Curries have been popular in Indian cuisine. No meal without any curry is complete in India. They serve as the heart of any dish and get perfectly paired with rice or roti. There are varieties of curries made of different kinds of vegetables found all over the country. But did you ever think that curries could be made without any vegetables?
This Papad Ki Sabji is a curry recipe which requires no vegetables and could be made with few ingredients. The recipe is easy to make and the crunch of papad in the curry gives it a unique and delicious flavour. The gravy is composed of curd which is cooked perfectly with grounded spices so that the flavours of spices get infused within the curd adding taste to the entire curry. The texture of the gravy is kept thick so that the crunch of the papad does not vanish. There are numerous flavours and the tanginess of the curd balances it all.
According to culinary historian and author KT Achaya's book "A Historical Dictionary of Indian Food," papad's history stretches back to 500 BC and is mentioned in Buddhist-Jain canonical literature. Papads made with urad, masoor, and chana dal are mentioned. Papad on the subcontinent is at least 1500 years old, if not more, according to historical records, according to Shubhra Chatterji, culinary scholar and founder of Historywali. The fact that papad is first mentioned in Jain literature is not a coincidence. Phaphalia, or simply sun-dried vegetables that serve as papad, is one of the foods that is fast becoming extinct in Shekhawati, a bastion of the Marwari Jain trading community.
When possible, the community would dry vegetables and store them in large dabbas; these veggies were rehydrated and cooked in the dry summers or chilly winters when there wasn't much else to eat. These dried veggies would travel well when they travelled a great distance for commerce, so they would bring them with them and cook them.
Ingredients:
- 10-12 Urad dal papad
- 2 tbsp Ghee
- ¼ tsp Onion seeds
- few Fenugreek seeds
- ½ tsp Cumin seeds
- ½ tsp Fennel seeds
- 2 inch Ginger, chopped
- 2 Green chillies, chopped
- A pinch of asafoetida
- Prepared Curd Mixture
- ½ tsp Sugar
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups Water
- 1 tbsp Coriander leaves, chopped
For Curd Mixture-
- 2 cups Curd, beaten
- 1 tsp Degi red chilli powder
- ½ tsp Turmeric powder
- 1 tsp Coriander powder
For Tadka -
- ½ tbsp Ghee
- 2 Dry red chilli
Method:
- Heat a non-stick pan, roast the urad dal papad from all the sides and keep aside for further use
- In a kadai, add ghee once it's hot, add onion seeds, fenugreek seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and let it splutter well
- Add ginger,green chilli, asafoetida and saute it well
- Add prepared curd mixture and mix it well
- Keep stirring and cook on medium flame
- Add sugar, salt to taste, water and stir continuously on low flame till the curd combines well
- Break the roasted papad roughly into curry. mix well
- Simmer for 2 minutes or more
- Switch off the flame. Add coriander leaves and mix well
- Transfer it into a serving dish, pour the prepared tadka on top of it
- Garnish it with a coriander sprig and serve hot
For Curd Mixture-
- In a bowl, add curd, degi red chilli powder, turmeric powder
- Add coriander powder and mix it well
- Keep aside for further use
For Tadka-
- Heat ghee in a small tadka pan, add dry red chilli and let it puff up
- Keep aside for further use
The curry is easy, quick to make and has unique flavours, unlike any vegetable curry. This ends up giving a relishing experience when tasted.
