Namak Para ( Diamond Cuts):
The crisp, delicious, spicy, and savory Namak Para (plural Namak Pare) are fried appetizers made with wheat flour, spices, oil or ghee, and seasonings. Bits are denoted by “para” or “pare,” whereas salt is denoted by “namak.” As a result, “namak pare” means “salted pieces” or “salty bites” in English. These are also referred to as nimki, or spicy diamond cuts. Simply make a robust savory pastry dough. Rolling, cutting, and deep-frying the dough results in strips, squares, or diamond-shaped objects.
This delectable snack is really easy to prepare and doesn’t require many ingredients. You will spend most of your time frying them because they must be prepared in batches. Namak para comes in a variety of forms. Namak para might be spicy, flavorful, crunchy, or flaky. This recipe yields a puffy, crispy namak para that will grow in size as it cooks.
The Maharashtrian equivalent of this food is known as Shankarpali, while the sweet variation is known as Shakkar Pare. This namak pare recipe uses whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour to give them extra crispness, but you can also prepare them with just one of the two flours. Every time I can, I like to use whole wheat flour. They can be prepared ahead of time, sealed in a container, and enjoyed with tea for a few weeks.
Ingredients:
- 1 cup atta (whole wheat flour)
- one cup maida (all-purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon of carom seeds (ajwain)
- one teaspoon optional crushed black pepper
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds – optional
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 2 tablespoons of oil or ghee.
- 12 teaspoon salt (or as needed) as necessary
It should be noted that the basil-garlic paste is optional; if you dislike its flavor, omit it. While making the dough in step 3, swap it out for 1/2 a teaspoon of carom seeds (ajwain).
How to Prepare Namak para:
Make Dough:
Combine all of the ingredients for the below-listed pastry dough and knead them into a stiff and firm dough. For 30 minutes, cover the dough with a wet kitchen towel and leave it alone. When working the dough, add water in small amounts.
- 1 cup of whole wheat flour.
- 1 cup all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon of carom seeds (ajwain)
- 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper
- 1 tablespoon baking soda
- 12 teaspoon salt (or as needed)
- 12–34 cup water, as needed
- Pinch the dough into a medium-sized ball. Between your palms, roll the dough into a tidy, smooth ball. Put it on a board that has been lightly dusted. Add some flour to the dough ball’s surface.
Roll and Cut:
- Roll the dough with a rolling pin, making sure it is between 3 and 4 mm thick and neither too thick nor too thin. Make sure the dough and board are lightly dusted. If you’d rather, skip dusting the board and dough with flour.
- Make diagonal slashes on the rolled dough using a serrated knife. Diamond-shaped dough pieces should be uniform in size.
- Place the dough in the form of diamonds in a dish and cover with a cloth. Set it aside for later frying.
Namak Pare Fry
In a kadai, heat the oil for frying (wok). Keep the heat at medium-high or higher. The oil needs to be warm enough.Place a few namak para pieces in the heated oil with care and gentleness. Make sure the namak para pieces aren’t too crowded in the pan.
When one side has turned crisp and golden, use a slotted spoon to flip it over. Once golden, flip the second side over to finish cooking. Fry namak pare for even browning by turning it over a few times.
- Fry to a crisp, golden-brown color. They should be drained on paper towels to absorb extra oil. Then, fry the remaining batches.
- After they have cooled, put them in an airtight jar or container. Serve namak pare as a snack or with a cup of tea.
Expert Tips:
Flour:
To produce namak par for this dish, I combined whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. Nevertheless, you are free to choose between the two depending on your preferences.
Since whole wheat flour is healthier and produces equally wonderful results, I usually choose it.
Dough:
To get the best results, you need to make sure your dough has the proper texture. The dough shouldn’t be too dry because this could make it dense and cause it to crack during rolling. The namak para may turn out soft if the dough is excessively moist.
Various flavors:
Various flavors and textures can be found in namak pare, a multipurpose snack. It could be hot, herbal, flaky, or crispy. The texture of the finished product can be flaky, crunchy, or a multipurpose snack. It could be hot, herbal, flaky, or crispy. The texture of the finished product can be flaky, crunchy, or hollow, depending on how much fat was used in the dough. To create numerous varieties of this snack, include herbs and spices such as dried fenugreek leaves (kasuri methi), crushed fennel seeds, nigella seeds, asafoetida (hing), turmeric powder, and red chili powder.
When making the dough, add 3 to 4 teaspoons of oil or ghee if you want to bake your namak pare. On a baking sheet, keep the raw, cut dough pieces. For 15 minutes, preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius, or 356 degrees Fahrenheit. At the same temperature, bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or as needed, until crisp and brown.
FAQs
Why does the dough crack and shatter as I roll it?
This might be a result of insufficient water in the dough. To prevent the dough from cracking when it becomes too dry, add extra water and knead the dough until it is smooth.
Can baking powder be used in namak pare recipe instead of baking soda?
You may substitute baking soda or baking powder in this specific recipe and still get fantastic results. Instead of using baking soda, use around 12 teaspoons of baking powder.
Source: vegrecipesofindia
