Crackers

Crackers are thin, savoury biscuits made from flour, fat and salt, baked until dry and full of tiny air pockets. The cream cracker is a Sri Lankan household favourite, eaten with butter, cheese or a spoonful of coconut sambol, and given to anyone who is unwell or fasting with plain tea. Indian bakeries make salted biscuits, jeera crackers with cumin, and spicy masala crackers, while British water biscuits and oat crackers are the base of a cheese board.

Choose by how you plan to eat them. Plain cream crackers and water biscuits are neutral, so they work with butter, cheese, jam or a sharp pickle. Salted and jeera crackers have enough flavour to eat on their own with chai. Masala and spicy crackers are closer to a snack, and sit well with namkeen on a plate for guests. Wholemeal and oat crackers are heavier and more filling. Many crackers are made without sugar, but read the pack if this matters to you.

Crackers are dry by nature and keep well, but they do soften once the inner wrap is opened. Fold it tightly and store the pack in a tin. A soft cracker crisps up again after a few minutes in a warm oven. For a quick savoury plate, top crackers with a little chutney and grated cheese and grill them for a minute. More crunchy snacks are in crisps, and sweet biscuits are in biscuits and cookies.