Baked Namak Para

Namak Para / Namak Paara is a crunchy savory snack famous in India and Pakistan. It is made of Wheat flour, Refined flour and some seasonings like Cumin , Caraway seeds, Carom seeds etc. It is deep fried and is absolutely tasty!

When Suma posted a baked version of this snack in the previous edition, I made it immediately and saved a few for the clicks but the kids begged for more and I could not say No!It was so perfect!! And after that I have made 4 batches of these goodies and each time they disappear faster than I can expect!

The best part is you get a tasty treat without having to deep fry it and there by making it a guilt free snack. A healthy snack that can be made at home within half an hour!!

This is my second post for this weeks theme for Blogging Marathon -‘Healthy dishes’.

I used:
Source :Veggie Platter

Whole wheat flour- 1/2 cup
All Purpose flour – 1/2 cup
Baking powder- 1/2 teaspoon
Salt – 3/4 teaspoon
Coarsely crushed cumin seeds- 1 teaspoon
Black sesame seeds- 1 teaspoon
Ghee- 1 tablespoon[See note below]
Oil- 2 teaspoons
A few teaspoons of cold water

1. In a bowl take both the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the oil and ghee and mix . You will get a bread crumb consistency.

Add the cumin seeds and sesame seeds. Add a teaspoon of water at a time and knead well. Cover and keep aside . Roll out the dough into 1/4 inch thickness and using a cookie cutter, cut out squares[or any other shapes you prefer].

Once cooled, enjoy the baked Namak Paras or store them in an airtight container….

Note:

• Each time I baked, I used a different combo of oil: Ghee. Sometimes I added only Canola oil. Each time the result was good. We all loved the one that I made with using ghee alone 🙂
• I also varied the seasonings. The one with carom seeds tasted nice.
• I added a little bit of chili powder to one batch and the adults at home enjoyed the spicy version.
• While adding water to knead the dough add one teaspoon knead and then add more if needed. I used around 2-3 teaspoons only and each time the water added varied.
• The Namak Paras will be a little soft as soon as they are out of the oven. It turns crispy on cooling. So do not over bake. If after 10 minutes of cooking they are still soft, bake again for a few minutes.

Here are the other bakes that are a part of this Bake- A – Thon group….

This cake also goes to  Kalyani’s Only Baked Treats , an event started by Pari, Nayna’s Let’s Cook Christmas Party Foods