Papadam
A papadam or appalam is an Indian deep fried dough of black gram bean flour, either fried or cooked with dry heat (flipped over an open flame) until crunchy. Other flours made from lentils, chickpeas, rice, tapioca, millet or potato are also used. "Papad" is typically served as an accompaniment to a meal in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean or as an appetizer, often with a dip such as chutneys or toppings, such as chopped onions and chili peppers, or they may be used as an ingredient in sabjis. Etymology. "Papadam" is derived from the  Sanskrit word "parpaṭa" (पर्पट), meaning a flattened disc. Papadams are known by several names in the various languages of India, e.g. "appalam" in Tamil; "happala" in Kannada; "papadam" (පපඩම්) in Sinhala; "pappadam" in Malayalam; "appadam" in Telugu; "papad" in Marathi, Punjabi and Gujarati; and "pampada" in Odia. Regional variations. "Papadam" recipes vary from region to region and from family to family. They are typically made from a flour or paste derived from lentils, chickpeas, black gram, rice, or potatoes. Salt and peanut oil are added to make a dough, which can be flavored with seasonings such as chili, cumin, garlic , or black pepper. Sometimes, baking soda or slaked lime or also added. The dough is shaped into a thin, round flatbreads, dried, (traditionally in the sun), and can be cooked by deep frying, roasting over an open flame, toasting, or microwaving, depending on the desired texture. Bikaner is the hub of chickpea and green gram "papadam" manufacturing. Potato "papadam" is made in Varanasi. Most sweet- and snack-selling national companies are also involved in this business. In the north, papads made in the city of Amritsar and its surrounds (Amritsari Papar Warian) are especially famous. The Lijjat Papad company (Shri  Mahila Griha Udyog Lijjat Papad), headquartered in Mumbai, is a major manufacturer, and is often cited as an exemplar of the women's empowerment movement in India, as it is run entirely by women. In most Indian restaurants around the world, they are served as an appetizer with dips, which often include mango chutney, lime pickle, onion chutney, and "raita". Masala papar with sev, onion, tomato and coriander leaves is one of India's most popular appetizers. Ingredients and preparation. "Papadam" can be prepared from different ingredients and methods. Arguably, the most popular recipe uses flour ground from hulled split  black gram mixed with black pepper, salt, and a small amount of vegetable oil and a food-grade alkali, and the mixture is kneaded. A well-kneaded dough is then flattened into very thin rounds and then dried and stored for later preparation and consumption. It may also contain rice, jackfruit, sago, etc., as main ingredients. Cracked black pepper, red chili powder, Asafoetida, or cumin or sesame seeds are often used as flavoring agents. Papar (also called Happala in South India) is also made from rice flakes, ragi or horsegram. Spelling and pronunciation. Some divergence of transliteration may be noted  in the third consonant in the Hindi/Urdu word "pāpaṛ". The sound is the retroflex flap , which is written in Hindi with the Devanagari letter ड़, and in Urdu script with the Perso-Arabic letter ڑ. Although in ISO 15919 the Hindi letter is transliterated as <ṛ>, popular or nonstandard transliterations of Hindi use <d> for this sound. The occurrence of this consonant in the word has given rise to two alternative spellings in English: "papar" (anglicized as "popper"), which reflects its phonology, and "papad", which reflects its etymology.