Nimki | Bengali Savoury Crackers

An oval-shaped dining table dominates the living room of our family home. It’s the place where we eat our meals, yes. But there’s much more to that table.

The dining table is where Baba* sits to sift through the daily mail and at the end of the month, attempt to make sense of my expenses. The table is where Maa prefers to solve the newspaper puzzles and crosswords. It’s my choice of seat with a cuppa as I read through gossip pages of newspapers or drool over the magazines I subscribe to. The table is where we dissect the ‘who said what’ and ‘why they said what they said’.

It’s also what Maa has dubbed the ‘dumping ground’.

Our dining table is littered with flyers that slipped out of newspaper pages, newspapers, grocery lists, spectacles, pens, phones and containers of various sizes. These containers, interestingly, hold a rather elevated position in the household. Because, dear fellow foodies, these containers are filled with pickles, mouth fresheners, organic digestive aids, baking results, savoury snacks… you get the drift?

These containers or tiffin kouto – as we call them in Bengali – have their own version of musical chairs. Or should I say musical spots? As soon as the contents of one container are polished off, another filled kouto takes its place within a day. Most containers tend to stick around for at least 4 to 5 days. But there is one kind that is never around for more than a day. And that is a kouto filled with ‘nimki’.

A Bengali’s favourite savoury snack after the jhaal mudi, these savoury crackers are the perfect crunch with your evening chai. Or, in my case, the munching partner I need when watching a movie or trying to find the right word to express my emotions and devotions. You will find variations of the nimki across India, each region identifying this snack with a different name.

Made with all-purpose flour and seasoned with a hint of kaalo jeere (kalonji/nigella seeds), these crispy snacks were a breeeeeeeze for even a beginner-level cook like yours truly. And you can make round nimki, three-corner nimki or smaller, diamond-shaped nimki called kucho nimki. Kucho is Bengali for ‘small.’

I tried making the nimki in all three shapes and I must say the kucho nimki turned out to be my favourite version to make. Could it be because I loooooooove kucho nimki – they are the easiest to gobble down.

There’s not much to be done here – dough, roll, fry, store. So let’s get kneading and rolling, shall we?

Pssst… make this snack to store at the office, home or as the next movie marathon munchy. Get ready to be addicted! And don’t forget to post a photo on social media and tag From The Corner Table on Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest. Subscribe to be part of the mailing list.