Nankhatai is an Indian-style shortbread cookie made with plain flour, gram flour, semolina, ghee, sugar, etc. These cookies are popular all over India, especially during the festive season. Nankhatai has a melt-in-the-mouth texture with a tempting ghee flavor.
While making these cookies, make sure the ghee is at room temperature in semi-solid form. Melted or cold ghee will change the texture of the cookies.
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Ingredients
- 1/2 cup Ghee room temperature
- 1/2 cup Sugar
- 1 cup Plain flour
- 2 tablespoons Gram flour/Besan
- 1 tablespoon Semolina / rava
- 1/2 teaspoon Baking powder
- 1/4 teaspoon Cardamom powder
- 1 pinch Salt
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Instructions
- Add the sugar into a mixer grinder and grind into a fine powder, set aside.
- Sift together the plain flour, gram flour, semolina, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.
- Preheat the oven at 150 °C for 10 minutes.
- Beat ghee, powdered sugar, and cardamom powder in a bowl with an electric mixer until light and fluffy.
- Add sifted flour mixture in two batches and mix until just combined. Then combine with your hand until you get a smooth dough. (avoid kneading it too much)
- Roll level tablespoons of mixture into balls. Place about 3 cm apart on baking paper-lined oven trays.
- Flatten the balls slightly and top each with a few pieces of chopped pistachios.
- Bake for about 28 - 30 minutes or until the edges are lightly golden brown.
- Stand nankhatai on trays for about 10 minutes before lifting onto a wire rack to cool.
- Store in an airtight container.
- NOTE - Substituting ghee for butter or shortening will change the flavor and texture of the cookies.
- If the dough is too soft, refrigerate it for about 10 minutes.
- These cookies keep well in an airtight container for up to a week at room temperature.
- All cup and spoon measurements are level. One cup = 250 ml, one tablespoon = 15 ml, one teaspoon = 5 ml.
