Nimki and Happy Holi

Namkin and Happy Holi

Can you Imagine Life to be Black and White ,with no colors to choose form ,If you get dresses ,sarees only in black and white ,Children playing only with Black and white crayons ,our house being painted in black and white , walls being in one uniform color white ..That life would be so mundane and irritating .
Colors are every where ,a green foliage ,yellow/red fruits and flowers ,and the autumn fall looks so beautiful ,thanks to nature for creating the colors ,the rainbow in a sky after heavy splash of rain ,little droplets coming down to earth to invoke greener ,rearing earth.

As we celebrate “Basanto utsav “ during this time of the year ,Festival of color “Holi” in hindi ,UP and “Doul” in Bengali ,Lathmaar Holi in Barsana ,Dulandi Holi in Haryana ,Hola Mohalla in Punjab,Shimgo in Goa,Kaman Pandigai in Tamil Nadu ,Phagawa in Bihar and Rangapanchami in Maharashtra. ,is a special day people look upto with great expectations .

Every household has its unique recipes to make sweets ,namkins and all the goodies too .This Namkin is our favorite one during these days .As I prepared this whole batch of namkins ,I remembered how we would use to gather round the kitchen and peek into whats being cooked in ,with the sweet aromas coming form kitchens ,we cant resist our temptations .Here is the simple recipe for namkins and then mishti namkins .Does anyone knows the name for it “Mishti Namkins”, I will appreciate if you share your fond memories with me .


Namkin/nemkiRecipe requirements
Maida /flour 3-4 cups
Cooking oil for kneading the dough 2-3 tbs
Pinch of salt
1tsp of Kalounji (Nigella seeds)
5-6 tbs of refined /cooking oil /canola oil or 1 cup of oil for deep frying the namkins .
How to Proceed
Knead all into a smooth dough ,remember to add water but very little ,just to knead it .
Now let it sit for 1-2 hrs before you start making namkins .
Make little balls and roll it like chappati ,now cut longitudinal and Horizontal lines over the rolled chappati .
Heat 5-6 heaped tbs of cooking oil in a Kadai /heavy bottom pan ,add the cut Namkins ,deep fry them at slow heat ,stiring gently in between .TIP –slow the cooking process the namkins will be crispy and crunchy .
Deep fry each batch of Namkins till Golden ,Take out in paper towels ,let it cool and then transfer in namkin Jars.


Now to make the Mishti Nemkii meaning sweet in bengali .
Recipe requirements
All you need is ½ cup of sugar
Melt the sugar in a melting pot by heating the sugar at low heat stiring continuously .Turn off the heat .
Now drop some of the namkins in the sugar syrup (the syrup will be very sticky ),coat well and take out in a large plate .
Meanwhile if you see sugar gets solidify ,don’t worry ,again melt it at low and coat the next batch of namkins .The Trick is to coat the namkins well with sugar syrup .
When the sugar gets cooled, the white crystals on namkins will look so pretty ,and it taste good too.
Happy Cooking Friends
Happy Holi