Nankhatai (Eggless Indian Cookies)
Nankhatai is eggless Indian cookies flavored with cardamom. These delicious eggless cookies are made with maida (all-purpose flour) and besan (chickpea flour). Nankhatai is a very popular tea-time snack and is loved by everyone in the family.
Servings: 12 nankhatais
Calories: 181kcal
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup besan (chickpea flour)
- 2 tablespoon semolina
- 1 tablespoon yogurt
- ½ cup sugar powdered
- ½ cup ghee (use store-bought or homemade ghee)
- ⅛ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon baking powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- 2-3 pistachio chopped
- 2-3 almonds chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 360 F / 180 C.
- In a large bowl, combine flour, semolina, besan, salt, cardamom powder, and baking powder. Set it aside.
- In another bowl, sieve the powdered sugar. Add ghee to it and whisk it until it is creamy and soft.
- Add yogurt and whisk again.
- Add the flour mixture. Crumble the mixture well. Knead into a smooth dough.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper.
- Pinch a small amount of dough and make a round shape. Place them on the baking tray.
- Press some chopped almonds and pistachio into each cookie.
- Bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes or until they are slightly golden.
- Cool on the tray for 10 minutes, then transfer it to a wire rack to cool completely.
- Serve or store in an air-tight container.
Notes
The flour-to-besan ratio I have used in this recipe gives the perfect taste and texture. If you cannot access besan, replace it with atta or plain flour.
Use ghee to make the authentic tasting nankhatai. If you do not have access to ghee, use softened butter. Also, make sure the ghee is at room temperature. Melted ghee will make the dough runny, and solid ghee will be challenging to incorporate. Do not cut down on ghee; we need a lot of fat to get a crispy and flaky texture.
Let the nankhatai dough chill for 10-15 minutes so that they do not spread too much when baking. It is best to shape them and then chill.
It is essential to let the nankhatai cool on the baking tray. If you handle them before cooling, they will crumble and fall apart.
Nutrition
Calories: 181kcal | Carbohydrates: 23g | Protein: 3g | Fat: 8g | Saturated Fat: 5g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Cholesterol: 19mg | Sodium: 48mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 5IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 18mg | Iron: 1mg