A very Happy New Year to all my readers!

I know I am late in wishing all, hope everybody had a wonderful start. I am starting the first post of the new year with a Blogging Marathon post for this month. We are starting the BM Edition 36. And you will see me sharing some recipes that are suitable for traveling.

When I selected Travel Food as one of the themes, I was thinking of the many travels we had done during my childhood. Daddy's job took him for tours every week and during the summer holidays, he used to take us along with him. And those were the best time I remember. He was in charge of the Southern Zone, so we have toured to some places more than ten times. Like Coonoor and Mysore used to be our regular holiday destination. And I can still remember each and every street in Coonoor.

As the Nilgiris train wades through the forest, all I need is to just close my eyes and I can almost remember every shade of the Lantanas that grow wild on the sides, almost reaching inside. This route is just one of the many memories that are still so fresh and I think this post will not be enough to cover them all.

However, all our trips are highlighted by the snacks, food we carried. Amma always makes sure she makes Masala Peanut. This used to be a standard one. We now have a healthy one as Baked Version of the Masala Peanut or for a variation make with Ragi as well. Then there were so many other snacks apart from this.

For some overnight journeys, we sometimes used to carry Top Ramen Noodles, which also had vegetables in them. We used to be so excited because we would be digging into noodles and enjoying the train journey, the maximum one can do with an AC coach. Most of our summer vacations used to be accompanied by Daddy's other doctor friend and his family. In fact, they were more family and their kids were our age. The second daughter was my age and my classmate in college later. So you can imagine the fun it used to be when we used to go together during school.

I guess I should simply stop here with these Namak Paras, which again used to be one of the snacks that Amma or Aunty used to bring along. I saw Suma making a baked version and wanted to try that, as I already have all possible versions of fried Namak Para. I am not able to find my savory version right now. I Will update once I get the link..:)

Meanwhile, the sweet one Sakarapara, one with wheat and Ragi Namak para

Since I had the other two and a snack or savory snack was pending, this was just done and everything got over right away. I wanted everybody to share a snack, Main course, and a dessert!

So I hope you will enjoy these journeys down memory lane!

Baked Namak Para

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Preparation time : 5 mins
Resting Time : 10 - 15 mins
Baking Time : 15 - 20 mins
Yields apprx. 40 namakpares

Ingredients Needed:

Wheat Flour - 1/2 cup
All purpose flour / Maida - 1/2 cup
Salt - 3/4 tsp
Baking powder - 1/2 tsp
Coarsely crushed cumin seeds (optional) - 1 tsp
White sesame seeds (optional) - 1 Tbsp
Softened ghee - 2 tsp
Cooking Oil - 1 tsp
Cold water - 3 -4 tbsp

How to bake the Namak Para:

Add flours, salt, and baking powder to a mixing bowl.

Next, add ghee and rub it in with fingertips until the ghee gets incorporated into the mixture.

Add cumin and sesame seeds to the mixture and combine well.

Add water and form a stiff dough. Let it rest for about 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 200 deg C.

Dust the rolling surface with flour. Roll out the dough into a 1/4 inch disc and cut them into diamonds. Gather the end bits and repeat the process. Prick holes using a fork just to make sure of even baking.

Arrange the cut diamonds on the baking tray and bake for about 15 - 20 minutes. Mine was done in 18 - 19 minutes.

Notes:

Though the recipe calls for a tablespoon of ghee, I only used a teaspoon. We liked the taste as such, though it would have been very rich otherwise.

Recipe

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Baked Namak Para ~ Easy Snack for Travel!

Dish Type Baked Snacks

Author Srivalli

Tried this recipe?Mention @spicingyourlife_ or tag #spicingyourlife_!

Comments

Priya Srinivasan says
January 02, 2014 at 6:38 pm
Looks delicious valli! !! Though appa was in railway's we started going on vacation only after I was in my senior school. Love train journey, even now I atleast go once in electric train when I come home for vacation! !
I too tried this after suma posted, none were left for clicks such an addictive snack
Sandhya Ramakrishnan says
January 02, 2014 at 6:51 pm
Happy New Year to you and your family as well Valli! I am thinking of making this too Valli for the travel snack. Your look delicious and baked sounds double good.
Chef Mireille says
January 02, 2014 at 11:06 pm
your descriptive narrative was so good. I could see you as the train travelled even though I have never been there. been seeing these on a lot of blogs recently. I have to get around to trying them.
Manjula Bharath says
January 03, 2014 at 12:44 am
wow so delicious and yummy namak para 🙂
Ramya Krishnamurthy says
January 03, 2014 at 3:30 am
Crunchy namak pare.super snack for travelling and this is oil free too
Suma Gandlur says
January 03, 2014 at 9:07 pm
My BIL used to live in Coonoor and I have visited the place only by car and have missed the picturesque train journey, I guess. 🙁 He was the director at The Pasteur Institute and they used to live in the bungalow, right opposite to the Sim's park. Your travel posts are all making me nostalgic.
And love those namakpares. Hope you liked them too.
Saraswathi Tharagaram says
January 04, 2014 at 5:17 am
Happy New year to you and to your family Valli.. I too prepare the same for African cuisine where they named it as chin chin but in sweeter version. Seriously these are addictive and cant imagine this with train journey!!
Sapana Behl says
January 04, 2014 at 3:03 pm
That is one delicious traveling snack . Loved reading your descriptive posts...
Harini-Jaya R says
January 04, 2014 at 3:28 pm
I have some lovely memories about train journeys too..Love these namakpare. We call them shankarpali
Pavani N says
January 06, 2014 at 3:32 am
Train journeys are sure so much fun. We travelled the north more by train, south was by bus. Loved reading your travel experiences.
Baked namakpara look crunchy and delicious.
sushma says
January 06, 2014 at 7:57 pm
Yummy Namakpara. Looks delicious.
Sreevalli E says
January 06, 2014 at 9:52 pm
They are so yummy & tempting..

Recipe

Baked Namak Para ~ Easy Snack for Travel!

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