Homemade Papdi Recipe (Savoury Crackers)

Papdi is the savory Indian crackers usually served with flavorful and colorful toppings of curd, chutney, and spices. It is the queen of Indian street food fare, most commonly available across the country in all the Chaat carts by the street side. This is a tried and tested homemade papdi recipe that always yields perfectly crispy papdi.

If you are a Chaat lover, then a jar full of homemade papdi is a must-have pantry essential.

Whenever those Chaat cravings strike all you need to do is arrange crisp papdi on a plate, layer them with soft boiled potatoes, chana (chickpeas), chilled sweet curd and an array of colorful chutney.

Serving Suggestions For Papdi:

Papdi can be served with different types of toppings. If you want to try something out of the box, then here are a few serving suggestions:

Option 1) Add boiled potatoes, yogurt, coriander chutney, sweet tamarind chutney, red chili, and cumin powder. Sprinkle some aloo bhujia, and fresh coriander to finish the topping. This is the most common conventional style of serving papdi chaat or Dahi papdi chaat.

Option 2) Mix hung curd, chopped coriander, mint, and spring onion greens along with salt and pepper. Whisk nicely. The topping should be of thick consistency. Dress papdi with this continental topping.

Option 3) Crush 5 – 6 papdi in a bowl, add fried noodles, tomato sauce, Schezwan sauce, and chopped green onion. Mix nicely and here is your Chinese Papadi Chaat ready. Or you can add few crushed papdi in Chinese Bhel as well.

How To Store Papdi?

Homemade Papdi is stored at room temperature in an airtight container. No need to keep it in the fridge. But make sure before storing papdi has cooled down completely. In an air-sealed jar, papdi remain fresh for a month. For traveling, you can carry papdi in a ziplock bag.

Watch Papdi Chaat Recipe in Hindi:

Secrets Of A Perfect Papdi Recipe:

Do not add too much oil in the dough. Else, papdi will become flaky and not crisp.

For binding the dough too much water is not required. We need a firm dough, not a soft one. Once the dough comes together, knead it for 5 – 10 minutes to make it pliable.

While rolling out make sure that papdi is not very thick. It has the thickness similar to a chapati.

Don’t forget to prick the papdi before frying using a knife or fork. This will ensure that papdi doesn’t puff up while frying.

Always deep-fry papdi over medium-high heat. So they are evenly cooked and does not get burnt.

Before storing papdi in a container make sure to cool them completely at room temperature for 1 – 2 hours. After frying, I let them sit in a metal colander.

Step-By-Step Papdi Recipe:

In a large bowl sift flour with semolina. Add salt and ajwain. Mix nicely. Add oil into the flour.

Rub oil and flour between fingers to get the breadcrumb-like consistency. Using a tablespoon of water at a time bind firm dough. The dough should be firm to tough. Hence, do not add all the water at a time. Knead the dough for 5 – 10 minutes.

Cover the dough with a moist piece of cloth and allow to rest for 10 minutes. Grease a rolling pin with a teaspoon of oil. Divide the dough into 4 equal parts. Roll out each dough ball into a large sheet similar to chapati.

Prick the papdi using a fork/toothpick to avoid puffing up while deep frying. Using a round cookie cutter cut rounds of equal size from the rolled dough sheet.

Heat oil in a frying pan over medium-high flame. Slide the papdi in small batches into the hot oil. Fry until light golden in color on both sides. Reduce the heat if papdi start burning or turning brown very fast. Flip them to the other side for even cooking.

Other Indian Chaat Recipes You Might Like:

Aloo Tikki Chaat

Dahi Papdi Chaat

Bread Basket Chaat

Matar Kachori

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