Nankhatai Recipe Indian Shortbread Cookies

What is Nankhatai?

Nankhatai comes from two words – ‘naan’ meaning bread and ‘khatai’, meaning biscuit or cookie. Nankhatai is a traditional baked biscuit that uses a basic unleavened bread recipe and depends on adding dry fruits and spices to flavor it. The texture of these cookies is soft and mouth-melting. Eggless and easy to bake, these Indian cookies are ready in 30 minutes. They are a perfect teatime companion that can be munched on anytime.

Ingredients Required

For making Nankhatai, you need: All-purpose flour (maida), Gram flour (besan), Semolina (sooji/rava) Powdered white sugar, Green cardamom powder Baking powder, Salt Ghee (clarified butter) Besan has a naturally nutty flavor that works well with the saffron to produce an inherently Indian flavor to the dish. Roasting the besan heightens the nutty taste. I also use semolina (sooji) to build a better texture in the cookies. Adding semolina makes the cookies less ‘doughy’ and more crunchy. Many other variations to the Nankhatai recipe involve the addition of chocolate, pistachios, or other flavorings. However, the classic version is delicious on its own, as well. This Nankhatai recipe uses cardamom and saffron as flavoring agents. Albeit simple, this combination works wonderfully well in seasoning the biscuit to perfection – the result is a cookie that will appeal to tastes across borders.

Two-Step Process

Unlike other cookies, this one requires no addition of milk or water. Make Cookie Dough: Combine all the ingredients and form a smooth dough similar to a shortcrust pastry. No need to knead the dough. As soon it comes together, set it aside for 3 – 5 minutes or store it in the fridge until you are ready to make cookies. Shape Cookies: Grease a flat baking tray and place the cookie balls on it, leaving enough space between each ball to allow for expansion. Make a cross on top of each cookie using a sharp knife. Add shaved almonds, pistachios, cashews, strands of saffron, sunflower seeds, or any other nuts on the cookie to decorate it. Bake cookies in a preheated oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 25 minutes. Keep checking the cookies while baking to ensure they don’t get burnt. Smaller-sized cookies might cook faster. Once the cookies are baked, cool them on a wiring rack for 15 minutes or until they reach room temperature.

Watch Nankhatai Video

How To Store

Store Nankhatai in a dry and clean air-tight jar. They keep well for 2 – 3 weeks when stored this way. Keep away from moisture/humidity as they might get stale and lose their crunch.