In Indian English, namkeen refers to any salty, savory snack eaten between meals — the kind of crunchy, spiced nibbles served in small bowls at tea time or with drinks. This includes sev, mixture, chivda, bhujia, and dozens of regional variants. The word comes directly from Hindi and is used across the subcontinent and in the diaspora. The category is enormous and central to South Asian snacking culture.
She put out a bowl of namkeen alongside the chai and everyone started picking at it immediately.
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(India) Any savoury snack eaten between meals.
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Regional slang from around the English-speaking world — British, Australian, Irish, Caribbean, Nigerian, Filipino, AAVE, and the hyphenated-English dialects that make the internet sound local.
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