namak para recipe with step by step photos – namak pare is a crispy, tasty and savory fried snack which is quite popular in north india. a vegan recipe.
they are easy to make and except the frying in batches, everything else does not take time. they are excellent tea time snacks and are also made during festive occasions like karwa chauth or diwali.
this namak pare recipe has these crispies made with both whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour. you can make them with either or both. personally i prefer to use whole wheat flour wherever possible.
this recipe is a crisp version and not the flaky version. they puff up and become crisp while frying. there is also a sweet version and these are called as shakkar pare. the maharashtrian counterpart of namak para is shankarpali which is also a popular snack and also made during diwali.
you can make them in bulk and store them in an airtight container and enjoy them with tea for the next few weeks.
how to make namak para
1: mix all the ingredients for the dough and knead into a firm dough. cover and keep for 30 minutes.
2: take a medium-sized ball from the dough on a dusted board.
3: roll into a disc neither too thin nor too thick.
4: with a serrated knife make criss cross cuts on the disc.
5: collect these diamond-shaped patterns in a plate and cover them with a cloth to be fried later.
6: or directly fry namak para in hot oil.
7: fry till golden browned and crisp and then drain them on paper napkins to remove excess oil.
8: once they cool then store namak para in an air tight box or container. they go very well with a cup of tea or as a snack.
more snacks recipes
Namak Para
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup atta (wheat flour flour)
- 1 cup maida (white flour or all purpose flour)
- 1 teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds)
- 1 teaspoon crushed black pepper - optional
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds - optional
- ¼ teaspoon baking soda
- 2 to 3 tablespoon oil or ghee - i used sunflower oil
- ½ to ¾ cup water
- salt to taste
- oil for frying
INSTRUCTIONS
making dough for namak pare
- sieve the whole wheat flour (atta), white flour (maida), baking soda and salt together.
- add the ajwain. mix the carom seeds with the rest of the sieved flours.
- add the oil or ghee. add water and start to knead the dough.
- the dough should not be soft, but firm.
making namak pare
- take medium sized balls from the dough and roll them on a dusted flour.
- roll into a disc neither too thin nor too thick.
- with a serrated knife make criss cross patterns on the rolled dough.
- remove the diamond shaped patterns and deep fry them in hot oil till crisp and golden browned.
- drain them on paper napkins to remove excess oil.
- once they cool down, then store them in an airtight box.
- you can serve namak para with tea or as a snack.
Why is the Roti I’m rolling breaking up into cracks all over. Please advise. Thanks.
there is less water in the dough and thus the dryness leading to cracks when rolling. so you need to add more water and knead to a smooth dough.
Nice recipe ..thank for Post..I am fan of all your food…u know maharashtrain dishes well…great thanks
Tulsi K
thanks tusli. glad that the recipes are helping you. happy cooking.
नमक परा रेसिपी शेयर करने के लिए आपका बहुत धन्यवाद
Welcome Seema
Hi Dassana,
Your website is my go to for every single recipe! 🙂 thanks so much for helping out lost souls like me 😉 a quick question, can baking powder be used instead of baking soda in recipes like this? Are B. Soda & B. Powder interchangeable?
Mucho gracias in advance!
thanks nishta. in recipes like these baking soda and baking powder can be used in place of each other. however in cakes, baking soda cannot be replaced with baking powder but vice versa is possible.
Thanks so much 🙂 my namak pare were okay but had a bitter aftertaste. Do you think kneading the dough with milk or sugar water can help eliminate the slight bitter aftertaste?
welcome nishta. i am wondering why the bitter after taste. which oil you used for kneading. sometimes sesame or peanut oil get give a bitter after taste. even ghee gone rancid can give a bitter taste. if the bitter taste is due to oil or ghee, then kneading with milk or sugar water won’t make any difference. hope this helps.
Which oil or ghee do u prefer for this recipe. Will refined go good ?
i usually use peanut oil or sunflower oil for frying. for adding in dough, i use sunflower oil or ghee. you can use refined oil also both to add in dough as well as frying.
Hi dassana,
The namakpaare came out very tasty and crispy! Thanks for yet another awesome recipe!
You are too good ????????
Welcome Pooja. Glad to know that you liked the namak pare recipe.
Hi, I am a huge fan of your blog,and the receipes that I try out from your blog are enjoyed by my family.need your advise on my question…I made namak pare as your receipes, but when i frief them in hot oil, it was not crispy ..It was very soft..Not sure where I would have gone wrong…But taste was nice..Can you please help?
Eagerly waiting for more receipes!!
.
thanks akshata. the namak pare dough has to be firm. the dough should not be soft. if the dough is soft, then the namak pare will be soft. also fry at medium flame. if you fry them for a longer time then they become more crisp. hope this helps.
Hi Dasanna,
Is it necessary to use baking soda.
will the namak pare come out well without baking soda.
waiting for ur reply.
thanks.
deepa, baking soda makes the namak pare more light as well as crisp. you can skip if you want. the texture will still be good.
Hi Dassana Ji..Can I use only maida instead of both maida and atta?
Dimpi, you can use only maida.
can u plz tell me how much salt to add approximately.
hina, you can add 1 teaspoon salt for a light salty taste. 1.5 teaspoon will give some more salty taste.
Hi dasanna, I am going to make this for the first time ,n I wanna know whether I can use four cups of whole wheat flour to two cups of all purpose flour?! There will be no change in the flavour know if I use the above combination?! Pls guide
anuradha, you can use. but also increase the amount of spices proportionately. not much change in the flavor texture.
Thanks dear but just seen ur reply I tried ur recipe with the same amounts n also tried totally with all purpose flour n both came out very good 🙂
welcome anuradha and good to know. thanks for sharing.
Thank You Dassana. Going to try this Diwali.. I am sure it will turn out to be fabolous. I have great trust in your recipes and when trying something new, I check ONLY your site. You are doing a great job and you have absolutely no idea that how much I am dependent on your website. Keep up the good work. Thanks a ton!
we are very pleased to know this soumya 🙂 thanks a ton for your kind, encouraging and honest words. god bless you.
Hi Dassana,
First of all i wanted to say – Great Job. As a woman I am proud of you and your work. The second thing i want to say is that your recipes are great!!! I will give you my reasons for the same. I am a big foodie and most of my day goes in planning what to eat :). Also i love cooking, and have been doing it has a hobby right from my early teens. Now I cook for my family and love trying new recipes. I have tried many books and many websites for new recipes since 2011. Frankly most of them dont work or turn out that great. I always blamed myself – maybe i wasnt following the recipe correctly. But then i started coming across your website everytime i search for something – especially over the last few months. I gave a few of your recipes a try – and it turned out amazing!!! Every thing i tried from your website has come out so fabulous that i am addicted to you. I tried Hyderabadi biryani, modak, trifle pudding, etc. You make them so easy and simple and with the perfect taste. i wanted to write to you about this for a long time and finally am doing it now. Now its Diwali time, and am going to make diwali goodies from your blog!! Thanks a ton. Hope you continue to make a success of your website!!!
thank you very much vidya. same here for me on planning. i plan everyday what to cook the next day. we share the same love for food and cooking 🙂
when i try recipes from elsewhere, even i blame myself thinking i must have done something wrong. its like how can the chef or book go wrong. i have tried many recipes in my teens from magazines and cookbooks. some turned out well and some did not. its basically the proportions of the ingredients, the details that should go in a recipe and this makes the difference.
i do try to make them simple and easy, but honestly speaking its not simple and easy at times. probably as i am more organized, there is some ease and less clutter in the workspace while i cook. thank you again and wish you a happy and prosperous diwali.
I tried this and my kids like it very much.
thankyou srilakshmi 🙂 pleased to know your kids liked them.
I like your receipes. It was wonderful. I see this first time can I make Namak pare in otg oven.
thanks poonam. you can make namak pare in an OTG oven. you can have a look at this recipe of sweet shankarpali (similar to shakkar pare) where i have shown the baked as well as the fried version.
need instant healthy recepies
Hi, I made this Namakparreh with 1 cup APF and 1 cup wheat flour, when I fried they came very but after sometime even though I covered they became very soft and mushy and no more crispy. Can anybody tell the reason?
Thanks
you covered meaning, you kept in an air tight jar. they have to be kept in an air tight box or jar, otherwise they become soft.
hi sukanya,
you should cool them first and then store in air tight container. If you store them hot in an air tight container then it will become soft.
thanks aparna for your response of looking it the other way around. rightly said 🙂
add some nigella seeds and see the difference in taste
thanks for the tip.
Namakpaaraz look lovely. Ajwain tastes great in them.In my country its a tradition to serve namakpaaraz along with sweet colourful boondis.
the combination of namakpaare with boondi must be so yum.
Hi dassana…
We make these paare every year fr diwali…
i tried it wid peppr last week …. It ws just awesome!!!
dat peppr in betwn…. sumwer ..
really nice
😀
thanks prutha.
dassana i should say im not indian.im iranian.but i like indian spicy foods .how can u eat so hot foods??????u add 3 kind of peper to one food.
hi setayesh. indians are used to eating spicy food 🙂
there is only one hot spice added to namak paare and that is black pepper. ajwain/carom seeds is a warm spice but not hot on the tongue. cumin is not hot at all. all these three spices bring the best of flavors and taste in the namak paare and they are used sparingly in the recipe.
hi dessana
i cooked namak paare today.it was very very yummy.i like it very much.thank uuuuuuuuuuuu.but i think its full of kallereis.:)any way i thank u very much
thanks setayesh for trying the recipe. it is indeed full of calories but once in a while it is ok.
gorgeous namak paare dassana! they remind me of my mom’s paare. there would loads of different mathris and such all through diwali:) dont stress. take your time.. Diwali will come next year too! all the best for the move, Happy diwali!
thanks richa 🙂
going to try this diwali 🙂
xx
hey do try sreebindu and give the feedback if possible.
I love that you give diwali festival feel to photos. Namak pare looks very delicious. I always love crispy pare over flaky one.
i like both the crispy as well as flaky ones.
Namak Paare looks delicious…I always use APF..adding wheat to it sounds gud compared to APF alone…
these look perfect and crispy Dassana, loved the photos too :), I wish I had some of these utensils too.
you know what you have to do to get those plates 😉
Looks very crispy. We make both namak para and shakkar para during diwali. I hope I get time to make it this diwali.