Nihad Amani
Hyderabad: Call it by whatever name– India’s love affair with papad remains unexplained.
Papad which is known all over the country with different names– poppadum, happalas or appalams is a must in every meal, especially in South India.
Would you believe that the consumption of this pan-India snack has become a major pass time during the lockdown?
Yes, that is true.
This delicacy is always accompanied by other dishes with various meals across different regional cuisines. These delicately thin, disc-sized sun-dried wafers have been a part of Indian culinary culture right from pre-recorded times.
Older folks like naanis and daadis used to treat their immediate and extended families with these delights. They used to make sure it was made every summer and stocked up for the entire year.
But times have changed. There is no more need for the senior ladies at home to make papads and stock them. That is being done at small scale industrial units to some big names in India. Papads are now easily available in shops and supermarkets.
It looks like the lockdown period has brought back women to their earlier chores. They are seen making ‘designer’ papads and drying them up in their balconies. Papads are seen placed on thaalis and white cotton sheets sun-dried over the roofs.
A homemaker, Roushni said, “I am a teacher and never got time to make paapad though I always wanted to. Thankfully this time I am able to make and stock these tasty thin-wafer like paapads for the whole year.”