Nankhatais are shortbread biscuits popular in India and Pakistan. The word Nankhatai is derived from Persian word Naan meaning bread and Khatai from an Afghan word meaning Biscuit. source

Baking cookies happened in my kitchen after quite a long time. The last time I did this was last year during my trip to Kolkata. My family loves my homemade cookies, so whenever I go there, I bake and pack plenty for them. My picky child is growing up fast and has started to enjoy the different things I bake at home. I wanted to try making Nankhatai for a long time, but it never happened. Finally, yesterday, I decided to go for it. Oh my! These cookies turned out so well that I’m more than happy with the result. The Nankhatais were crisp and delicious. They were so good that I had to stop my daughter from constantly munching on them; she even ate 3 to 4 at a time, which is completely out of her character. She exclaimed, “Ma, these are yummy!” This is the true joy of baking! 🙂

Nankhatais are popular cookies, and you can find many recipes online that vary slightly from each other. I’m sharing my version here.

Nankhatai

Ingredients

• All-purpose flour/Maida- 1 cup
• Caster sugar/White powdered sugar- ¾ cup
• Besan/Gram flour- ¼ cup
• Sooji/Semolina- ½ cup
• Elaichi powder/Cardamom powder- 1/8 tsp
• Pistachios- 2 tbsp (chopped)
• Unsalted butter or Ghee/Clarified butter- ½ cup + 2 tbsp

Method

In a mixing bowl add flour, besan, sooji, sugar and cardamom powder. Mix well using your fingers. Now add butter/ghee slowly into this, 1 tbsp each time. Don’t add all the butter/ghee at one go, may be little more or less require so add accordingly. Knead until a smooth soft dough forms. Don’t overdo with the kneading part, otherwise cookies will not be flaky. Wrap the dough with cling film. If you want to give the same shape just like my Nankhatais, then shape the dough in two equal logs, and then wrap with cling film. Keep in the refrigerator for 1 hour.

Pre heat the oven at 190C. Line a baking tray with butter paper. Take out small bolls from the dough and press the ball in between your palms to give the round shape. Place some chopped pistachios on the center of each cookie, press lightly with your index finger. If you’ve made log shaped dough, then cut the cookies into slices using a sharp knife, and proceed further. While arranging them in the tray, keep 1.5 inch gap between two cookies, because they will expand in size at the time of baking. Bake for 12 minutes or until they have lightly browned edges.

The cookies will be soft after baking but will harden when cool, so don’t worry about that. Let the cookies cool down for two to three minutes. Shift them onto a cooling rack and leave there till they cool completely. Store in an airtight jar.

Note:

This cookie dough can be made ahead. If you are planning to make large batches, then you can prepare the dough a day before baking and keep refrigerated. It stays well up to 2-3 days.