My love for nankhatai goes way back to my childhood when my mother would buy them for us from the local bakery shop. Besides nankhatai, we enjoyed eating khari biscuits, rusk toast, butter toast, jeera biscuits, just to name a few. Each biscuit though unique in texture and taste, nankhatai was our first preference as they were delicate, sweet and melted-in-the-mouth.
I learned how to make nankhatai at Nirmala Niketan, College of Home Science, in Mumbai. These are eggless cookies prepared with ghee, sugar, flour and spice. In college, we had to beat the ghee using the palm of our hand till creamy, with powdered sugar added next, followed by the rest of the ingredients. With electric gadgets these days, preparing nankhatai at home is definitely easy. They can be decorated with nuts or candied fruits before baking. Though cakes and cookies are usually baked at 350 F or 180 C, I prefer to bake nankhatai at 300 F or 150 C for 25 minutes so that they cook at a slightly lower temperature and retain their beautiful white colour. No baking soda or powder is used, though the nankhatai rise, double in size with appearance of cracks from the air incorporated while beating the ghee and sifting the flour with powdered semolina.
The name “Nankhatai” originated from the Persian word naan meaning bread and khatai from an Afghan word meaning biscuit. These cookies are popular in India and prepared for festivals like Diwali and Christmas. They are utterly delicious, an Indian spiced shortbread, perfect with a hot cup of tea.
I learned how to make nankhatai at Nirmala Niketan, College of Home Science, in Mumbai. These are eggless cookies prepared with ghee, sugar, flour and spice. In college, we had to beat the ghee using the palm of our hand till creamy, with powdered sugar added next, followed by the rest of the ingredients. With electric gadgets these days, preparing nankhatai at home is definitely easy. They can be decorated with nuts or candied fruits before baking. Though cakes and cookies are usually baked at 350 F or 180 C, I prefer to bake nankhatai at 300 F or 150 C for 25 minutes so that they cook at a slightly lower temperature and retain their beautiful white colour. No baking soda or powder is used, though the nankhatai rise, double in size with appearance of cracks from the air incorporated while beating the ghee and sifting the flour with powdered semolina.
The name “Nankhatai” originated from the Persian word naan meaning bread and khatai from an Afghan word meaning biscuit. These cookies are popular in India and prepared for festivals like Diwali and Christmas. They are utterly delicious, an Indian spiced shortbread, perfect with a hot cup of tea.
Cookies ready for the oven
Baked cookies
Nankhatai
(Yields 20)
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour or maida
1/2 cup ghee (softened)
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup semolina or rava
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon mix spice powder
few cashewnuts, pistachios or candied fruits (for decorating)
Method:
Powder the semolina and sift with flour. Set aside.
With an electric beater, beat the ghee till creamy. Gradually add sifted sugar, vanilla extract, cardamom powder and mix spice powder, beat well.
Mix in the semolina and flour with a spatula. Using your fingers, gently form into a smooth dough.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
To form uniform cookies, take 1 tablespoon of dough and form into a ball. Make a cross in the centre with a knife and top it with a nut or candied fruit. (Do not worry if you see slight cracks.)
Preheat oven to 300 F or 150 C.
Bake cookies for 25 minutes. Once cool, they will firm up.
Store in an airtight container.
Note:
(Yields 20)
Ingredients:
1 cup all purpose flour or maida
1/2 cup ghee (softened)
1/2 cup icing sugar
1/3 cup semolina or rava
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/2 teaspoon mix spice powder
few cashewnuts, pistachios or candied fruits (for decorating)
Method:
Powder the semolina and sift with flour. Set aside.
With an electric beater, beat the ghee till creamy. Gradually add sifted sugar, vanilla extract, cardamom powder and mix spice powder, beat well.
Mix in the semolina and flour with a spatula. Using your fingers, gently form into a smooth dough.
Line a baking tray with parchment paper.
To form uniform cookies, take 1 tablespoon of dough and form into a ball. Make a cross in the centre with a knife and top it with a nut or candied fruit. (Do not worry if you see slight cracks.)
Preheat oven to 300 F or 150 C.
Bake cookies for 25 minutes. Once cool, they will firm up.
Store in an airtight container.
Note:
- Use proper measuring cups and spoons.
- Observe indicated baking temperature and timing.
- I have used Club House Allspice powder.
- Instead of icing sugar, you can powder and use granulated sugar.
- Heart-Shaped Nankhatai
Follow above recipe for the dough. Take balls of dough, flatten on the silpat placed in a baking sheet. Cut dough with a 2.5-inch heart-shaped cookie cutter. Brush top of hearts with a beaten egg yolk and add some sprinkles. Bake as indicated, but for an extra 5 minutes since these cookies are thicker. (Yields 10)
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