Namak Para Recipe (Namak Pare)
Updated: October 22, 2022, By Swasthi
Namak Para is a popular Indian spiced fried cracker made with flour, melted ghee/ oil, black pepper/red chilli powder and other spices. This anytime/ tea-time snack is deep fried to a beautiful golden brown but you can always air fry or bake it in the oven for a healthier version with the help of my instructions. Namak para is a perfect snack when you want something crunchy and savory with the slight heat from Indian spices.
If you’re looking for a dish to balance all the sweets you’re having for Diwali, why not add this savory finger food to the mix?
This spicy fried biscuit is with wheat flour and a hint of spices. Like its sweet sibling, (Shankarpali) this is crispy, flaky and downright delicious!
Savory diamonds, tukdi, nimki, call it what you want, this snack adds a refreshing zing to your snack table on regular days and on special occasions. Make a big batch and ensure the kids have something much home cooked and healthier to eat when hungry rather than store bought junk food.
And why stick to the same old Diwali farsan every year? Add Chakli, namak para and even Butter murukku and Mathri to your Diwali menu list and watch the compliments roll in.
About Namak Para
Namak Para is a rolled-out dough snack made with flour, oil and spices, shaped into diamonds or squares, and deep fried to get the golden-brown texture and crunchy mouthfeel.
While the regular namak para is made with maida, I have made it healthier by using whole wheat flour. Substitute a portion of the flour with besan for a unique version and different taste.
Kids love these flaky para, both the savory and sweet version. As this food stores well, namak para makes a good snack and party appetizer option.
While these savories are cut into squares or diamonds, you can shape it any way, from circles and triangles to flowers and stars using cookie cutters.
Difference between Namak Pare and Shankarpali?
While shankarpali is the sweet biscuit, namak pare is its savory twin. One is made with maida or whole wheat flour, sugar syrup and cardamom. The other contains plain flour or whole wheat flour, chili powder, pepper powder and ajwain.
The ingredients are different but the prepping and cooking technique is the same. Both the enriched doughs are rolled and cut the same way into diamonds before being fried in oil, or baked in the air fryer/oven.
Namak para is again an easy to make recipe and comes together rather quickly.
You can also check these Diwali Snacks,
Shankarpali
Murukku
Chakli
Thattai
Butter murukku
Ribbon murukku
Photo Guide
How to Make Namak Para (Stepwise photos)
This recipe has three main steps – mixing the dough, shaping spiced dough and deep frying or air frying.
Prepare the dough
1. To a large mixing bowl, add the following:
- 2 cups of whole wheat flour/ atta or (1¾ cup all-purpose flour + ¼ cup semolina/suji)
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ajwain
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon crushed black pepper (ground pepper)
- ¼ teaspoon hing (optional)
- 5 tablespoon (75 ml) oil or melted ghee (or 4 tbsps (60 ml) if using all-purpose flour)
2. Mix well to combine with both your hands, until the oil is well incorporated into the flour. Slowly add water little by little (start with ⅓ cup) and mix to form a tight/stiff dough, adding more water as required. You will need a little more than half cup. This will vary depending on the kind of flour.
3. It should look something like this when you form the dough.
4. Knead it a little until slightly smooth for 1 to 2 mins. It should look smoother but not softer. Namak Para will soak up more oil if the dough is softer. If the dough is too tight they will come out harder.
5. Divide the dough into 4 parts, roll them to balls, cover and set aside.
Make Namak Para
6. Grease the rolling area or board with oil but don’t flour it. Take one ball, flatten with your fingers and start rolling.
7. Roll it into a 9-inch roti or chapati. Use a pizza cutter or sharp knife, draw lines ¾ to 1 inch apart from each other. Start from one corner and now draw diagonal lines to get the diamond shapes. (Refer to the pictures below). You can also cut them to thin strips or squares.
8. Separate the namak para and remove to a greased plate. You can roll 3 balls and shape them. While you fry make roll the 4th ball, this saves some time.
Fry the Namak Para
9. Heat oil in a kadai on a medium heat. To test if the oil is medium hot, drop a piece of dough into the hot oil. If it sinks and rises up slowly, the oil is perfect for frying. If the oil is very hot, namak para will remain uncooked and burn easily.
10. Gently slide them, a few at a time into the oil. Add as many as your kadai can handle (don’t overcrowd it). Stir them immediately and continue frying on a medium heat.
11. Keep stirring at regular intervals to ensure both sides are evenly cooked. Fry until they turn golden brown and crunchy. Reduce the heat to low. Remove them to a plate or steel colander. Increase the heat to medium and fry the remaining batches.
Let the namak para cool completely before you transfer to an airtight steel or glass container. Avoid using plastic jars.
Store it for up to 2 weeks at room temperature.
Air Fryer Namak Para
The air fryer makes it easy to eat fried snacks guilt-free. You can definitely make a healthier version of this savory para by air frying for 13 minutes at 160C (300F). Flip them halfway through cooking. Constantly check them after the first 8 minutes to avoid burning. To get a browner shade, air fry for 3 to 4 minutes more at 180C (350F).
You can also bake it in the conventional oven or microwave with convection mode. Bake them for 10 to 15 minutes at 180C (375F). Check for doneness after the first 10 minutes.
Substitutions
- Make namak para with besan. If you don’t like the nutty flavor of besan, make the dough with equal parts of whole wheat and besan.
- Swap the oil with ghee while mixing the dough. This keeps them fresh for longer.
- Swap ajwain (carom seeds) with jeera (cumin seeds) or white til (sesame seeds).
Pro Tips
- Make a stiff dough that is not too sticky or dry and crumbly.
- Roll the dough medium thick for even cooking when frying. Roll it too thick and you won’t get the crispiness. Besides the nama para will lose their crunchy and crispy texture in a few days.
- Fry on medium heat to ensure it remains crispy and well-cooked inside. Low heat frying will turn them into rocks and too high will brown them without cooking inside.
- Use unbleached and organic refined flour or maida instead of wheat flour.
Related Recipes
Recipe Card
Namak Para Recipe (Namak Pare)
For best results follow the step-by-step photos above the recipe card
Ingredients (US cup = 240ml )
- 2 cups atta/wheat flour (or 1¾ cup all-purpose flour + ¼ cup semolina/suji)
- 5 tablespoons oil or ghee (4 tablespoons if using all-purpose flour)
- ¼ teaspoon hing / asafoetida (optional)
- ¾ to 1 teaspoon salt (adjust to taste)
- 1 teaspoon ajwain /carom seeds
- ½ to ¾ teaspoon black pepper crushed
- ½ cup water (+more as needed)
- Oil as required to deep fry
Instructions
Make Dough
- Mix together flour, salt , suji (if using), hing, ajwain & pepper. Pour oil & nicely rub the flour well in between your palms until the oil is well incorporated into the flour.
- Pour water little by little only as needed (start with ⅓ cup) and form a stiff/tight dough (not as soft as roti dough). Taste the dough and check the spice and salt level, if needed add more salt or ajwain or pepper.
- Knead it for 1 to 2 mins, avoid over kneading. Divide the dough to 4 parts and roll them to balls. Keep them covered with a moist cloth.
How to Make Namak Para
- Grease a rolling board with a few drops of oil. Begin to roll the ball to a 8 to 9 inch even chapati / roti.
- With the help of a knife or a pizza cutter, begin to cut vertically drawing straight lines that are 1 inch apart . Begin to cut from the corners to get diamond shaped cuts. You can also cut them to squares or long strips.
- Transfer these to a large greased plate and set aside. Begin to make the rest.
- Heat oil in a deep pan on a medium heat. To test if the oil is hot enough, drop a small portion of dough, it should sizzle and rise to the surface without burning or turning brown.
- Gently slide the namak para to the hot oil, one after the other. Do not add a lot of namak para at one time. Fry them stirring often until golden and crisp.
- Remove to a steel colander and cool completely. Fry them in batches. Make sure the oil is not too hot before you fry the next batch. You can refry if any of the batches are not crisp.
- Transfer the cooled namak para to a air tight jar and serve within 2 weeks.
NUTRITION INFO (estimation only)
© Swasthi’s Recipes
Namak para recipe first published in August 2016. Updated and republished in October 2022.
About Swasthi
I’m Swasthi Shreekanth, the recipe developer, food photographer & food writer behind Swasthi’s Recipes. My aim is to help you cook great Indian food with my time-tested recipes. After 2 decades of experience in practical Indian cooking I started this blog to help people cook better & more often at home. Whether you are a novice or an experienced cook I am sure Swasthi’s Recipes will assist you to enhance your cooking skills. More about me
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Comments
Swarthier,, do you think I might use olive oil and a portion of garbanzo bean flour in the dough and then and bake these paras to increase their nutritional value? Any advice?
Hi Bella,
I haven’t tried. I have a recipe of mathri here. I have tried air frying not in the oven but should work
Followed the recipe and made with Maida, turned out very nice. Kids & guests really loved it.
Thank you Shree. So glad they came out good
Followed the recipe, turned out very nice. Guests really loved it.
In the written recipe it mentions soda whereas in ingredients section soda is not mentioned… Is baking soda needed?
Sorry that’s supposed to be suji (if using), not soda. You don’t need soda for this recipe
Do you you warm water, room temp or hot water?
Use room temperature or warm water.
Can this be made in air fryer?
Yes I have the air fryer instructions in the post
Swati -Thanks so very much. Comes out perfectly well. Your recipes are great!!
Glad to know Hamsa
Thank you
Hi Swasthi can I use self raising flour?
Hi Raj,
Yes it should work.
Hi Swasthi can I use self raising whole meal flour? Thank you ??. Raj.
Very nicely explained… Thanks a lot.
Thanks Anjali
Hi Swasthi
I tried this recipe today with All purpose flour, came out really well. My kids devored it. Thank you so much.
Very easy to follow, tasty, genuine Indian taste.
Thank you
Can you tell approximately how much water you used please? I put too much and mine came out like puris and salt taste got diluted (can’t be namak para w/o the namak 🙂 ).
Hi Meghna,
The amount of water to use depends on the kind of wheat flour. The flour I used has extra bran added to it. So it takes more water. Here are some tips:
Salt: Add the salt to the flour and mix well. Then take a pinch of this flour and taste it. You should feel it is slightly salty. Salt will reduce a bit after frying. So I usually add slightly on the higher side. How much to use?
again depends on the kind of salt.
Water: Add only as needed. The dough should not be sticky and do not over knead. If the dough is sticky then sprinkle little dry flour and knead. You can prick each of the namak para 1 to 2 times with a fork. This prevents them from puffing up like puris.
Hope these tips help
Hi The ‘How To Make The Recipe’ part is missing two of the ingredients (though it is ok in the description part)
Hing and
hot oil
Hi Clem,
Thanks for the mention. I updated it.
🙂
Very nice recipe for kids 🙂 Tried and it came out well 🙂 Thank you 🙂
Hi Sahana,
You are welcome! Glad they came out good.
🙂
Very good biscuits
Is it 11/2 cups of any one? Whole wheat or maida? Or 1.5 cups of each?
Yes it is any one
I have tried ur recipes……..they turn out very tasty and so search for ur recipes. Thanks a lot for sharing but above all cooking is all about art and putting in lots of love and care for whom u cook.
Hi RK,
You are welcome. Thank you for trying the recipes. Glad you liked them.
🙂
Hi Swasthi,
Thanks for sharing the recipe…I loved these as a child. I was wondering if these can be made using almond meal?
Hi Rashmi
I don’t think it will work. If you are looking for gluten-free option, gram flour/ besan will work.