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5 min
19/12/2025
Crispy, flat Indian breads are not only delicious, but they are crunchy heroes. Using papad as a chip, khakhra as croutons, and thepla as a base to play with snacks takes your meals from everyday to fun bites layered with flavour and crunch without trying too hard.
This piece will show you how papad, khakhra and thepla can take on a modernised "crunch element" role as part of plated food. We aim to brainstorm with these traditional staples and show you how we can eat them differently or rather break them, layer, toast, season, or rebirth them into; chips, croutons, edible scoops, and globally inspired snacks, all remaining true to their traditional essence, but allowing these sturdy, delicious staples to be used in today's food realities; salads, grazing boards, bar snacks and people's quick "party" style creations.
Papad is already halfway to its final destination—it is already thin, crisp, salty, and airy. It basically longs to leap from the plate into a chip bowl.
When roasted over an open flame or microwaved to blistering perfection, it acquires that familiar crunchy character of tortilla chips. Crumble up a few pieces, and you have instant crunch topping that completely satisfies. Even better, papad does such a good job picking up flavour. As if you’ve made artisanal chips on a small batch, sprinkle with a bit of chaat masala, smoked paprika, or a squeeze of lemon, and it carries flavour like no dipping chip could.
Papad shards also give a delightful crunch to softer items. Crumble them into hummus, curd rice, upma, or perhaps even a warm soup if you’re feeling adventurous. Papad stays light and airy, so they never dominate, and they always find a satisfying crunchy feature to all dishes.
And on any grazing boards? Papad triangles absolutely can shine alongside dips and chutneys. They add a terse yet tastefully chic component.
Khakhra is the cousin of papad we didn’t know we needed — sturdier, denser, and with enough bite to survive the dip. It is a perfect replacement for croutons. Just tear them up into uneven rustic pieces, and suddenly you have this earthy toasty crunch that sits beautifully in salads, bhel, a yoghurt bowl, or with gravies that are flavorful and creamy.
The beauty of khakhra is that it does not get soggy as fast as bread-based croutons. Khakhra is slow to absorb moisture, which helps you preserve those moments for your sensational Food-Instagram salad picture.
You can re-toast khakhra with butter, garlic, peri-peri, or even ghee and ajwain to make flavoured “crisp bites” that turn into snackable crackers. Drop them on your grazing board with cheese, chutneys, pickles, or even chocolate spread, and you’ll think of all the khakhra dishes you could have created with this underrated ingredient. Think khakhra nachos with pickled onions, cheese, chutneys, and any other fresh veggies you have on hand. It works.
While thepla does not inherently have a crispy texture, when toasted or air-fried, it transforms into this ridiculously addictive, flaky chip with built-in flavour from the methi, spices, and light tang of curd. Think tortilla chip, only with the flair of being Gujarati.
If you cut them into strips before crisping, they make for a crunchy topping on soups, chaats, grain bowls, or even as a filling profile for an omelette. If you cut your thepla like wedges, they become dipping chips and feel more "crafted" than your average store-bought snack.
Thepla can also serve well as a base. Mini-thepla pizza, thepla canapés with cheese or sabzi, or "roll-thepla" crackers topped with chutney — the combination potential is endless because thepla offers taste without clashing with other flavours.
For grazing boards, lightly crisped mini of thepla are gorgeous sitting next to cheeses, olives, spiced nuts, dips, and fresh fruit. It's both character and comfort.
Here’s how to bring it all to fruition - leveraging some of these classics to add a whole new texture to your meals:
1. Papad shards instead of chips with dips
Hummus, guacamole, spicy feta or even peanut chutney - papad is surprisingly delicious with all
2. Khakhra crumble instead of croutons
Salads are always a little more lively, with khakhra adding a hearty chew.
3. Crisped thepla = amazing platform for quick bites
Think of it like an Indian bruschetta zone, topped with some veggies, cheese, sprouts or leftovers.
4. An all-Indian grazing board
Papad triangles, khakhra bites, mini thepla chips, cheese cubes, a variety of chutneys, assortment of pickles, grapes, nuts - simple yet show-stopping.
5. Add them to chaats or fusion bowls
Papad for light crackle, khakhra for solid crunch, thepla strips for spicy crispy - creating layers of crunchy texture with every bite.
Although we often chase global trends for new ideas to add crunch - sourdough crackers, seed crisps, flavoured nachos - the reality is Indian kitchens have been successfully making crispy snacks for years. Papad, khakhra and thepla are not just "comfort" foods; they are ready-made devices for texture - if only we have some imagination. You only have to re-imagine, and before you know it, your plate will be transformed.
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