Appalam, Pappadam and Vathal: The Dried Shelf, Explained

The dried, disc-shaped items stacked in a shop's appalam section can look interchangeable at a glance — thin, round, meant to be fried or roasted before eating. Appalam, Kerala pappadam and mangai vathal actually start from different bases and end up on the table in different ways.

Appalam: the urad dal wafer

Appalam is traditionally made from urad dal flour, rolled thin into discs and sun-dried before packaging. It's meant to be deep-fried briefly (or roasted directly over a flame, for a lower-oil version) until it puffs and crisps, and it's a near-constant side on a traditional South Indian meal tray — served plain, crumbled over rice, or eaten on its own as a crunchy accompaniment. Different brands and thicknesses fry slightly differently, so it's worth watching the first one closely to judge the right frying time before doing a full batch.

Kerala pappadam: a related but distinct wafer

Kerala pappadam is a close relative of appalam — also a thin, dried lentil-flour wafer, fried or roasted the same way — but it's typically made and packaged as its own distinct product, often with a slightly different flour blend and thickness that gives it a different crunch once fried. Households that cook Kerala-style dishes alongside Tamil ones often keep both on hand, since a recipe or a personal preference may call for one specifically over the other.

Vathal: dried vegetables, not a dal wafer at all

Vathal is a completely different category, despite living in the same section of the shop: it's sun-dried vegetable, not a dal-based wafer. Mangai vathal (dried raw mango slices) is one common variety, alongside vathal made from other vegetables like manathakkali and sundakkai berries. The drying process is traditionally a way of preserving a vegetable's flavour, and dried pieces are fried briefly in oil before serving — usually as a crunchy, tangy side dish alongside curd rice, rather than eaten plain the way an appalam is.

How to fry them (briefly)

• Heat oil to a moderate temperature — too hot and appalam or pappadam burns before it puffs evenly.
• Fry appalam and pappadam for just a few seconds per side; they cook almost instantly once the oil is hot enough.
• Vathal generally needs a slightly longer fry than appalam, since the pieces are denser and drier.
• Drain on a paper towel or rack immediately after frying to keep them crisp rather than oily.

Storing the dried shelf

Because appalam, pappadam and vathal are all sold already dried, they keep considerably longer than fresh vegetables — a sealed pack stored in a cool, dry spot away from humidity can last for months without going stale. Once a pack is opened, though, appalam and pappadam are prone to absorbing moisture from the air and turning slightly leathery rather than snapping cleanly, which makes them harder to fry evenly. Resealing the pack tightly, or moving the remainder into an airtight container, keeps them crisp for longer between uses.

All three are stocked in the appalam category, across a range of brands and pack sizes. Express delivery in about 60 minutes if the meal tray is set and the appalam tin turns out to be empty.