Curry House Style Fried Poppadoms
Light, crisp curry house style poppadoms made by quickly frying dried, uncooked papads in hot oil. Each disc expands and blisters within seconds, then drains on a rack for a delicate texture ready to serve with chutneys, pickles and mint sauce.
Ingredients
- 8 dried uncooked papads approximately 15cm wide
- 1 litre rapeseed or sunflower oil for deep-frying or enough to create a depth of about 5cm while filling the pan no more than one-third full
Instructions
- Arrange a wire rack over a heatproof tray and place long tongs or a spider beside the hob. Make sure the papads and equipment are completely dry.
- Pour the oil into a wide, deep pan, filling it no more than one-third full. Heat over a medium-high heat to 180°C.
- Test the oil with a small broken piece of papad. It should expand and float immediately without turning brown. Remove the test piece.
- Slide one papad carefully into the oil, directing it away from you. Press it gently beneath the surface with the tongs or spider. Turn once as soon as it expands.
- Fry for approximately 8 to 12 seconds in total, removing the poppadom while it is expanded, crisp and still pale. Hold it vertically over the pan for a few seconds to drain.
- Transfer to the wire rack. For a flatter poppadom, cover it with baking paper and press with a flat heatproof plate for 3 to 5 seconds, then remove the plate promptly.
- Let the oil return to 180°C and repeat with the remaining papads. Cool completely before stacking, serving or placing in an airtight container.
Notes
- This recipe cooks shop bought dried papads. It does not make the uncooked discs from pulse flour dough. - Very thin papads may cook faster than the timing given, so remove them as soon as they expand. - Do not wait for the poppadom to brown because it continues crisping after removal. - Fry one at a time until you are comfortable with the speed of the process.
- Never fill the pan more than one third with oil or leave hot oil unattended.
- Never fill the pan more than one third with oil or leave hot oil unattended.
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