Namak para, or the spicy diamond cuts, is an addictive deep-fried snack prepared with all-purpose flour and simple spices. It’s a fantastic tea-time snack and a great savory recipe for any festival.
After a sweet recipe, baked boondi rabri pudding, here is a savory snack you can make for this Diwali/Deepavali season. It’s one of the easiest snacks to make and is quite addictive and irresistible.
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Other names
Namak para, or spicy/savory diamond cuts, are popular across the Indian subcontinent and are known by different names. These flaky savory biscuits are known as namak para, nimki, savory diamond biscuit, uppu biscuit, and spicy diamond cuts. Check out how to make this beginner-friendly namak para recipe with detailed step-wise pictures. And also, don’t forget to check the baking instructions too.
Ingredients required
All-purpose flour: The main ingredient for this dish is all-purpose flour. You can use half and half wheat and all-purpose flour, but I went only with all-purpose flour. We need extra flour for dusting too. And for dusting, I used wheat flour.
Spices and condiments – I kept these spicy diamond biscuits simple and added carom seeds, red chili powder, salt, and asafetida to flavor them.
Ghee: We need ½ tbsp of ghee for this measure, and adding a little bit of fat, yields crispy namak para. Instead of ghee, you can also use butter, or for a vegan version, you can use coconut oil or another of your choice.
Baking soda: We need a pinch of baking soda, but that’s completely optional. You can also use baking powder instead of baking soda.
Apart from these ingredients, we need water to knead the dough and oil for deep-frying.
Variations
The version I am sharing today is simple, but you can add more flavors and make different versions. Every version is a recipe on its own. Here are a few variations.
- You can skip the carom seeds and add grated garlic for a garlic-flavored namak para.
- For a chat-pata version, you can add dried mint and chaat masala.
- You can add cumin seeds and dried fenugreek leaves along with carom seeds.
How to make namak para
- Sieve the all-purpose flour in a wide bowl, and then add the carom seeds, red chili powder, salt, baking soda, asafoetida, and ghee. Mix well, slowly add water, and knead it into a firm dough. I used 3.5 tbsps of water for this measure. Cover this firm dough with a kitchen towel and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Dust the surface with wheat flour and place the dough. Roll it like a chapati/roti. We like thin namak para, so I rolled them thin, approx ¼ inch thick.
- Cut them vertically and then horizontally(or vice versa), like below, using a knife or pizza cutter to get square/diamond shapes.
- Separate the diamond cuts and set them aside.
- Heat the oil in kadai, and when it is medium-hot, carefully and slowly drop the diamond cuts/namak para. Fry them in batches and do not overcrowd them.
- Fry them over medium heat and flip them as required. Fry until the bubbling sound stops. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove them from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
- Similarly, fry the remaining diamond cuts. Let the fried diamond cuts cool before storing them in an air-tight container.
Baking namak para
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a cookie tray, spread the parchment sheet and transfer all the cut namak para into them.
- Spray some oil on top and bake it for 20 minutes.
- Flip them, spread some oil, and bake them for another 12 minutes.
- Note: Every oven is different. So keep an eye out during the second bake. Also, depending on the thickness of the namak para, the baking time differs.
Recipe Notes
- Please check the variation section for adding other flavors.
- Adjust the salt and spices to taste.
- Make sure you fry the namak pare on medium heat. Frying the diamond cuts in hot oil will quickly make namak pare brown and make the cooking uneven. Frying on low heat won’t yield crispy namak para.
- Also, ensure the dough is firm and stiff. The soft and wet dough will absorb more oil.
- As my measure was small, I didn’t divide the dough further. I rolled it as is. If you are using double or triple the measure, divide the dough, roll the dough, and cut them into strips.
- Instead of all-purpose flour, you can use half the measure of all-purpose flour and ½ of wheat flour.
- Baking soda is optional, but a pinch of it will not harm.
Explore other Deepavali snacks
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📖 Recipe
Namak Para | Spicy Diamond Cuts
Ingredients
Measurement Details: 1 cup = 240ml; 1 tbsp = 15ml; 1 tsp = 5ml;
- ½ cup all-purpose flour maida
- ⅛ tsp carom seeds ajwain/omam
- ¼ tsp red chili powder or to taste
- ¾ tsp salt or to taste
- a pinch of baking soda
- ⅛ tsp asafoetida
- ½ tbsp ghee
- 4 tbsps water or as needed
- 2 tbsp wheat flour for dusting
- 1 cup oil for deep frying
Instructions
- Sieve the all-purpose flour in a wide bowl, and then add the carom seeds, red chili powder, salt, baking soda, asafoetida, and ghee. Mix well, slowly add water, and knead it into a firm dough. I used 3.5 tbsps of water for this measure. Cover this firm dough with a kitchen towel and set aside for 20 to 30 minutes.
- Dust the surface with wheat flour and place the dough. Roll it like a chapati/roti. We like thin namak para, so I rolled them thin, approx ¼ inch thick.
- Cut them vertically and then horizontally(or vice versa), like below, using a knife or pizza cutter to get square/diamond shapes.
- Separate the diamond cuts and set them aside.
- Heat the oil in kadai, and when it is medium-hot, carefully and slowly drop the diamond cuts/namak para. Fry them in batches and do not overcrowd them.
- Fry them over medium heat and flip them as required. Fry until the bubbling sound stops. Using a slotted spoon, carefully remove them from the oil and place them on a paper towel to drain the excess oil.
- Similarly, fry the remaining diamond cuts. Let the fried diamond cuts cool before storing them in an air-tight container.
Video
Notes
- Please check the variation section for adding other flavors.
- Adjust the salt and spices to taste.
- Make sure you fry the namak pare on medium heat. Frying the diamond cuts in hot oil will quickly make namak pare brown and make the cooking uneven. Frying on low heat won’t yield crispy namak para.
- Also, ensure the dough is firm and stiff. The soft and wet dough will absorb more oil.
- As my measure was small, I didn’t divide the dough further. I rolled it as is. If you are using double or triple the measure, divide the dough, roll the dough, and cut them into strips.
- Instead of all-purpose flour, you can use half the measure of all-purpose flour and ½ of wheat flour.
- Baking soda is optional, but a pinch of it will not harm.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. In a cookie tray, spread the parchment sheet and transfer all the cut namak para into them.
- Spray some oil on top and bake it for 20 minutes.
- Flip them, spread some oil, and bake them for another 12 minutes.
- Note: Every oven is different. So keep an eye out during the second bake. Also, depending on the thickness of the namak para, the baking time differs.
Nutrition
I am not a nutritionist. The nutritional information is provided as a courtesy and is an estimate only. It varies depending upon the product types or brands.
These are great to munch any time and a perfect companion for tea. Great recipe!
Thank you :-)
Isn’t this so addictive? I think Pringles must give away it’s tagline to it… hehe…
ha ha yes.
These namak para are always so addictive!…can’t stop with few! All the snacks are super delicious for the festival!
Thanks Valli.