Nankhatai is a well-known Indian shortbread cookie made with different flour and flavored with green cardamom and chopped nuts. Here's the easy recipe to make Nankhatai cookie at home.
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- The Indian Cookie - Nankhatai
- What do you need to bake perfect nankhatai at home?
- What makes Nankhatai special?
- Similar Recipes
- Dessert/ Sweet dish recipes from Debjanir Rannaghar
- Have you tried the Naankhatai Recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
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The Indian Cookie - Nankhatai
During the month of December, I bake the most, not only for Christmas but also because the weather is perfect for enjoying baked treats. Additionally, I have been making various cookies for my young child who recently started attending preschool. My child enjoys homemade cookies and typically has two during their school break. While baking peanut butter cookies for them last week, I suddenly craved a cookie with Indian flavors, including a punch of semolina and green cardamom powder - the same cookie that my father used to purchase from a bakery in New Market when I was a child. I used to call it a "sooji biscuit," referring to the famous Indian cookie, "nankhatai." My child has not tasted nankhatai before, and I have decided to bake it to introduce them to the authentic flavor of this traditional Indian cookie.
What do you need to bake perfect nankhatai at home?
A high-quality oven is essential for making perfect nankhatai at home. I used their new Borosil Prima 19L oven to bake these cookies. This oven is a recent addition to my kitchen and a new product in the market. I intentionally chose to make Nanakhatai with this new appliance, as I have made it several times before and know the required time and temperature for baking. This oven is ideal for home baking, and my attempt at making Nanakhatai turned out perfectly.
What makes Nankhatai special?
Nankhatai is a very popular Indian snack that differs from Western treats due to its unique ingredients. Its dough is made with gram flour, semolina, and all-purpose flour, and it uses ghee instead of butter, though some bakers prefer butter. The recipe may also include a touch of whole wheat flour. Cardamom is another key flavor that defines nankhatai. The author has made two versions - one with whole almonds for themself, and the traditional version with chopped pistachios for someone who dislikes almonds.
Nankhatai Recipe
Ingredients
- 100 g All Purpose Flour/ Maida ⅔ Cup
- 50 g Whole Wheat Flour/ Atta ⅓ Cup
- 50 g Gram Flour/ Besan ⅓ Cup
- 20 g Semolina/ Sooji 2 Tbsp.
- 100 g Powdered Sugar ⅔ Cup
- ¼ teaspoon Green Cardamom Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Baking Powder
- ¼ teaspoon Salt
- 8-10 Pistachios finely chopped
- 2 tablespoon Milk or as required
- 50 ml Ghee ½ Cup+ 1 Tbsp. (at room temperature but not melted)
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 170 degrees C for 10 minutes.
- Make a coarse powder of Pistachios or finely chop those.
- Take all-purpose flour, Whole Wheat Flour, Gram Flour, and Semolina in a bowl and mix all the flour properly with your fingers or a spoon.
- Sieve the Flour mixture using a sieve.
- Add Green Cardamom Powder, Baking Powder, and Salt to the Flour mixture and mix again.
- Now mix Powdered Sugar with the Flour mixture.
- Take Ghee at room temperature and start adding the Flour mixture in two batches.
- After adding half of the Ghee knead the dough and if required add some more Ghee.
- Don't knead much.
- Add a little Milk if you are not able to make the dough using only Ghee.
- Now divide the dough into 15-18 equal-sized balls.
- Take a baking tray and place a piece of baking paper or butter paper on it.
- Place the balls prepared from the dough on the baking tray and decorate those using a cookie cutter or a knife or fork as shown in the picture.
- Sprinkle finely chopped Pistachios over the cookies.
- Bake Nankhatai at 180 degrees C for around 15-20 minutes till the cookies turn golden in colour.
- Don't overbake and check after completion of 15 minutes given not all the ovens are the same.
- Take the baking tray out of the oven and let the cookies cool completely.
- Store Nankhatai in airtight containers. Nankhatai can be stored for 7-10 days.
Notes
- Whole wheat flour can be replaced with all purpose flour.
- Ghee can be replaced with Butter or Refined oil fully or proportionately.
- Don't add Salt in case using table Butter or salted butter.
Nutrition
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Have you tried the Naankhatai Recipe from Debjanir Rannaghar!
Do let me know how it came out. Also, I would love to see a picture of the same which you can share here on [email protected]. Meanwhile, on Instagram, you can use my hashtag #debjanirrannaghar and in addition, you can tag me at @foodofdebjani.
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Here's the Nankhatai pin for you to save on your Pinterest board
About Debjani Chatterjee Alam
I am Debjani Chatterjee Alam. A CSR specialist by profession and a food writer, food blogger, and food photographer as well. I live in Kolkata along with my Husband Mehebub who is an architect by profession, my daughter Pasta, and also my dog daughters Coffee and Luchi.
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