Homemade Namak pare or nimki is one of the easiest snacks. This is a very simple tea time snack. We all have grown up eating namak para, shakarpara, gud para as kids.All these recipes have been deep fried. Fried snacks are great to munch when you are a kid. You spend all the energy playing all day. Now with us getting older and leading a sedentary life, fried version is just not OK.
Baked namak para or baked salty crackers are a must especially when you can't be eating too much fried ones. Oil intake should be limited with age.After all, health is wealth. As a foodie, we always try to find out ways to enjoy our diet too.Read on our simple and healthy namak para recipe.
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Namak paare & childhood nostalgia
Most of us remember Mom's kitchen once we hear Namak Paare or Shakar Paare.Our childhood is full of memories of these crackers. Train journeys or otherwise. Summer vacations, hostel diet all of us have some memory of this Indian snack.
When we are kids, we play and run and are active all the time. This ensures all those fried biscuits, crackers get digested well. However, once we are older and in jobs, our weight increases with such diet. These days maida or plain flour based fried crackers are easily available. We all fall to our cravings once a while. The best alternative to this is baking it at home. Also, using whole meal flour for it is better
Equipment
- Oven
- or Air fryer
- pizza cutter
Ingredients
- maida/ plain flour /all purpose flour
- oats flour or Aata/ whole wheat flour
- flax seeds powder with water (keep it aside for 15 minutes. you can skip the flax seeds if you do not have it,you will need little more water to knead the dough)
- soda optional,not required for air fryer.
- salt
- jeera or cumin seeds optional
- Little water to knead
- Oil for flour mix
- Oil for tossing, spray
Ingredients for the dough.
- maida/ plain flour /all purpose flour
- oats flour or Aata/ whole wheat flour
- flax seeds powder with water (you can skip the flax seeds if you do not have it,you will need little more water to knead the dough)salt
- Oil for flour mix
How to make air fryer namak para ?
- Add the oil to plain flour,oats flour and salt. Mix it until you can combine the dough
Add flax seed mix,water to the mix.
- Knead into a stiff dough.
- Divide in equal parts and roll it flat like a roti on a baking paper using a rolling pin.
- Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into desired shapes.
- Preheat the air fryer for 10 minutes at 170 deg C.
- Air fry the crackers at 170 deg C for 14-15 minutes.(spray oil twice in between)
Instructions (In oven)
- Place the crackers on a baking tray.
- Preheat the oven for 5 mins at 160 degree centigrade.
- Bake for 160 degree ,fan forced for 20 mins.
- Toss the crackers in 2 tablespoon oil and bake again for 15 mins.
- Store in a air-tight container once it comes at room temperature
Read the baked namak para recipe below
Healthy namak parey recipe
Equipment
- oven
- or air-fryer
- pizza cutter/knife for incisions
Ingredients
- 1.5 cup maida/ plain flour
- ½ cup oats flour or Aata/wholewhoeat flour
- 1.5 tablespoon flax seeds powder with ⅓ cup water
- ⅛ teaspoon soda optional,not required for air fryer.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon jeera or cumin seeds optional
- Little water to knead less than ½ cup if using flax seeds,else more.
- 4 tablespoon oil
- 1 tablespoon oil for tossing,spray
Instructions
- Soak flax seed powder with water for 15 minutes,.
- Add the oil to plain flour,oats flour and salt. Mix it until you can combine the dough
- Add flax seed mix,water to the mix.
- Knead into a stiff dough.
- Divide in equal parts and roll it flat like a roti on a baking paper.
- Use a knife or pizza cutter to cut into desired shapes.
In air fryer
- Preheat the air fryer for 10 minutes at 170 deg C.
- Air fry the namak pare at 170 deg C for 14-15 minutes,spray oil twice in between.
- Store in a air-tight container once it comes at room temperature.
In oven
- Place the pieces evenly on a baking paper.
- Preheat the oven for 5 mins at 160 degree centigrade.
- Bake for 160 degree ,fan forced for 20 mins.
- Toss the crackers in 1 tablespoon oil and bake again for 15 mins.
- Store in a air-tight container once it comes at room temperature.
Notes
Variation - air fryer mathri
You can also use the same dough and make mathri out of it. Just use a cookie cutter with a round shape.Use the same steps as above.
You can even make sweet version shakar pare or gur pare using jaggery.
Variation - Katori chaat
- Use the same dough to make sprouts katori chaat as follows. Make a bigger chapati from the dough and roll it around a steel bowl of your choice.
- Once the bowl is enclosed in the dough it will look as below. Spread some oil using a brush or oil spray.
- Preheat air fryer at 170 deg C for 10 mins and air fry the katori for 14-15 minutes at 170 deg C.
- Once they are cool, remove the shells from the katori.These can be stored in an air tight box for few days. If they are not crisp on the day you want to use them, reheat them for 1-2 minute in the air fryer.
- Toss a mixed sprout salad and serve them .Refer recipe here. (it take around 2-3 days to make sprout the lentils/beans, so make them in advance)
Storage
Store namak pare in an air tight jar at room temperature.
FAQs
Masal namak pare is a ribbon shaped cracker eaten at tea time
More air fryer Indian recipes ?
Read the below list of our Indian air fryer recipes.
Click here for more air fried snack recipes.
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