Sabudana papad

Step 1: Drain 5 ½ oz sabudana (sago pearls); the pearls should be swollen and press flat between your fingers.

Step 2: Bring 4 ¼ cups water to the boil in a heavy pan, add the sago, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 2 green chillies and 1 tsp sendha namak (rock salt) and cook over a medium-low heat, stirring often so it doesn't catch.

Step 3: Keep cooking for 15–20 minutes, until every pearl is completely transparent and the mixture is a thick, glossy porridge that falls off the spoon in a ribbon. Common mistake: stopping while white centres remain; they never puff when fried.

Step 4: Lay clean food-safe plastic sheets in the sun and weigh down the corners. Drop a tablespoon of the hot mixture onto the sheet and spread it with the back of the spoon into a thin 8–9 cm circle. Repeat, leaving space between them.

Step 5: Dry for 1 day, then peel the papads off the sheet, turn them over and dry for another 1–2 days, until stiff, glassy and brittle with no soft spots. Bring them in at night.

Step 6: Store in an airtight tin for up to a year. To serve, heat 1 ¼ cups groundnut oil in a kadai over a medium-high heat to about 350°F and fry 2–3 papads at a time for a few seconds, until they puff and turn white. Lift out before they colour and drain on paper.