Indian Papad and Pickle: Flavorsome Food Accompaniment!
The main course meal in India is accompanied by many tasty and flavorsome preparations. Papad and pickles are one of these preferred accompaniments.
Papad is the specialty of Indian cuisine. It is thin & flat, crispy & crunchy, sundried wafer which may be spiced or unspiced. Papads are made with dal, potato, rice, or other flours. Peanut oil and Salt are added to the papad dough and it is then flavored with various spices and herbs like chili, cumin, garlic or black pepper. Many times, different vegetable juices are also added to improve the nutritional characteristics.
Papad is loved and eaten at all meals across all regions in India. The best part is that papads can be prepared in various ways. You can deep-fry it or those conscious about their calories can also roast it over an open flame. Some people even put papad into gravy by boiling it and also topping it with onions, chilli, oil, ghee, coriander leaves, lemon juice and so on.
Traditionally, Papads are enjoyed as an accompaniment to Indian meals with a selection of pickles and chutneys. They can be munched on as a snack, crushed & sprinkled on rice or served with soup as well. They make good appetizers just by themselves. Similarly, Indian Pickles can accompany anything and everything from breakfast to dinner.
Especially the homemade pickles are the choice of one and all. All mothers and grandmother in the house prepared pickles at home and by tradition it is never ever bought pickles from outside! Although with the changed lifestyle we all now prefer buying ready pickles, but fail to identify with the same taste that traditionally existed.