Want a crunchy/salty snack in under a minute? That only requires a quick trip to the microwave to prepare, yet comes out warm, crisp, and flavorful? Oh, and that my four-year-old adores (and me, too)?

Then meet pappadums.

Or, papad, depending on who you talk to. Whatever you call them, they're a staple of the Indian snack family, made from lentil flour or other grains and flavored with various spices (I like cumin). And they're delicious. And did I mention quick? So here's more:

I buy mine for cheap at my latest local goldmine find, a large Indian grocery (in the wasteland north of Philly? Who knew?), about $1 for an almost unending pack of about 20. I'm pretty sure you can find them in Whole Foods as well, though I've never looked.  You can find them online of course, like here. They come uncooked, and while traditionally they are roasted over a flame (I haven't tried that yet because hello, the microwave??!) I just pop mine into the micro.

Easy. Quick. Yum.

You want history? Here you go. More ways to cook them? Got that too.

Oh. They're nice as a grownup snack with a cup of chai. I make mine with cheap Indian black tea and a concoction called "tea masala", which is black pepper and spices, with a good shot of rice milk, but here's another recipe, this one for iced Darjeeling chai, from The Well Seasoned Cook:

Iced Darjeeling Chai Tea

Ingredients

2 Darjeeling teabags or equivalent loose tea
4 cups water brought just to boil
(You can adjust level of tea strength by adding more tea, using less water, or steeping longer)
4 green cardamom ponds
4 whole cloves
1/2 stick cinnamon, broken

Method

Pour boiling water into teapot or other vessel over the tea and spices. Steep at least 5 minutes, longer for stronger tea. Strain into a room temperature glass and chill ten minutes in refrigerator. Fill another glass with ice and transfer luke warm tea into it. Add sugar and/or milk to your taste. Makes approximately 3 servings.