The nankhatai saga began in June 2020. The recipe has had a lot of variations since then: it got doubled; it was made with melted ghee, then softened ghee, and then creamed butter; the cardamom and semolina amounts changed; and after six instances of using milk to combine the dough and getting frustrated with a heavy texture, I finally realized a few tablespoons of curd was all that was needed. Despite the ups and downs, I stuck with these cookies because I knew if made right, they would have the perfect crumbly texture and flavor from gram flour and cardamom. And it paid off! These nankhatai cookies are soft, buttery, and the perfect companion to morning tea or coffee.
Nankhatai
Course: DessertCuisine: Indian16
cookies15
minutes20
minutesIngredients
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3 tbsp curd or yogurt
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup gram flour (besan)
1 tbsp semolina (suji)
3/4 tsp cardamom powder
1/2 tsp baking powder
pistachios or cashews, halved
Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Cream butter in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment for a couple minutes, then sift in powdered sugar and continue beating until fluffy and lightened in color. Add curd and mix.
- Stir together flour, gram flour, semolina, cardamom, and baking powder in a medium mixing bowl.
- Slowly incorporate dry ingredients on low speed, then form balls of dough. If the mixture is too dry, add a couple more tbsp of curd. Roll and flatten balls and use a fork to press two crisscrossing hatch designs on the tops of the cookies. Press cashew halves or pistachio halves into the tops of the cookies.
- Bake the nankhatai for about 15-20 mins on the top rack of your oven, then transport to a cooling rack or cool on a different plate.
Notes
- Make sure your butter is room temperature before creaming it. Cold butter holds less air than room temperature butter, so this is important to ensure your cookies have a fluffy, light texture.
This recipe was adapted from Swasthi’s Recipes’ Nankhatai Recipe.
