Namak Paare

Namak Paare, also known as Matri and Nimki, are delicious, crisp snacks made quite commonly in many homes in India. They are also easily available in sweet shops. They are basically deep-fried dry snacks made with refined flour and a few basic ingredients. Despite the use of everyday ingredients, these taste delicious and are quite addictive. Once you start eating them, it is quite difficult to stop.

Namak Paare are also quite commonly made during festival days in India. So, this year, around the festival of colours- Holi, I made them in my home. They tasted perfect, just like the ones available in sweet shops.

I suggest that my readers follow this recipe as is and read the instructions carefully for all the tips and tricks.

If you looking for more snack recipes, check them out here.

Now, let’s start with the recipe for Namak Paare:

Equipment Needed:

• Mixing bowl
• Rolling pin and board
• Kadhai for Frying
• Knife
• Slotted Spoon

Ingredients Needed to make Namak Paare:

• 4 Cups Refined Flour
• 2 tbsp Ajwain (Carom Seeds)
• 2 tsp Salt
• ⅓ Cup Hot Ghee
• 1½ Cups Lukewarm Water
• Oil; for frying

Method to make Namak Paare:

• In a mixing bowl, combine refined flour, salt and carom seeds.
  
  
  
• Add ghee. Mix and rub the mixture between your hands such that the ghee mixes well with the flour and the mixture resembles bread crumbs. Spend 1-2 minutes doing this activity. Ensure that the flour and ghee are well mixed.
  
  
  
• When you press the flour, it should come together. If the flour doesn’t come together, add a little ghee at a time, mix, press and check. Proceed to the next step only when you get the desired output.
  
  
  
• Add lukewarm water in parts and knead a firm dough. Cover and rest the dough for 15 minutes. Adding water in parts will ensure you use only as much water as is required to knead the dough. Excess water will make the dough loose, which is not desirable.
  
  
  
• After 15 minutes. Knead it again.
  
  
  
• Divide the dough into 8 parts. Round each portion onto a ball. Cover and rest for 15 minutes
  
  
  
• Heat oil (about 1/2 litre) in a kadhai.
  
  
  
• Take a dough ball, roll and flatten it using a rolling pin. While you work on one portion of the dough, leave the rest of the portions covered to ensure that they don’t dry up.
  
  
  
• Using a knife, cut the rolled dough, as shown in the picture.
  
  
  
• Remove the pieces and keep them aside.
  
  
  
• Put these pieces into hot oil. By putting all these pieces together in oil, the temperature of the oil will be reduced, which is what we want. Since the temperature of the oil reduces, it takes time for the Namak Paare to fry till they become light brown. This will ensure that they become crispy.
  
  
  
• Fry them on high heat, mixing and flipping them using a slotted spoon.
  
  
  
• Once they become light brown, remove them into a paper towel.
  
  
  
• Let them cool completely before transferring them to an airtight jar.
  
  

Some Notes about ingredient sourcing in Germany:

• Refined Flour: Use Weizenmehl 405. Available in supermarkets. Read my article about Flour in supermarkets in Germany.
• Ajwain (Carom Seeds): Available in Indian shops.
• Salt: Read my article about Salt in supermarkets in Germany.
• Ghee: Read my article about sourcing Ghee in Germany.
• Oil: Use Bratöl. Use my article about oil in supermarkets in Germany.

Here is the recipe in printable format:

Check out other recipes from my kitchen here.

Please note that this article contains affiliate links. If you buy using these links, I receive a small commission. This has no effect on the price for you.

Follow me on:

• Facebook
• Goodreads
• Instagram
• Google
• YouTube