Namkeen

Namkeen simply means salty in Hindi, and it covers the enormous family of fried and baked savoury snacks eaten across India with tea. Gujarati homes keep jars of fafda, the long, crisp gram flour strips traditionally eaten with jalebi on Dussehra morning; methi puri, small crisp fried discs flavoured with fenugreek leaves; and namak para, diamond shaped pieces of salted, fried dough with ajwain. They sit within snacks and noodles.

Namkeen is for guests, for evening tea, for long car trips and for festival boxes at Diwali. Fafda is best with fried green chillies and a sweet papaya relish, while namak para and methi puri are good straight from the jar with masala chai. A small bowl beside drinks works just as well as any bag of crisps, and children like namak para in a lunch box.

Store namkeen in an airtight jar and keep it away from moisture, as the flours used absorb damp quickly. If it softens, spread it on a tray and warm it in a low oven for five minutes, then cool before sealing. For more tea-time snacks, see mathri and papdi and rusks and khari, and for a lighter crunch, makhana.