Udad Dal Papads Recipes

URAD DAL

Steps:

• Combine black lentils and red kidney beans in a pot. Cover with water; let soak, 8 hours to overnight.
• Add 1 teaspoon salt, 1/2 teaspoon ginger, and 1/2 teaspoon chili powder to the beans. Boil until soft but not pasty, about 30 minutes.
• Heat butter and oil in a separate pot. Add cumin, cloves, and bay leaves; cook until sputtering, about 1 minute. Add onion, green chili, and remaining salt and ginger; fry until golden brown, 5 to 10 minutes. Add tomato and garlic; cook until tomato is soft, about 5 minutes. Add coriander, turmeric, and remaining chili powder; fry until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
• Add beans and lemon juice to the spice mixture; mix gently. Add garam masala. Simmer dal over low heat for 15 minutes. Add cream and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes.

HOMEMADE PAPADUMS FROM SCRATCH

Steps:

• Mix together the flour, salt, optional powdered spices, and water until the ingredients just come together. Add the water little by little while mixing together, until you end up with a stiff dough. Feel free to adjust the salt and spices to taste. (Garlic powder and pepper are optional additions.)
• Knead and pound on the dough for several minutes. At first the dough will be sticky, but as you knead and pound on it, it will start to come together. You can grease your hands and counter to help keep everything from sticking. I've used both coconut oil and olive oil and both work well. (Any vegetable oil shoud work.)
• Take sections of the dough and roll them out on the countertop thinly, around 2mm thin. Use a round cookie cutter to cut out circular-shaped papadums and then use a rolling pin to roll the disks out it even thinner.
• Optionally sprinkle whole cumin seeds or other spices over the disks and use a rolling pin to gently press them into the papadums.
• Spread the poppadum disks over parchment paper to allow them to dry. Flip the disks ocassionally throughout the drying process. (You can speed up the process by drying them in the sun, a dehydrator, or an oven at its lowest temperature.)
• Dried papadums can be stored in an airtight container for later, or cooked for immediate serving.
• Papadums can be broiled in the oven, puffed in the microwave, or deep-fried. My favorite method is to deep fry or pan fry the papadums in a small amount of oil. Papadums made in this way crisp up instantly in the hot oil. Broiled and microwaved papadums also crisp up quickly but aren't as light and flaky as the deep-fried ones.

UDAD DAL PAPADS

Steps:

• Add all the masalas except oil to the udad flour. Mix well.
• Bind together to form a very hard dough by adding water.
• Cover and keep aside for 2 hours at least.
• Apply little oil; knead the dough by hammering with a heavy pestle to make the dough softer.
• Make equal number of balls.
• Roll out each ball on a rolling board with the help of rolling pins in a circular movement.
• Apply oil if papad tends to stick on rolling board. Repeat with the remaining balls.
• Dry the papad in direct sunlight.
• Remove from sunlight as soon as they are dry enough otherwise they tend to crack.Dry them for a day or two.

URAD DHAL

Steps:

• Wash the dhal in at least three changes of cold water until the water runs clear. Put the rinsed dhal in a large bowl with plenty of cold water, cover and leave to soak at room temperature for 12-24 hrs.
• Drain and rinse the dhal, then tip into a large saucepan. Cover with 2 litres of cold water and bring to the boil, skimming any foam from the top. Turn down the heat, half-cover and gently simmer for 2½-3 hrs. If the water level starts to drop below the top of the dhal, add a splash more boiling water. Once cooked, the dhal should be completely soft and start breaking down into the liquid. If the liquid is still thin, simmer for an extra few mins and mash the dhal lightly to help thicken.
• Heat the oil in a small frying pan. Add the garlic and ginger and fry gently for 1-2 mins to soften but not brown. Add the ground coriander, chilli powder, turmeric and tomato purée with a large splash of water. Cook for 1-2 mins, then scrape into the pan of dhal and gently heat through.
• Add extra water if needed to make the dhal looser and creamy. Sprinkle over the garam masala and remove from the heat. Serve in bowls with rice topped with a swirl of coconut yogurt, a scattering of coriander and some lime wedges on the side for squeezing over.