Rajasthani Poppadum Curry
Papads(or poppadum in the U.K.) are very thin lentil flatbreads, about the size of a tortilla. They are either fried or roasted and used as an accompaniment to meals. They come in many flavors and variations from region to region throughout India. In the region of Rajasthan, they are used in curries.What this curry reminds me of is corn tortillas absorbing enchilada sauce, but with Indian flavors. The papads soak up the curry and soften, but still have a firmness to them. The curry sauce is very rich from the yogurt with strong savory flavors from the ginger garlic paste, coriander, cumin, chili and turmeric powders. You could almost just eat this right out of the pan. But don’t. Serve with steamed rice.
Equipment
- Food processor or immersion blender
Ingredients
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1/4 tsp asafoetida
- 2 tbsp ginger garlic paste
- 1 green bird’s eye chili finely chopped
- 1 medium tomato
- 2 tbsp tomato paste
- 1 tbsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp kashmiri chili powder
- 1 cup Greek yogurt
- 1 cup water
- salt to taste
- 5 poppadum
Garnish
- cilantro chopped
Instructions
- Mix together the ginger garlic paste and green chilies. Set aside.
- In a blender or food processor, purée the tomato and tomato paste. Set aside.
- Heat up cooking oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Sizzle the cumin seeds and asafoetida for 30 seconds.
- Add in the ginger garlic chili paste and fry for 1 minute.
- Add in the tomato purée and fry for 6 minutes.
- Add in the coriander powder, turmeric powder, and Kashmiri chili powder. Fry for 1 minute.
- Slowly whisk in the Greek yogurt. Simmer on low heat for 5 minutes.
- Pour in the water and season with salt. Simmer for 8 minutes.
- While the curry is simmering, preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Place the poppadum on a rack.
- Bake for 3-4 minutes.
- Break up the poppadum into chunks and toss in the curry sauce. Cover and simmer for just 2 minutes.
- Garnish with cilantro.
