Kucho Nimki – Nigella Infused Bengali Crackers
Kucho Nimki is a typical small diamond or rhombus shaped pastry like cracker. Made in small batches in a Bengali household, few things rival a well-made crisp and flaky Nimki. They are a quintessential teatime snack.
For crisp and fresh tasting Nimki, you need to do this in small batches.
Nimki is also called Namakpara in certain part of India. Nimki is made and stored for ready access. Except in my house it rare lasts long enough to be stored.
A little more about the Nimki
This makes it one of those homey treats that is the domain of the home cook. A standard sized Nimki is larger and triangular shaped. I tell you how to make it in The Bengali Five Spice Chronicles. Enjoy kucho Nimki with piping hot cups of tea. It is after all the season for tea. Kucho in Bengali means small. Nimki gets its characteristic flavor from nigella seeds.
Something used in other simple Bengali recipes like my beet greens with potatoes and this mixed vegetable medley.
How to cook the Nimki?
I love making these in winter. They are easy to make but need a little precision. I make my Nimki in a karai or wok. I am making a large batch today, on order from my daughter. My wok is unfortunately small so I am leaning towards using a skiller. Fortunately, I have a skillet that my friends at Mealthy have sent me to try out. It makes a perfect skillet for these Nimkis, as they need something with uniform heat.
So to make perfectly crisp and flaky Nimki, we need to ensure a few things,
- The dough needs a decent amount of shortening while kneading, enough to lightly hold the dough.
- We need to knead the dough into a somewhat stiff texture.
- When kneading, we use a light touch and do not overmix the dough.
- It is important to fry the Nimkis on consistent medium heat.
My skillet has yielded a perfect batch this morning. I am a skillet skeptic no more.
A few interesting things about the Mealthy Frying pan, that make it an effective tool for uniform frying.
- The pan has five layers – stainless steel outer layers and aluminum inner layers to ensure uniform heating.
- It is not a very heavy pan and well-priced.
- My favorite feature is the fact that the outer handle stays cool to touch while cooking, making it very easy to move and remove from heat.
I am personally glad to find a dishwasher safe replacement for my wok, until of course, I can find another wok. This frying pan is currently on sale, if you want to check one out.
As for the Nimki, you need to make yourself a batch to find out what the fuss is about. It is after all the season for tea. In fact, I wonder whether the Nimki will double up as a good soup cracker.
Kucho Nimki is a small diamond shaped pastry like cracker. It gets its characteristic taste from Nigella seeds.
Ingredients
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 2 teaspoons nigella seeds
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon red cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1/2 cup oil, ghee, or vegetable shorteneng
- 1/2 cup water
- Oil such as canolla for frying
Instructions
- Sift the flour in a mixing bowl.
- Add in the nigella seeds and salt and the red cayenne pepper if suing.
- Mix in the oil using your fingertips to resemble a pastry dough.
- Add in the water a little at a time to ensure a smooth somewhat firm dough. Let the dough rest for 20 minutes.
- Break off pieces of the dough and roll out on a flat surfact. It should be fairly thin, about 1/3 of a centimeter or less. Cut the dough ilenthwise and then in a diamond like shape breadthwise.
- Add the oil to the frying pan and heat for about 5 minutes. Test with a small peice of dough, the dough should sizzle and rice to the top.
- Turn the heat to medium low. This is important, otherwise you will not get crisp Nimkis.
- Add the small diamonds into the oil and fry until golden brown. Do not let them turn too dark.
- Remove with a slotted spook and let them drain on paper napkins. Allow them to cool throughly and store in an air tight jar and eat as you wish.