Step-by-Step Guide to Papad Manufacture

Papad is one of India’s most widely consumed traditional food products – a thin, crispy, round wafer made from pulse flour, salt, and spices. Whether fried, roasted over an open flame, or microwaved, its appeal cuts across regions and age groups. But behind that simple, paper-thin disc lies a carefully structured manufacturing process that has evolved from manual rolling in home kitchens to fully mechanized industrial production. Understanding how papad is made – from raw ingredients to the final dried sheet – is essential for anyone involved in food processing or looking to enter this thriving segment of the food industry.

What is papad and what goes into it? 🔗

Papad is essentially a thin, round, dried sheet of dough made from pulse flours, most commonly urad dal (black gram) and moong dal (green gram), though chana dal and masoor dal are also used depending on regional preference. Research on papad formulations confirms that urad dal flour remains the primary base due to its binding properties and characteristic texture when dried and cooked.

The basic ingredient list for papad dough includes:

• Pulse flour (primarily urad dal flour) – the structural base
• Common salt – for flavor and preservation
• Papad khar – an alkaline mixture of sodium carbonate and sodium bicarbonate in a 2:1 ratio, which improves crispiness and extends shelf life
• Spices – cumin seeds, coarsely ground black pepper, and asafoetida are the most common
• Water – added in measured quantities to bind the dough

The spices are not just for taste. Traditional papad recipes show that the type and quantity of spices directly affect texture, expansion during frying, and the overall sensory quality of the finished product. Regional formulations vary widely – Punjabi papads tend to be heavily spiced, while southern appalam versions are milder and thinner.

Preparing the dough: the foundation of a good papad 🔗

Dough preparation is the most critical step in papad manufacture. Poor kneading leads to uneven rolling, cracking during drying, or papads that don’t expand properly when cooked.

The standard process is as follows: as documented in NSIC project profiles on papad making, a solution of common salt and papad khar (carbonates) is first dissolved in the required quantity of water. This solution is then added gradually to the pulse flour along with the dry spices, and the mixture is kneaded at maximum speed to form a homogeneous, stiff dough.

The dough must be firm but pliable – too hard and it won’t roll out evenly; too soft and it sticks and tears. Expert practitioners recommend resting the dough for at least 30 minutes after kneading, then working it again with a small amount of ghee to improve flexibility. The dough is then divided into small, uniform balls – typically weighing 7-8 grams each – before being flattened into papad sheets.

Why kneading intensity matters 🔗

Urad dal has high starch and protein content, which gives it a naturally sticky character. Thorough kneading develops the dough’s elasticity and allows for even, thin rolling without tearing. In industrial settings, mechanical mixers take over this step, ensuring uniform dough consistency across large batches – something that manual kneading at scale cannot reliably achieve.

Traditional method: hand rolling 🔗

The traditional method of papad making involves rolling each dough ball individually by hand using a rolling pin (belan) on a flat surface. The dough ball is pressed into a flat disc, then rolled outward with even pressure to achieve the desired thinness and diameter.

This method demands skill. The roller must maintain consistent pressure to avoid thick spots or torn edges. Home papad makers often dust the rolling surface with dry urad flour to prevent sticking and apply light oil to the dough surface to aid rolling. A well-rolled papad should be nearly translucent, uniform in thickness, and perfectly circular.

While the traditional method produces excellent quality, it is slow and highly labor-dependent. About 95% of traditional papad production has historically relied on this hand-rolling approach, which limits daily output and creates significant variation between individual pieces.

The CFTRI papad press: mechanizing small-scale production 🔗

The Central Food Technological Research Institute (CFTRI), Mysore, developed a dedicated papad press that transformed small and cottage-scale papad production. According to CFTRI’s technology documentation, this is a simple leg-operated (pedal) press that uses a toggle mechanism to generate high pressure with minimal physical effort.

The machine works on a pressing principle: a pre-weighed dough ball is placed between two flat plates, and the pedal is pressed to flatten the dough into a circular papad of approximately 1 mm thickness. The plates are designed to produce a consistent circular shape, removing the dependency on operator skill that limits hand rolling.

Key technical features of the CFTRI press 🔗

• Output capacity of approximately 500 papads per hour
• Low-cost and simple to operate – suitable for village-level production
• A small unit with two presses can handle 50 kg of dough per day
• Requires minimal power and infrastructure
• Pressing plates produce uniform thickness and diameter consistently

This innovation made papad manufacture accessible at the community level, especially for women’s self-help groups and cottage industries, by significantly reducing the physical effort and time required compared to hand rolling.

Motorized rolling machines: scaling up production 🔗

For semi-industrial and industrial papad production, motorized rolling type machines offer a significant upgrade over both hand rolling and the pedal press. These machines mechanically replicate the rolling action of hand production but with far greater speed and uniformity.

A typical motorized papad rolling machine uses a cast iron, chrome-plated roller powered by an electric motor (usually 0.5 HP) that moves over flattened dough portions, progressively reducing thickness through multiple passes. Machine specifications from food equipment manufacturers show that these units are constructed from stainless steel and heavy-duty mild steel, with adjustable roller gaps to control the final sheet thickness – typically set to 0.7-0.8 mm for standard-sized papads.

Operational advantages of motorized rolling machines 🔗

The rolling action of these machines closely replicates traditional hand rolling, which means the texture and expansion properties of machine-rolled papads remain comparable to handmade ones. Key benefits include:

• Production rates of 1,200-1,500 papads per hour, depending on size
• Uniform thickness across every piece, which directly determines consistent cooking behavior
• Reduced dough wastage – less tearing and sticking compared to manual rolling
• Lower labor input per unit of output
• Suitable for continuous operation in semi-industrial setups

Drying: the step that determines shelf life 🔗

Once the papads are pressed or rolled into thin sheets, they must be dried immediately to prevent sticking and microbial growth. The standard drying target is a moisture content of 14-15%.

Traditionally, freshly formed papads are laid out on clean cloth or plastic sheets and sun-dried for 2-3 days, flipping periodically to ensure even drying from both sides. Experienced papad makers note that the drying rate must be controlled – papads dried too rapidly can crack at the edges, while under-dried papads develop fungal growth during storage.

In industrial production, sun drying is replaced by mechanical tray dryers with controlled temperature and airflow. This removes the dependency on weather conditions and allows year-round production at consistent quality. Shelf life of properly dried and packaged papad is 2.5 to 3 months under standard storage conditions.

Industrial-scale papad manufacturing 🔗

Scaling papad production from cottage to industrial level requires moving beyond individual machines to an integrated, fully automated production line. Industry overviews of industrial papad units describe a complete process flow that includes:

1. Raw material receiving and cleaning – pulse grains cleaned and milled into flour on-site using electric grinding machines
2. Mechanical mixing – high-capacity mixers blend flour, spices, salt, carbonates, and water into uniform dough batches
3. Automatic pressing/rolling – fully automated machines extrude, sheet, and cut dough into perfectly sized rounds without manual intervention
4. Mechanical drying – conveyor-based or tray dryers with precise temperature control
5. Quality inspection – visual and dimensional checks before packing
6. Packaging – lots of 25 or 50 papads sealed in polythene or laminated pouches using automatic sealing machines

A fully automatic papad production line can process up to 40 kg of papad per hour. This scale of production requires compliance with FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) regulations, BIS quality standards, and applicable GST registration – all of which are mandatory for commercial food manufacturers in India.

Quality factors in papad production 🔗

Whether produced in a home kitchen or a large facility, several factors consistently determine the final quality of papad:

• Flour fineness and freshness – coarse or stale flour produces papads that don’t roll evenly or expand well during cooking
• Dough consistency – uniform stiffness and thorough kneading are non-negotiable for even rolling
• Uniform thickness – papads of uneven thickness fry or roast unevenly, producing hard spots
• Proper drying – incomplete drying causes puffing during frying and reduces shelf life
• Airtight packaging – moisture re-absorption after drying softens the papad and shortens shelf life significantly

At industrial scale, maintaining these quality parameters across thousands of units per hour is exactly what mechanization addresses – through standardized dough portions, precise roller gaps, controlled drying environments, and automated packaging lines.

What do you think? As mechanized production allows papad to be made faster and more uniformly, do traditional hand-rolled papads still hold a quality or taste advantage – and does it matter at commercial scale? And with India’s Ministry of Food Processing Industries actively supporting food processing enterprises, how significant a role can small-scale papad units play in rural employment and food entrepreneurship?

References

1. https://www.irjet.net/archives/V9/i5/IRJET-V9I5530.pdf
2. https://www.food.com/recipe/udad-dal-papads-264154
3. https://pdfcoffee.com/papad-making-pdf-free.html
4. https://nishamadhulika.com/en/2102-urad_dal_masala_papad_recipe_with_problems_solving_tips.html
5. https://www.secondrecipe.com/sindhi-papad/
6. https://www.techno-preneur.net/technology/new-technologies/rural-tec/press.html
7. https://www.slideshare.net/slideshow/papad-makingmachine/29389153
8. https://madhurasrecipe.com/dipping-sides/urad-dal-papad-marathi-recipe
9. https://nextwhatbusiness.com/papad-manufacturing/
10. https://www.fssai.gov.in/
11. https://mofpi.gov.in/