecked with bubbles (toast both sides). Fried poppadoms will stay crisp for about two hours.