Have your red onion chutney and mint raita ready to go before you start cooking papadum. Papadum do not taste good once they cool too much. They are great hot. They are not great cold. Trust me on this one. Nobody will like cold papadum.
Pick a skillet a little bigger than the papadum. 10 inch diameter is about perfect. Bigger is OK but it takes more oil.
A good set of tongs is essential here. Have them ready when you start cooking.
Pour enough oil into your pan to get it about 1/2 inch deep. Heat your oil to around 350F. Use a thermometer. Guessing never works well. If you must guess you want your papadum to cook in about 8-10 seconds and not wind up too brown. Thermometers are way easier. Better food through science.
Have a plate with some paper towel on it nearby. You are going to need to have it close to the pan or you are going to drip oil everywhere.
Slip a papadum into the oil. It will start to curl and cook immediately. After around 4-5 seconds grab it with your tongs and flip it. It will be pretty solid so this should be easy. Cook another 3-5 seconds. Grab one edge of the papadum and hold it vertically above the oil to drain a bit.
Transfer the cooked papadum to the plate with the tongs. I like to have my tongs in my dominant hand and the plate in my other hand when I do this.
Repeat no more than 6 times. Don't serve cold papdum. Just don't do it. Have I mentioned that?
Serve the papadum with the red onion chutney and mint raita. Let your guests decide what they want to put on their papadum.