Namak Pare नमक पारे is a savoury snack mostly found at home at almost all times of the year and its mainly served with tee. These are especially made at the time of festivals in India too. Its very popular at the time of Deepawali and Holi too. I bought a bowl full for my Italian friends and they were gone like hot cakes. Its a very minimal ingredient recipe and it tastes great with a hot chai or even a glass of Wine like my friends did.
Here is what you will need:
2 cups of white flour 3/4 tsp salt 1 tsp Carom seeds (Ajwain अजवायन) if available a pinch of baking powder 2 tbsp Ghee (butter/oil) a little less then 1 cup of water
Method: 1. Take all the dry ingredients in a bowl and mix them all well. 2. Add the ghee to the flour mix and rub it well into the flour until it gets Incorporated very well and the whole mix looks like bread crumbs. 3. Add water bit by bit to the flour and keep kneading it into a stiff dough. 4. Let the dough rest for about 15-20 minutes. 5. Knead the dough once again and make a big ball and roll it on a baking paper like a big Foccacia or a pizza bread. Put a moist napkin under the baking paper otherwise it will keep on slipping. 6. Cut them into long strip or any shape of your choice. 7. Fry them on medium heat on both sides until golden brown. 8. Enjoy at tee time.
9. These can be stores in an airtight container for a good week but trust me they wont last.
Tip: Adding ghee to the flour gives a wonderful flavour but you can use oil or butter too. Carom seeds are available at any Indian store. The logic behind adding the carom seeds is that they help in digestion and if we are making something fried then the seeds help in digesting the fried stuff and it tastes great too. If you don't have Carom seeds then cumin, nigella seeds or even dried oregano/pizza mix can also be added. Have a good amount of patience while frying, if you will fry them on high heat, they will get cooked but will not be crispy so really PATIENCE is the key :)