Nankhattai is a very famous Indian short cookie that is loaded with Indian flavors. The name Nankhattai origins from the words, “Naan” meaning shortbread and Khattai meaning “Biscuit”. Nankhattai is very famous in North India and Pakistan. Nankhattai is made with refined flour / Maida, Sooji, and Besan flour.
I am not a great fan of cookies, especially the sugar-loaded ones with chocolate chips. I prefer to go desi even on foreign land with the taste buds used to it. The first time I tried Nankhattai was from an Indian friend’s house in the Chicago area. I fell in love with it instantly and began looking for its method of preparation. Almost all of the recipes that I googled up were made with maida, which I was hesitant to try with and hence replaced them with wheat flour and they have turned out crunchy and tasty.
Ingredients
Instructions
- Take a bowl and place a sieve over it. Add one cup of wheat flour, two teaspoons of besan flour, a quarter teaspoon of baking soda, a pinch of salt, and sieve them.
- Add 70 g of cold butter to the sieved flour. mix with the flour to form a crumble consistency.
- Meanwhile, soak a generous pinch of saffron threads in a quarter cup of milk. Add the saffron milk to the flour and knead into a soft dough.
- Pinch out small balls from the dough. Grease the palm and press in between the palms. Press gently in the middle so it gets cooked in the center too. You can add nuts in the center at this stage.
- Preheat oven to 350 F and bake for 20 mins until the Nankhattai is cooked with some cracks. Let it cool down to room temperature and then transfer to airtight container.
Notes
- I used cold butter in this recipe to give the softness against the Ghee that is generally used. Do not melt the butter before adding.
- I have not used many nuts in this recipe. If you need a nutty-flavored Nankhattai, feel free to add a spoon of grounded nuts like cashews, almonds, or pistas.