Namak Paare ( Salted fried striped cookies)

Namak Paare

Namak Paare is a crunchy savoury snack. It is perfect delicacy for Diwali and Holi. It is prepared during festivals in Northern part of India. My mother used to prepare Namak  Paare and kept it in jar during festivals.
Namak Paare are prepared in batches and are kept in airtight container. It is a great evening snack.
Here comes recipe of Namak Paare...

🔅Namak Paare 🔅

📜 Recipe✒️

📃Ingredients:

📍All purpose flour ( Maida): 250 gms
📍Carom Seeds ( Ajwain): 2Tsp
📍Salt to taste
📍Ghee/ Refined oil for making dough :2 Tbsp
📍Refined oil for deep frying

📝Method:

Step 1) 

In a bowl or a deep plate sieve Maida.

Step 2) 

Add salt & carom seeds to it and mix well.

Step 3) 

Add ghee or refined oil into it and mix well. It is called Moyan and it is a necessary step to make Namak Paare crispy ( khasta).

Step 4) 

Knead the dough with required amount of water. Cover it with a damp cloth. Rest the dough for 15-20 minutes.

Step 5) 

In a deep pan/ kadahi add sufficient refined oil for deep frying. Heat oil on high flame then sim the flame.

Divide the dough into 5-6 portions. Make balls. Spread a ball onto the rolling board by rolling pin. The dough spread (roti/chapatti) must be thick . Now cut the long stripes or squares or any shape with a sharp knife. Drop the cut long stripes/squares into the hot oil .

Deep fry it on slow flame. When the golden colour is attained, take it out by a skimmer (Jhara) on a napkin to soak the excess oil.

Step 6) 

Namak Paare are ready to serve.
Serve it with a cup of tea.
Namak Paare can be stored in an airtight container after it cooled down.

Note: 

◾An easy snack can be stored for two weeks if stored in an airtight container.

◾To make crunchy and crispy Namak Paare, knead the dough as tightly as you can and fry them on very low heat.

◾The amount of ghee/ refined oil added to the flour while kneading it is  very important. It makes them crisp.

◾🔹Preparation time: 30 minutes ( time includes kneading as well as resting the dough)

🔹Cooking time: 20-25 minutes

◾Serving sufficient for 10-12 persons

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Happy Cooking!

Aloo Ka Halwa (Potato Pudding)

Ingredients:

Potato medium size : 6-7

Sugar : ¾  cup

Pure (Desi) Ghee: 2tsp

Almond sliced: 8-9

Raisins : 8-10

Cashew sliced: 4-6

Desiccated Coconut: 2 Tsp

Green Cardamom powder: ½ Tsp

Method: Boil the potatoes. Peal it and mash it. Heat the desi ghee in a non stick pan/ Kadahi. Add mashed potatoes into it. Stir it to fry at medium to sim flame until it attains golden/creamish colour. It will take7

10 minutes on slow flame. Add sugar to it , stir it and let sugar mix well. Add green cardamom powder. Add sliced almonds, sliced cashew & raisins. Garnish with desiccated coconut powder. Serve Hot.

*This halwa is made mainly during fasts/vrats.

Note: Dry fruits are optional. Adding it enhance the taste of halwa

Preparation time: 20 minutes

Cooking time: 12 minutes

Serving sufficient for 3-4 persons

Stuffed Round gourd ( Bharwan Tinde)

Ingredients:

Round gourd: 250 gm (6-7 medium size)

Onion: 2 medium size

Garlic: 6-7 cloves

Ginger:1inch cube
Asafetida (Heeng): a pinch

Roasted Cumin powder: ¼  Tsp 
Turmeric powder: ½ Tsp
Coriander powder:2 Tsp
Red Chili powder: ¾ Tsp
Refined oil: 1½ Tbsp

Garam Masala: ¾ Tsp

Salt to taste 

Method: Peel & Cut the round gourd on the top so that small cap & a full lower portion of Tinda is there. Inside Tinda extract the seeds etc. to make space for the stuffing. The matter extracted from inside the tinda can be mixed in the stuffing masala or may be  cook alongwith tinda in the pan. Make a paste of onion, ginger & garlic in the blender.Add powdered spices (turmeric ,coriander, red chili powder,roasted cumin powder and garam masala).Add heeng and salt. Mix well. Fill it in the lower portion of Tindaand place the small cap of that tinda onto it. Put the non-stick pan or kadahi on flame. Add refined oil and place stuffed Tinda into the pan. Sprinkle some drops of water. Cover the pan.cook it on slow flame. After 10 minutes turn down the tindas slowly to keep it intact. Cook it for another 5-7 minutes and check it. Normally it takes

17-20 minutes to cook it.. Serve Hot.

Note: Serve it hot with Indian Parathas. Alternate method for making Bharwan Tinde without onion, garlic & ginger is to take all the dry masala mentioned above and with the help of some drops of water make a paste and stuffed it inside Tinde. Rest is same.

 Preparation time: 20 minutes
Cooking time: 15-20 minutes
Serving sufficient for 5 persons

Lauki Ka Halwa (Bottle gourd pudding)

Ingredients:

Bottle gourd ( Lauki) : 1 (around ½ kg)
Sugar : 1.5 cup

Milk : 4 cup

Pure (Desi) Ghee: 2tsp

Almond sliced: 8-9

Raisins : 8-10

Cashew sliced: 4-6

Desiccated Coconut: 2 Tsp

Green Cardamom powder: ½ Tsp

Method: Peal the bottle gourd and grate it. Heat the desi ghee in a non stick pan/ Kadahi. Add grated bottle goud into it. Stir it at medium to sim flame for 5 minutes. Add milk to it while stirring continuously. Stir it at medium to sim flame until it attains the consistency of Halwa. Add sugar to it , stir it and let sugar mix well. Add green cardamom powder. Add sliced almonds, sliced cashew & raisins. Garnish with desiccated coconut powder. Serve Hot.

*This halwa tastes exactly same as of Gajar ka Halwa ( Carrot pudding) without peach colour.. Kids normally don’t like Lauki but they definitely like it in this form, try at least once.

Note: Dry fruits are optional. Adding it enhance the taste of halwa. Khoya/Mawa can be added by reducing the quantity of mik to half and add Khoya/ Mawa when lauki is cooked/done in milk.

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serving sufficient for 6 persons

Peetha Raw Banana Veggie Rampuri

Ingredients:

Raw banana: 3-4

Onion: 2 medium size

Garlic: 6-7 cloves

Fenugreek seeds: ½ Tsp

Bay leaves:2-3

Cloves:4-6

Black pepper:8-10

Black cardamom:2

Asafoetida (Heeng ): a pinch

Turmeric powder: ½ Tsp

Coriander powder:2 Tsp

Red chili powder: 1Tsp

Refined oil: 1½ Tbsp

Gram flour:1 Tbsp

Garam Masala: ¾ Tsp

Salt to taste

Water: ¾ cup

Coriander leaves: finely chopped

Method: Peel & Cut the raw banana into thin oval shaped slices or long slices. Put the non-stick pan or kadahi on flame. Add refined oil add bay leaves, cloves, black pepper, black cardamom and fenugreek seeds. As it crackles add finely sliced garlic. Let it be brown, add finely sliced onion. After the onion becomes golden brown add powdered spices (turmeric ,coriander and red chili powder).Add heeng and salt. As the oil separates the surface, add raw banana slices. Mix well.Add water. Cook it on slow flame with lid on until its done. It takes around 10-15 minutes. Now add garam Masala. Sprinkle gram flour and cover with lid for next 2 minutes. Garnish it with finely chopped coriander leaves. Serve it hot with Indian Parathas.

Note: When we add gram flour into a cooked vegetable &cook for 2 minutes more, it is called Peetha. This process makes the veggie crispy and enhance the taste.

Preparation time: 10-15 minutes

Cooking time: 20 minutes

Serving sufficient for 4 persons

Suji ka Halwa (Semolina Halwa /Pudding)

Ingredients:

Suji/ Semolina: 1 cup

Sugar : ¾ cup

Water: 4 cup

Pure (Desi) Ghee: 2Tbsp

Almond sliced: 8-9

Raisins : 8-10

Cashew sliced: 4-6

Desiccated Coconut: 2 Tsp

Green Cardamom powder: ½ Tsp

Method: Heat the desi ghee in a non stick pan/ Kadahi. Add Suji into it. Keep stirring at medium to sim flame till suji attains brown colour. Add Sugar and water to it while stirring continuously. Cover the pan/kadahi. After 5-8 minutes, open the lid or cook it while it attains the consistency of Halwa. Add green cardamom powder. Mix well. Add sliced almonds, sliced cashew & raisins. Garnish with desiccated coconut powder. Serve Hot.

Note: Dry fruits are optional. Adding it enhance the taste of halwa. 

Cooking time: 15-20 minutes

Serving sufficient for 5 persons