Name: Namkeen Shankarpali (with spices)
Prep time: 35 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 65 min
Ingredients: ½ cup whole wheat flour ((atta) or 60 grams whole wheat flour); ½ cup all purpose flour ((maida) or 62 to 63 grams all purpose flour); ¼ cup fine rava ((sooji or cream of wheat) or 40 grams fine rava); 2 tablespoons ghee or oil; ½ teaspoon ajwain ((carom seeds)); ½ teaspoon cumin seeds ((jeera)); ¼ teaspoon black pepper (crushed or ½ to ⅔ teaspoon crushed black pepper); ½ teaspoon salt (or add as per taste); ½ cup milk at room temperature ((can also use water instead of milk)); oil for deep frying

Namkeen Shankarpali with step by step photos. These are crisp and savory shankarpali made with spices like carom seeds, cumin, crushed black pepper and salt.

If you want to make jeera shankarpali then replace carom seeds with cumin. Or if you want more flavors of carom seeds, then increase the carom seeds quantity and skip adding cumin. This way you can alter the amount of spices to get the desired flavors of your choice.

This savory fried snack is made during festive occasions, especially in Maharashtra.

Shankarpali is also known as diamond cuts in south India. the North Indian version is known as Namak pare.

The recipe is again my mom’s recipe and as she makes both sweet as well as savory shankarpali during festive occasions. For Ganesh Chaturthi, I thought of sharing the recipe. I have already shared Sweet shankarpali recipe.

You can also check this diamond shaped sweet snack of Shakkar paare from the North Indian cuisine. Basically all these recipes are different ways of making these crispy tea time snacks.

Once you make these savory shankarpali, then you can store them when they cool and have them as an evening snack. These stays good for a couple of weeks in an airtight box or dabba.

How to make namkeen shankarpali with spices

1. Take ½ cup whole wheat flour, ½ cup maida and ¼ cup fine rava/sooji in a mixing bowl or plate.

2. Add ½ teaspoon ajwain (carom seeds), ½ teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera), ½ to ⅔ teaspoon crushed black pepper and ½ teaspoon salt or add salt as per taste.

3. Mix very well.

4. In a small pan, heat 2 tablespoons ghee or oil.

5. Add the melted ghee or hot oil to the flour mixture.

6. With your fingertips rub the ghee or oil in the flour mixture and make a breadcrumb like consistency.

7. Take a portion of a mixture and press it in your palm. It should gather and hold itself like the pic below.

8. Now add ½ cup milk to the dough. The milk should be at room temperature. You can also use water instead of milk. Add water as required.

9. Begin to knead.

10. Knead to a firm dough. The dough should not be soft.

11. Cover the dough with a moist muslin or cotton and let it rest for 30 mins at room temperature.

12. Then knead again.

13. Roll in a log.

14. Then divide the dough in three parts. In your palms, roll each part into a ball. Cover with the moist muslin cloth.

15. Now take one part and begin to roll it to a disc or circle.

16. The circle should be 6 to 7 inches in diameter. Not too thick and not too thin in thickness.

17. Now with a knife or pizza cutter, cut the dough in strips.

18. Then again cut to give diamond shapes or square shapes from the dough.

19. Separate the diamond or square shapes. Cover and keep aside when you begin to heat oil.

Frying namkeen shankarpali

20. Heat oil for deep frying in a kadai or pan.

21. Before you begin to fry, drop a small piece from the dough and check. The oil has to be medium hot. If the small piece of dough comes gradually and steadily on top, then the oil is ready to be fried. If it comes too quickly, then oil is very hot, so reduce the flame. If it comes slowly or stays at the bottom, the oil needs to get heated up. So increase the flame. If the oil is too hot, the shankarpali will be cooked from outside but raw from the center.