Poppadoms are a delightful, crisp mix between a chip and a cracker. Some varieties are super thin and fluffy, while others are more robust (like a pita chip). Originally popular in places like India and Pakistan, they are made with chickpea flour and are both baked AND fried. Sounds awesome, right? I first came across poppadoms while reading Neverwhere, when Door asks for spicy poppadoms to go with her vegetable curry at the Floating Market in London.

I was intrigued by the idea of these unusual little crackers, so I decided to make some for my Neverwhere menu! I tracked down a recipe from wikiHow that adds cayenne pepper to the list of ingredients (since Door specifically requests spicy poppadoms).

Munch on, Wonderlanders. Let’s get cooking! 🙂

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Lady Door’s Spicy Poppadoms

“Hammersmith shivered, despite the heat of his brazier. “Violate the Market Truce? Brrrr.”
“It’s not going to happen. Go on. Both of you. Curry, please. And get me some poppadoms, please. Spicy ones.”

— Neverwhere

 

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 cups chickpea/garbanzo bean flour (You can find this with the gluten free flours in some stores, or you can order it online.)
• 1/2 tsp black pepper
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3/8 cup water
• cayenne pepper for dusting
  
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil, optional

Makes 7 poppadoms (9 if you use the scraps)

 

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Preheat your oven to 300°. Stir together the flour, black pepper, garlic powder, cumin, and salt in a large bowl.
2. Make a depression in the mix and pour in the water a little at a time, mixing with a fork until well combined.
3. Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes until smooth. Gather into a ball.

   

4. Tear off a golf ball sized piece of dough and roll very thin on a floured surface (about 1/16″ thickness). Cut the dough into a 5-inch circle. Dust with cayenne pepper on both sides.
   
   

   

    

5. Repeat Step 4 with your remaining dough (you can wad the scraps up into small balls and re-roll them, or you can just discard them). Place 3-4 rounds on a greased baking sheet and bake for 17 minutes or until they are firm and dry (they should sound hollow when tapped). Bake all remaining rounds of dough.
   
6. You can eat them like this, or you can fry them after baking. I highly recommend frying, since the baked version can be more dry and grainy. To fry, heat 2 tbsp vegetable oil in a small skillet and fry your poppadoms one at a time for 30-60 seconds on each side. You want to fry them just enough for the edges to get golden—not so much that they darken.
7. Dust with extra salt if desired and serve.

   

 

Check out our other cracker recipes! 🙂

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