Namkeen is a crispy and crunchy tea time snack made with flour. My version is made with whole-wheat flour and flavored with chaat masala. Delicious!!
We are already at the end of Week 2 in our Journey through the cuisines and the last Rajasthani dish I made are these crispy, crunchy and very addictive Nimki aka Namkeen or Namak Para. Letter N was one of the tough letters to find a dish for. After a lot of googling and not finding any Rajasthani dishes, I ended up picking this dish that is quite commonly made across all the states.
My mom used to make them quite frequently while we were little and we used to call them ‘chips’ or ‘namkeen’. After I started blogging, I learnt their other name, Namak Para and now with this BM, I learnt yet another name, Nimki.
Couple of the Nimki recipes I saw (here and here) had totally different shape — they were rolled out like pooris and then folded into quarters and the layers are held together with a peppercorn. I was almost tempted to make that version, but they take longer to fry and seemed tedious, so I stuck with the regular shape.
Traditionally these namkeen are made with all purpose flour, but I added some whole-wheat flour to add some fiber and nutrition. I also added some chaat masala for some extra flavor.
I’ve never made these and as I was making them, my daughter asked me what they were, I said they are called Nimki. She walked away saying she doesn’t like any ‘nimki’. But when the first batch came out of the oil, she was the first one to try and she absolutely LOVED them. These were her afternoon snack for couple of days (that’s how long they lasted).
They are high in calorie but in my mind they are much better than store bought chips and snacks. So I’ve decided to make some traditional snacks for my kids at least once or twice a month, so they get familiar with them too.
Nimki or Namkeen
Ingredients
- 1 cup All purpose flour
- ½ cup Whole wheat flour (Atta)
- ½ tsp Nigella seeds
- 1 tsp Ajwain seeds or Carom
- ¼ tsp Chaat Masala
- To taste Salt
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl, combine flours, nigella seeds, ajwain, chaat masala and salt. Whisk well. Add the melted ghee or oil and mix until crumbs form. Add enough water to make a firm dough. Cover and set aside for 20~30 minutes.
- Divide the dough into 3~4 piece, then roll each one out into a round roti making surr not to roll it too thick or too thin.
- Cut the roti into small diamonds using a pizza cutter or a knife.
- Heat oil for frying. Fry the nimki on medium flame until golden brown on both sides. Remove using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining dough. Once completely cooled, store the nimki in an airtight container and Enjoy!!
vaishali sabnani
Namak paras are an excellent munch perfectly made, would love to munch these …I won’t say with a cup of tea..I like these munches with a nice chilled drink.😊
Suma Gandlur
So, these nimki are kid approved then. ☺ Lovely pictures and nice play of light and shadow effect. We use to call them just diamonds. I love the sweet version more and make them often.
Srivalli
I love these snacks Pavani..we literally grew up with these ones..both sweet and salt..beautiful pictures..
Gayathri's Cook Spot
We use to make it with wheat flour. And this is our usual snack during childhood. Nowadays, kids are missing these traditional snacks. You have done it perfect…
Usha Rao
These are so addictive. Lovely pictures and nice lighting, specially the hand picture.
Nalini's Kitchen
Such an addictive snack,my kids love this a lot..
Srividhya Gopalakrishnan
Lovely pictures. Couldnt take my eyes off. Especially the one with words food of india. Amazing man. Between I love these namak paras.
Priya Suresh
Those nimki looks absolutely crunchy and super crispy, wish i get some to munch with a cup of tea.
Sapana Behl
I can munch them as many at one time.They looks perfectly crisp and delcious. Love the picture very nice lightening effects.
Amara Annapaneni
Love these snacks, as Valli said we grew up with the sweet and salt version of them. I love both. Love your clicks.. Amazing:)
Harini-Jaya Rupanagudi
Love these. My little one loves to use the spoon wheel to slice the dough into different shapes 🙂
Kalyani
anytime munches.. amma used to make savoury and sweet versions and they were gone in a few days / hours (depending if we had vacations :D)
Smruti Shah
Being a neighboring state, Gujarat has a very similar version of the Namak Paras. I loved the way you made yours 🙂 Perfect pics as usual!!
Sandhya Ramakrishnan
Home made traditional sweets and savories are so much better than store bought ones. I love both the sweet and the savory ones and should make them soon 🙂
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
like the spices you used in them – perfectly crunchy snack
Global Tastes & Travels Inc.
like the spices you used in them – perfectly crunchy snack