This easy recipe gives a nice opportunity to enjoy homemade snacks at any time. Its one of the most common snack you will find in confectionary and chai shops in India. Namak Paras are made from all purpose flour seasoned with different Indian spices. Their salty and crispy taste gives a nice treat to your taste buds. They are best for snacks time and usually served with chai, coffee, cold drink or any other beverage. For extra taste use some ketchup or green chutney. Try it and enjoy.\r
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Other Names:\r
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Namak Pare, Namkeen Pare, Namkin Pare, Namkin Para, Matar, Matari, Namak Paare, Namak Paray, Fried Savory Flour Crispies\r
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Ingredients:\r
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2 cups All Purpose flour\r
Water (as needed)\r
Cooking Oil (for frying)\r
Salt (according to taste)\r
1 tsp Carom Seeds (aka Ajwain)\r
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Instructions:\r
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1. First start with kneading the dough. For this take a big bowl add all purpose flour, salt, carom seeds, 3 tbsp oil as oil helps in making namak para crispy. If you want you can also use cumin seeds instead of carom seeds or equal halves for both. Now mix all ingredients well with flour and rub mixture so that oil is mixed well with flour. When oil is perfectly mixed you can see the texture of flour has changed.\r
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2. Now add lukewarm water little by little and knead it well. Dont add water in one go as it can make dough too loose where as we want it to be firm. When dough has kneaded well, cover it and leave for at least 20 mins to set it well. After 20 mins knead the dough again like this. For making namak para extra soft and crispy I have also kept dough in the refrigerator for an hour. But if you want you can just start without leaving it in refrigerator.\r
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3. Now make small portions of dough like this and roll them into balls. Now roll these dough balls into round shape with the help of rolling pin. Dont roll it too thin as they should be little thicker than roti. Now cut it into vertical strips like this and again cut them diagonally to give nice angled shapes. Transfer all pieces in a plate, cover them properly and keep them aside and do the same with all other dough balls.\r
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4. Now heat some oil in a wok, when its medium hot slowly and carefully add namak para strips. Dont worry if they become a bunch as they will separate out easily when you stir them a little bit. Now stir them for a minute and fry them for around 10-12 mins on low medium heat till they turn golden brown.\r
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5. Once they turn golden brown strain them out on a paper towel. They are usually served warm but if you want to store them use an air tight container and they will be good for atleast 15 days.\r
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6. Now our Namkeen Paras are ready and its time to taste.\r
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Tips n Tricks:\r
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1. Dough should not be too soft, it should be firm.\r
2. You can also use other spices instead of carom seeds according to your own taste.\r
3. Add little red chille powder while making dough to make it little spicy.\r
4. You can also use clarified butter (desi ghee) instead of cooking oil to make it even tastier.\r
5. When frying namak para keep temperature low and constantly stir to avoid them overcooking.\r
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Follow Nehas Cookhouse:\r
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Y O U T U B E \r
T W I T T E R \r
F A C E B O O K \r
P I N T E R E S T \r
I N S T A G R A M \r
G O O G L E + \r
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Music Credits:\r
Easy Lemon Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)\r
Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 License\r