Sindhi Papad

Thin, brittle, hand-rolled lentil wafers — urad dal or moong dal ground with cumin seeds, black pepper, and a little salt into a stiff dough, rolled paper-thin on stone tables by specialist makers, and sun-dried until bone-dry and shelf-stable for months. The Sindhi papad from the community's traditional papad-makers (originally from Sindh, now concentrated in Maharashtra and Rajasthan) is considered among India's finest; it fries in seconds to a brittle, blistered, golden wafer that shatters cleanly. Eaten with every meal as a textural accompaniment to the wet Sindhi kadhi and rice; the crunch of a fresh papad alongside soupy sindhi kadhi is considered an essential contrast.