Lately i had a big XL empty tin box from the Nido I buy for my sweet
dishes, and I had the idea to turn it into my Secret Snack Box , so I stuck the
wall paper I had at hand, okay okay I admit it is not that lovely but hey it
was a spontaneous idea and I thought before my lovely box lands in the waste I
better dress it up : )
Namak Paray are made in different ways, this here is my Mom’s recipe
which I have been eating since my childhood and have adopted it the same way.
She used to add yoghurt in it and used to knead it with luke warm milk,
I never understood at that time why yoghurt?? She told me that these should be
crispy and not hard, the crisp you feel as you hold it in your hand and it
melts in the mouth.
So I always use yoghurt in my Namak Paaray to make it very crispy (
khasta) and knead the dough with milk instead of water. I keep pouring milk on
the sides and knead, so please be careful it’s possible that you need a bit
less or a bit more milk so that’s where we have to go accordingly to the dough
structure ok, don’t be confused with the measurement as a good cook acts
accordingly : )
It’s the best recipe ever and I make all my dough’s which I have to fry
with a crispy touch with this method.
Like I always say, we have to develop a love for cooking, only then, we can
get the best results : )
So get ready , here we go, you need:
250 gram plain flour (maida ca, 2 cups)
4-5 tbs plain yoghurt
¾ tsp salt (or to taste)
½ tsp white cumin seeds ( sabut sufaid zeera)
¼ tsp Carom seeds (ajwain )
¼ tsp baking powder
**Chaat masala to sprinkle
3tbs level soft ghee (clarified butter)
¾ -1 glass luke warm milk
-sieve the flour, mix in the yoghurt and ghee and mix with hands into
fine crumble
-the mixture should seem even, just rub the yoghurt and ghee very well
in it
-add in all the remaining rest things, and then pour the milk and knead
into soft dough
- make 5 balls out of it and let them rest around ½ an hour
-resting time makes the dough softer and is easy to roll out
-roll out big chapattis and cut diamonds with a cutter or a simple knife
-I uses a curved pastry wheel cutter, gives a lovely look
-fry in hot oil, but don’t over fry them, take them out when they are
still light brown
as they will automatically get darker once taken out of the oil.
-sprinkle chaat masala with a pinch, not too much it should only taste
“masala darr!!!!
-you can of course leave it without the masala too, solely your choice :
)
-preserve them in a tin box or a plastic box laid with a kitchen paper
so that the oil is absorbed
-they stay crunchy and fresh a week for sure
Good frying!!!! : )
**What is Chaat masala?
It is a blend of spices which is used for fries, and roasts, and grilled
food, dips and fruit salads. It has that specific taste that brings out the
spicy touch.
A mix of Coriander seeds, black rock salt, dry mango powder, red whole
chilies’
White cumin seeds, dry ginger powder, black pepper from the mill,
paprika powder.
I first fry all my spices and then grind them, that’s the secret of the
taste : )
I make this at home and honestly I have never measured what I add, I
promise you the next time I make it I will note down the quantity of the
spices.
After been cooking things so long you reach that stage where you just
open your cupboard and sprinkle what you thing you need at that very moment for
the dish you are making : )
You can buy this at any Pakistani/Indian shop too, but I felt the taste
is so main stream that it had no taste for me, so I just read all the
ingredients on the packing and thought well why not make it at home, I excluded
a lot of things like citric acid or vinegar, as the mango powder has the better
effect.
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