The BEST, crispy, crunchy Namak Para! These namak para are made during Diwali, Holi or Karwa chauth festivals. This savory fried snack tastes best with a hot cup of tea (chai) or coffee.
They are also known as Diamond cuts or Nimki recipe.
The Texture of Namak Pare:
- They are crispy, crunchy and slightly flaky.
- Addition of oil in the dough makes it flaky. Though you need to follow the exact flour and oil measurement to get the perfect flaky texture.
- Addition of sooji in the dough makes them crunchy.
The shape: I have cut them into long strips. You can cut them into small bite-sized squares for your kids to snack on. You can cut into a small or large diamond shape (hence the name diamond cuts).
Diwali festival is starting soon, So I have made a batch of namak pare along with other snacks. Just like my mom, I do make many different varieties of snacks during the Diwali season like farsi puri, tikha gathiya, chakli. She always makes big batches and I do make small batches. Just because we are only two of us I and hubby.
This is the savory version while the sweet version is called shakkar para.
How to make Namak Para?
1) Take all purpose flour, sooji, salt, sesame seeds, black pepper powder, and carom seeds in a bowl. Mix well.
2) Add oil.
3) And rub it with flour mixture and it will resemble crumbly texture.
4) Now add little water at a time and start kneading the dough. Make semi-soft dough (similar to paratha). Water quantity may vary. The dough should not be too tight or stiff (like farsi puri) or not too soft like roti.
5) Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
6) After 15 minutes, knead the dough once again. Divide it into two equal portions.
7) Flatten it out between your palm.
8) Start rolling it into a big circle (about 9-10 inch in diameter) using a rolling pin and rolling board. While you are rolling, on other side heat the oil in a pan on medium heat for frying.
9) Cut into the desired shape using a sharp knife.
10) Once the oil is hot, add a few pieces in the oil. Do not overcrowd them
11) Flip them halfway through for even browning, Fry from both sides till it becomes golden brown and crispy
12) Remove it to the paper towel-lined plate, so it absorbs the excess oil.
Let it cool completely, about 20 minutes. And it will become more crispy. Once cooled down completely, you can serve them or store them in an airtight jar or container.
Check out more Diwali Snacks
Mathri // Rice murukku // Aloo bhujia // Crispy masala puri // Papdi // Poha chivda
Namak Para Recipe (Namak Pare or Nimki)
Ingredients
- 1 cup All purpose flour (Maida)
- 2 tablespoons Sooji (rava or semolina)
- ¼ teaspoon Black pepper powder
- 1 teaspoon Sesame seeds
- ¼ teaspoon Ajwain (Carom seeds)
- Salt - to taste
- 2 tablespoons Oil + more for deep frying
- ¼ cup + ½ tablespoon Water
Instructions
Making the dough:
- Mix all purpose flour, sooji, salt, sesame seeds, black pepper powder, and carom seeds in a bowl.
- Add oil and rub it with flour mixture and it will resemble crumbly texture.
- Now add little water at a time and start kneading the dough. Make semi-soft (similar to parathdough.
- Cover the dough and let it rest for at least 15 minutes.
- After 15 minutes, knead the dough once again. Divide it into two equal portions.
- Flatten it out between your palm.
Making namak pare recipe:
- Take one flattened disc and start rolling it into a big circle (about 9-10 inch in diameter).
- While you are rolling, on other side heat the oil in a pan on medium heat for frying.
- Cut into the desired shape using a sharp knife.
- Once the oil is hot, add few pieces of namak para in the oil. Do not overcrowd them. Flip them halfway through for even browning,
- Fry from both sides till it becomes golden brown and crispy.
- Remove it to the paper towel-lined plate, so it absorbs the excess oil.
- Let it cool completely, about 20 minutes.
- Once cooled down completely, you can serve them or store them in an airtight jar or container.
- Repeat the rolling and frying process for rest.
Notes
- Instead of all purpose flour (maida) you can use whole wheat flour (chapati atta).
- Do not reduce the amount of oil in the dough to get the right texture of namak pare.
Archana
hi kanan..i tried namak pare last diwali..when hot they were crispy and tasted great but a day after, they were a bit hard..why? and would like to know if the oil and water added to the dough is hot or warm or chilled or just at room temperature..hoping to try making them again for this diwali with better results..
Kanan
Use room temperature water. And oil also at room temperature.
Try kneading the dough stiff (not soft). it will make the namak pare crispy.
If the dough is soft then it becomes hard.
The given water:atta ratio of just the guideline. follow your instinct. You may need more or less water depending on flour's freshness and quality.
Sejal
Can I use wheat flour instead of maida?
Kanan
yes you can. but you may need to adjust the water quantity.
Archana
Hi Kanan
I have already tried namak pare and they turn out delicious..thks for the recipe..would like to try plain mathri but i can see the ingredients are similar to namak pare.. would like to know the difference between mathri and namk pare?
Kanan
Glad to know that namak pare came out good.
Both has different proportion of oil and water. This gives the different texture and taste. Mathri is more flaky and it has little tight, stiff dough compared to namak pare.
Archana
Thank you
Sweta
this looks delicious however can I bake these?
Kanan
not sure, I have never tried baking it