Nimki Or Namkeen (Rajasthani Namak Para)

By Pavani @napavani
BM# 63: Journey through the Cuisines  Week 2: Rajasthani Cuisine  Day 14: N for Nimki
We are already at the end of Week 2 in our Journey through the cuisines and the last Rajasthani dish I made are these crispy, crunchy and very addictive Nimki aka Namkeen or Namak Para. Letter N was one of the tough letters to find a dish for. After a lot of googling and not finding any Rajasthani dishes, I ended up picking this dish that is quite commonly made across all the states.
My mom used to make them quite frequently while we were little and we used to call them 'chips' or 'namkeen'. After I started blogging, I learnt their other name, Namak Para and now with this BM, I learnt yet another name, Nimki.
Couple of the Nimki recipes I saw (here and here) had totally different shape -- they were rolled out like pooris and then folded into quarters and the layers are held together with a peppercorn. I was almost tempted to make that version, but they take longer to fry and seemed tedious, so I stuck with the regular shape.
Traditionally these namkeen are made with all purpose flour, but I added some wholewheat flour to add some fiber and nutrition. I also added some chaat masala for some extra flavor.
I've never made these and as I was making them, my daughter asked me what they were, I said they are called Nimki. She walked away saying she doesn't like any 'nimki'. But when the first batch came out of the oil, she was the first one to try and she absolutely LOVED them. These were her afternoon snack for couple of days (that's how long they lasted).
They are high in calorie but in my mind they are much better than store bought chips and snacks. So I've decided to make some traditional snacks for my kids at least once or twice a month, so they get familiar with them too.

Nimki or Namkeen
Ingredients:
  • 1cup All purpose flour
  • ½cup Wholewheat flour (Atta)
  • ½tsp Nigella seeds
  • 1tsp Ajwain or Carom seeds
  • ¼tsp Chaat Masala
  • To taste Salt
Method:
  1. In a mixing bowl, combine flours, nigella seeds, ajwain, chaat masala and salt. Whisk well. Add the melted ghee or oil and mix until crumbs form. Add enough water to make a firm dough. Cover and set aside for 20~30 minutes.
  2. Divide the dough into 3~4 piece, then roll each one out into a round roti making surr not to roll it too thick or too thin.
  3. Cut the roti into small diamonds using a pizza cutter or a knife.
  4. Heat oil for frying. Fry the nimki on medium flame until golden brown on both sides. Remove using a slotted spoon onto a paper towel lined plate. Repeat with the remaining dough. Once completely cooled, store the nimki in an airtight container and Enjoy!!


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