Ingredients:
300g (2 cups) gram (chickpea) flour
1 tsp coarsely-ground black pepper
1 tsp ground cumin seeds
1/2 tsp fine sea salt
1 garlic clove, peeled and finely minced
60ml (1/4 cup) water
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper, to dust
oil for brushing
Method:
Sift together the chickpea flour, cumin and sea salt into a bowl then stir in the black pepper and minced garlic. Add 50ml of the water and bring the ingredients together to form a dough. If the dough is too dry, then add a little more of the remaining water until the ingredients come together.
Turn the dough onto a lightly-floured work surface and knead for 5 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Now take the dough and roll into a sausage shape about 5cm in diameter and 15cm long. Divide this into a dozen pieces of equal size.
Take the first piece and brush one of the cut ends with oil (this will be the top). Sit the dough on your work surface with the unoiled side down then use a rolling pin to roll it out into a very thin circle about 16cm (6 in) in diameter. Dust with a light sprinkling of cayenne pepper then carefully transfer the poppadom to a greased baking tray. Cover lightly as you prepare the next one.
When all the poppadoms are done, transfer to an oven pre-heated to 150°C (300°F) and bake for about 20 minutes, or until crisp and dry (keep checking them after about 15 minutes to ensure they do not burn).
Remove the baked poppadoms from the oven and set aside to cool. At this stage, they can be stored in an air-tight tin or container until needed.
To cook, heat a 3mm (1/8 in) depth of oil in a large frying pan. When the oil is hot (but not smoking) add a poppadom and fry until it begins to curl at the edges. Turn over with tongs and cook on the other side. Remove from the pan, drain on kitchen paper and serve immediately.
For the full collection of curry restaurant dishes on this site, see the: Restaurant-style Curries page
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