Papdi Recipe | Papri ( Fried & Baked)

Here’s a recipe for one of those Diwali Snacks, which can be made in the baked version also. Thus, making for a healthier choice too. The recipe is that of Papdi which are crisp, small flour crackers or crispy puris laced with either carom seeds, cumin seeds or both. Traditionally, these are deep-fried. But as I said, my Papdi Recipe also has a procedure to bake it. These crunchy, munchy puris are also an important ingredient in many chaat dishes like Papdi Chaat, Dahi Bhalla, Sev Puri, Bhel Puri etc.

About Papdi

Papdi (also referred to as Papri) can be explained as small savory crispy puris or crackers, essentially made by deep-frying or baking a spiced flour dough.

The most common spices that go in a Papdi Recipe are cumin seeds (jeera), carom seeds (ajwain) or a combination of both. It is usually used to make a variety of chaats or can also be consumed as a snack, in itself.

A classic Papdi Recipe usually has all-purpose flour (maida) as the main ingredient in the dough. But there are many variations which can be prepared with just whole wheat flour (atta) or both maida and atta. My recipe has equal quantities of both these flours.

The recipe of a Papdi has minimal ingredients all together, and has quite a simple methodology too. If you follow the procedure well, it will be easy for you to make a batch of these fresh, crisp puris at home and relish with your near and dear ones. And not just Diwali, you can enjoy it in any other festival too.

More on my recipe

I usually make a good batch of Papdi, as I do not like the smell of rancid oil that’s typical in the readymade ones. Since these are fried again and again in the same oil, they are not good for health too.

But, there may be some exceptions and you might just get lucky to find nice ones available in the market too.

With this Papdi Recipe, I make both fried and baked versions at home. The fried ones are definitely better in texture as well as taste.

However, the baked ones make for a guilt free snack. I have also tried a lot of chaat dishes with these baked ones and they’ve turned out to be just as good.

Usually, we prefer a little flakiness in these crackers. So, I have incorporated the changes accordingly in this Papdi Recipe as well. Otherwise, you just need to knead the dough directly and then proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Make the Papdi at home, use in your favorite chaats or just have it plain with a cup of tea or as a snack. Store them in an air-tight jar or box.

How to make Papdi

Make Dough

1. Mix 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta), 1 cup all-purpose flour (maida), 1 teaspoon carom seeds (ajwain), 1 teaspoon cumin seeds and salt as required.

Rub or mix 2 to 2.5 tablespoons ghee or oil in the dough till you get a breadcrumb like texture in the mixture. This method helps in making the papdis a bit flaky.

2. Add 5.5 to 6 tablespoons water or as required, and knead to a firm tight dough. Keep it covered for 30 minutes.

3. Knead again and then divide the dough into 4 equal portions.

Make Papdi

4. Roll each dough portion thin. Using a cookie cutter, cut rounds or different shapes. Remove the extra rolled dough and use to make the rest of the Papdi. 

You can also make tiny balls from the whole dough and then roll each into a small puri. But this is time consuming. So, using the cookie cutter makes the work faster.

5. Prick the cut out Papdi with fork, so that they don’t puff while frying and become crisp.

Fry Papdi

6. To fry papdi, slide them in medium hot oil and with the help of a slotted spoon, fry till golden. The sizzling in the oil stops when the papdi are fried.

After you add the papdi to the hot oil, wait for the papdi to become light golden and then turn them over. Turn over when the second side is light golden.

Fry turning over as needed until both the sides are crispy and golden. Make sure the oil is moderately hot as frying in less hot oil will make the papdis absorb more oil.

While frying in a very hot oil will make them brown faster leaving the insides undercooked.

7. Drain the fried Papdi on kitchen paper towels to remove excess oil. Continue and make more in the similar way.

Bake Papdi

8. To bake papdi, place them in a lightly greased baking tray.

9. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 degrees C for 20 to 25 minutes or till golden. Keep an eye while baking, as sometimes they bake very quickly, especially if rolled very thin.

You can also flip each papdi (with small spatula or small tongs) after baking for 10 minutes and then place them back in the oven to bake further. This ensures that both sides are crispy and evenly baked.

10. Once both the fried and baked Papdi cool to room temperature, add in an air-tight container or jar.

Use them whenever you want to make sev puri, aloo chana chaat or dahi papdi chaat. You can also have it with a cup of hot Masala Chai. One of my favorite ways to enjoy it is to dip it in chai and then have.

Expert Tips

1. You can make these Papdis with only whole wheat flour (atta) or all-purpose flour (maida). In these scenarios, the quantity of water to be added will differ. Atta will require more water while kneading, maida will require less.
2. For flaky puris, rub the ghee or oil well while kneading, till you get a breadcrumb like texture in the dough mixture.
3. Remember to make a tight and firm dough. It should not be soft – as a softer dough will make up for a soft and chewy texture after frying.
4. Use a cookie cutter, to fasten the process of making these wafers and to get fun shapes. Otherwise, you can also make tiny balls from the dough and roll each into a small puri.
5. Don’t discard the extra rolled dough. You can use it again to make the rest of the pooris.
6. Make sure to keep an eye while baking the puris. If you have rolled the puris thin, they might get baked very quickly.

This Papdi Recipe from the archives first published in March 2014 has been updated and republished on December 2022.