Nankhatai
Nankhatai Recipe – Delicious, light & crisp eggless cookies made with flour, ghee, cardamom powder and sugar. Nankhatai are traditional Indian shortbread cookies made with all-purpose flour, semolina, sugar and ghee. There are so many variations of nankhatai and can be made with different combinations of flour. In the earlier days most Indian homes did not have an oven so these were baked in stovetop aluminum ovens & cookers. If you do not have an oven, go ahead and bake these in a pressure cooker or a heavy bottom kadai with my tips below.
About Nankhatai
Nankhatai are shortbread cookies, popular in the Indian Sub-continent. These are made with just refined flour, sugar and ghee or butter. Sometimes cardamoms or saffron are used to flavor them. They are garnished with nuts like pistachios & almonds.
In India, you will find nankhatai in almost every bakery, eatery and even in super markets. They have a melt in the mouth texture and super delicious.
The recipe shared in this post will give you crisp nankhatai that are not only delicious but also have a unique flavor. I make different kinds of cookies often for my kids. These nankhatai are the easiest and make a great snack to pack in the kids’ school box.
I have made the nankhatai in a simple way by just mixing up the dry ingredients and then combining it with ghee to make a dough. Then divide the dough to portions, roll them to balls and then flatten to shape. Later these are baked until golden & crisp.
Here is the ingredient section that will help you make the recipe.
Ingredients
Flour : Traditionally nankhatai were made with all-purpose flour known as maida. However they also turn out good with wheat flour, or a combination of wheat flour and besan (gram flour). For healthier option make these with any whole grain flour. Read my substitute section below.
Fats: This time I have made these nankhatais with ghee but I have made several times with melted butter & oil too. But ghee makes the best crisp nankhatais. If using oil, try using extra virgin coconut oil. I did not feel the flavor of oil in the cookies as I double the amount of cardamom powder.
Sugar: This recipe needs powdered sugar. I powder the sugar in a small grinder. You can also use store bought icing sugar.
Cardamom powder: Nankahtais are flavoured with elaichi, cardamoms. To make cardamom powder, simply blend the cardamoms with sugar in the blender. You can also replace cardamom powder with vanilla or cinnamon if you like the flavours.
The first picture of nankhatai in this post was shared many years ago. These were made with more quantity of besan and little atta. The color of the cookies will depend on the combination of flour.
How to Make Nankhatai
Make Dough
1. Add wheat flour or maida to a mixing bowl.
2. Add besan or gram flour. You can substitute besan with maida or any nut meal or even with atta. But besan lends a good aroma to the nankhatai.
3. Next add sooji. It gives a light crunch. You can skip this completely and reduce a tbsp ghee in the recipe. You can also replace sooji with any nut meal. I used chiroti rava here but regular sooji works too.
4. Add cardamom powder and baking powder or baking soda. You can skip the baking powder or baking soda if using maida. But with atta they turn out too dense if you skip the leavening agent.
5. Add powdered sugar. Measure half cup powder and not the sugar.
6. Mix all of them well together. Ensure all the ingredients have combined well especially the baking powder.
7. Measure 1/3 cup ghee and pour it in 3 parts. Mix well to make a dough adding more ghee as needed.
8. The nankhatai dough should not be dry or crumbly but must bind together well. Do not knead it just bring the flour together with the help of ghee.
Shape & Bake Nankhatai
9. Divide the mixture to 12 portions and roll to smooth balls. If the mixture is dry and crumbly it means you need more ghee. Just add a tsp of it and mix.
10. Flatten the balls and place them on the tray. You can make some design with the help of a fork or a skewer. I also garnished the nankhatai with some chopped pistachios. They usually get browned so you can also skip them.
11. Ensure your own is preheated for at least 15 mins at 180 C or 350 F. Bake them at 180 C or 350 F for 10 mins. When done the nankhatai will be golden and almost dry on the top.
12. Immediately remove to a wire rack and cool them completely. They will continue to brown at the bottom if you leave them in the hot tray.