नमकिन/namkeen

Though Lays potato chips are gaining momentum with Sharukah Khan slutting himself in their name (with India's Magic Masala and India's Mint Mischief a fanciful alternative to America's Sour Cream and Onion), I am in full support of the indigenous namkeen. In a country where Red #6, Yellow #213 and standards like tartrazine and hydrogenated oil are replaced with - (!?!) - real oils and spices, I'm all for the flawlessly spiced deep fried pulses of Namkeen.


Check it:

Ingredients of Haldiram's Navrattan namkeen:

Gram pulse flour, edible vegetable oil, gram pulse, lentil, peanuts, rice flakes, potatoes, edible common salt powder, spinach, red chili powder, black salt powder, mango powder, black pepper powder, ginger powder, clove powder, mace powder, nutmeg powder, cumin powder, fenugreek seeds powder, coriander powder, bay leaves powder, mint leaves powder, salt ammoniac powder, cardamom powder, asafoetida powder and citric acid powder.

And that's the packaged stuff.

As for biskuts, I proudly select the Brittania Pista Goddam (Missasauga, God damn!) variety, a title whose etymology clearly denotes the British Raj. I think they're phasing them out alongside gradually renaming every city in India. But regardless of circumstance, the Glucose brand just isn't as appealing. That and Wimpy's high class, fast-food burger establishment.

Yar.