I have made these cookies innumerable times using the same recipe and they have never failed me. Sharing my Mom’s recipe to make these delicious crunchy Indian shortbread cookies or Nan Khatai. If you like them, you must surely try making Oreo-Doodles as well once. For now, here is how to make Nan Khatai.
Nan Khatai are crunchy, shortbread like cookies flavored with cardamom are one of the very few baked goodies that my mum used to make for us while we were growing up. Baking was not an easy thing to do back then. The ingredients were not easily available and ovens were very rarely found in the electronic shops and don’t even count the innumerable power cuts that happened without a fail as soon as the wind blew a little hard. I can still feel the heavenly smell which wafted through the entire house while the cookies baked, making us restless and then burning our tongues after we popped a few in our mouth even before they cooled properly.
Nan Khatai Recipe
NanKhatai Recipe, How to make NanKhatai or Crunchy Indian Shortbread Cookies
Ingredients
- Ghee / Indian Clarified butter - 1 cup use regular butter if not available
- Powdered sugar - 1 cup sifted
- Cardamom powder - 1 tsp
- Besan / Chickpea flour - 1/2 cup
- Maida / All purpose flour - 1 and 3/4 cups
- Pinch of salt
- Baking soda -1/8 tsp
- Almonds - 5-6 slivered for garnishing
Instructions
- Sift besan, maida, salt, cardamom powder and baking soda.
- Whisk ghee and powdered sugar till light and fluffy. ( Approx 2-3 minutes on high speed )
- Add the dry mixture in 2-3 batches and fold gently.
- Divide the dough into 20-24 parts and make rounds.
- Press the rounds gently and keep some slivered almonds on top.
- Cover the tray with a cling wrap and refrigerate the cookies for 30 minutes.
- Pre heat the oven to 175 degrees C.
- Grease a cooking sheet with ghee.
- Arrange the cookies on the sheet keeping 2 cm gap between them.
- Bake for 15-20 minutes, till slightly browned.
- Remove from oven and cool on a cooling rack.
- Store in an airtight container for up to a week.
- Note
- These cookies tend to burn very fast, so keep an eye on them while baking.
- Turn the cookies around and see the base. If it's slightly browned, the cookies are done.
Uma Pandey
Thank you for sharing the recipe. I used the same recipe and baked nan khatai. It turned out yum.. I am going to post pictures in fb.
msnehamathur
Thnx for tryin the recipe Uma. I am happy they turned out good for you.
Debbie
I see this recipe calls for.cardamom but it doesn’t say how much?
msnehamathur
Hello Debbie. Thnx for noticing. Will edit the recipe. Thnx again
Nida
would like to know if flour is 1 cup or 1 +3/4 cup
thanks
msnehamathur
It’s 1+3/4 cup Nida
Shubhada
Tried ur nankhatai recipe….they turned really awsome…..Just wanted to know if i replace maida with whole wheat flour…should i keep all other ingredients same or any change is required especially in baking soda measurement….
msnehamathur
Thnx Shubhada. happy that they turned out good for you. To use Whole wheat flour instead of Maida, just increase the amount of Baking soda a little bit.