I love a tower of restaurant poppadoms and a parade of chutneys as much as the next woman, but they can be overly greasy and salty. These poppadoms are neither, and you can make them at home in huge, family-sized rounds. Or, if you’re not into sharing, you can make lots of small, canapé-sized rounds using a cookie cutter. These are made with chickpea flour because I prefer the flavour, so don’t be surprised if these end up a little thicker than the ones you’re used to.
Ingredients
For the tomato masala
- 500 g ripe tomatoes
- ½ a red onion
- 1½ green finger chillies
- 15 g fresh coriander
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 tablespoons lime juice
For the poppadoms
- 250 g chickpea (gram) flour (plus extra to dust)
- 2 teaspoons nigella seeds
- ¾ teaspoon ground black pepper
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon chilli powder
- 3 tablespoons rapeseed oil
How to Make It
- Chop the tomatoes very finely, then do the same with the red onion, green chillies and coriander. Place in a serving bowl with the salt and lime juice, stir to mix, and refrigerate until needed. (The longer it sits, the tastier it will be.)
- To make the poppadoms, preheat the oven to 160°C/320°F/gas 3 and line a couple of baking trays with lightly oiled foil. Place the chickpea flour in a large mixing bowl, and add the nigella seeds, black pepper, salt, cumin and chilli powder. Mix thoroughly, then add the oil and work through with your fingers until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
- Make a well in the middle of the mix. Little by little, add 100 ml of water, mixing as you go – you may not need it all. Knead the dough until it comes together into a ball; it will be slightly tacky to the touch. Remove the dough from the bowl, wrap tightly in cling film and leave to rest for 30 minutes.
- Lightly flour a clean surface and split the dough into 4 balls (about 100 g each). Take the first ball, flatten between your palms and coat both sides in flour. Roll it into as big a round as you can, 25 cm in diameter if possible, adding a little more flour if it starts to stick. It’s not easy to get poppadoms round, but if you don’t manage it, they will look rustic (to use estate agent terms).
- When rolled, place on the oiled tray and repeat. You may need to cook them in a couple of batches, in which case cover the dough and roll it out just before baking, so it doesn’t dry out. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes, or until they are golden brown and hard when you tap them.
- To serve, place the poppadoms on large plates and use a slotted spoon to spoon over the tomato masala, leaving the liquid behind. Or serve the masala in a bowl next to the poppadoms.
