Paporer Tarkari (Papad Curry)

Papadum is a thin Indian crispy cuisine sometimes described as a cracker or flatbread. They are typically served as an accompaniment to a meal in India. It is also eaten as an appetizer or a snack and can be eaten with various toppings such as chopped onions, chutney or other dips and condiments. (wikipedia)

Don’t you sometime think that our lives are becoming very very hectic, strenuous and exhausting, which in turn has made our life so demanding that we hardly are getting any time to sit back and relax. We have to plan everything in advance and if one thing is not done according to that the life goes off the track. In our family Hubby has a very demanding Job and am partially working and on top of that we have a very active soon to be one year old kid to manage. We are looking for a full time maid and till now no such good luck with that. Most of the time we have to plan all our household work for the weekends which makes these two days more frantic. Last weekend both of us were very tired and wanted to loosen up a little and enjoy Holi to the fullest…following which no vegetable and fruit shopping was done. Resulting to that small decision, by Wednesday my kitchen gone completely haywire. It was beginning of the month and grocery was also to be replenished.

in the midst of this misery Maid did not turn up in the morning. After a session of cleaning and washing the utensils, When I was almost brainstorming as what to cook for dinner and pack for Hubby’s lunch tomorrow, I heard a whizzing sound along with the baby’s scream at the top note. I went running to the spot and discovered the puzzled little one sitting infront of the washing machine completely drenched and water coming out from a pipe and spraying everywhere in full motion. He had pulled out the water pipe to the washing machine and completely flooded the dining space. Poor me, with a clenched teeth I kept on chanting, “All is well, all is well” and mopped off almost 2 buckets of water from the floor. 

Once the baby settled for his late evening nap I decided on making Paporer tarkari/ Papad curry or a curry dish made with Papad. This recipe could actually be a life saver for times when you don’t have anything other than onion and potatoes in your pantry, as the Papad already have lots of spices no need to add anything other than salt, turmeric and chillies. One of my childhood friend M’s Mother makes amazing papad curry and she only adds some cumin-coriander powder. I tried her recipe but never achieved that stunning result as hers. So I prefer to add a teeny tiny dollop of onion-ginger paste…Hubby also prefers it this way.  This humble curry pairs really well with rice. We also had ours with rice, plain red lentil soup (musoor Dal) and omlette at the side. Though the day started on quite some bad note but ended really well with a satisfying meal.

Paporer Tarkari (Papad Curry)

(serves 3)

Ingredients:

Potato: 2 medium

Tomato: 1 medium; chopped (I used a handful of cherry tomatoes from my veggie patch)

Onion-ginger paste: 1 tbsp

Masala Papad: 4 (I used Lizzat masala papad )

Dry red chillies: 2 pieces

Cumin seeds: ½ tsp

Chilli powder: ½ tsp

Garam masala powder: 1/3 tsp

Salt

Turmeric

Oil: 2 tsp

Method:

Peel and cut the potatoes in big cubes. Microwave for 8 minutes with salt, I prefer it as it calls for lesser oil while frying.

Microwave or dry roast the papads on stovetop. If you are roasting in microwave do it for 30 seconds or till done. You can also fry them in hot oil. Break in quarters and keep aside.

Heat the oil and put the cumin seeds and red chillies. Once the seeds sizzle add the drained potatoes. Fry till lightly golden in colour.

Add in the masala paste, salt, chilli and turmeric powder. Mix and let it cook on low heat.

Once the fat starts to separate add chopped tomato and stir to mix everything together.

Wait till the tomatoes are mushy, then pour 11/2 cups of water (preferably warm). This dish is not completely dry but has a thick gravy coating the potatoes. Mix and cover and cook till potoes are done.

Add the papads and gently give it a stir. Check the seasoning. Sprinkle garam masala powder and serve on a bed of steamed white rice. Yummy

Variations: like all other Indian Dishes this is very versatile you can change the spice mix to suit your taste.

• you can also use other vegetables like green peas, squash or carrots. Actually substituting potatoes with squash seems a great idea.

• If you like it more spicy add a little garlic paste and rather than microwaving fry the potatoes golden brown in hot oil.

• To have a creamier texture substitute tomatoes with thick beaten curd.

• Even a typical South Indian tempering of mustard seeds, Curry leaves and Gram dal will also work wonder. In that case I would prefer to use South Indian style papad.