Nankhatai recipe with step by step photos. Nankhatai are indian shortbread cookies that are made with all-purpose flour, sugar and ghee (clarified butter) or butter. This easy to make tasty nankhatai is spiced with cardamom and nutmeg.
Nankhatai is a popular sweet cookie cum snack recipe which is equally liked by kids as well as elders. Basically it is popular as a tea time cookie and is easily available in most bakery shops in india.
Nankhatai Can be called as indian shortbread cookies or biscuits. they are made with all purpose flour, sugar and ghee or butter. There are many variations of nankhatai. In this recipe I have added some besan or gram flour along with sooji/rava or semolina. You can also check this Whole wheat nankhatai recipe.
I shall be posting more versions of nankhatai since this is one indian cookie which is a favorite in the family and they get over in no time. During diwali, nankhatai is made in many homes. Few more popular snacks which are made during festive occasions are:
I still remember growing up when ovens were a rarity, huge trays of these melt in the mouth biscuits would be baked in the local bakery by my mom and her friends from the neighborhood.
If you are fond of nankhatai then you can easily make it at home. Make them in bulk and store in an air tight container to enjoy them for the next few days. This nankhatai recipe makes 10 large nankhatai, but you can easily make small to medium shaped ones. You can also double this recipe.
How to make nankhatai recipe
1. First take ½ cup sugar in a grinder jar.
2. Grind the sugar granules to a fine powder. Keep aside. If you are using ready powdered sugar or icing sugar, then add ⅔ cup. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius/356 degrees fahrenheit.
3. Now take the powdered sugar in a mixing bowl or pan. Add ½ cup semi solid ghee (at room temperature) or butter (at room temperature).
4. With an electric mixer or blender, begin to cream the sugar and butter. You can also use a food processor to do the same.
5. The mixture should become smooth, light, fluffy and creamy.
6. Now add the following Dry ingredients in a sieve – 1 cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup gram flour/besan, 1 tsp baking powder and ½ tsp baking soda.
7. Sift the dry ingredients. Keep aside.
8. Add the ½ tbsp curd to the creamed ghee+sugar.
9. Mix very well.
10. Then add the sifted dry ingredients. Also add 2 tbsp rava (sooji or cream of wheat).
11. Now add ½ tsp cardamom powder and ⅛ tsp nutmeg powder (or grated nutmeg).
12. Begin to mix the flour with the creamed ghee with a spoon or spatula.
13. Gently bring together the whole mixture to a dough. If you are not able to bring together the mixture and its crumbly, then add 1 to 3 tbsp milk. Do not knead like we do for chapati atta or bread. Just gather the mixture to a dough.
Baking nankhatai
14. pinch medium to large sized balls from the dough. Lightly roll them in your palms and slightly flatten them. Place them in a baking tray. Keep some space between them as they expand while baking.
15. Optionally you can press chironji or almonds on the top slightly. You can also make some criss cross designs on the nankhatais with a fork or toothpick.
16. Bake the nankhatai in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees C/356 degrees fahrenheit for 20-25 mins till light golden or golden. Since oven temperatures vary, it may take less or more time. So do keep a check.
17. Keep on the baking tray for two to three minutes. Then remove them with oven gloves on your hands and place them on wire racks to cool.
18. when cooled, store the nankhatai in an air tight container.
Nankhatai Recipe
INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup All purpose flour Or 125 grams maida
- ¼ cup Gram flour (besan) or 40 grams gram flour
- ½ teaspoon Baking soda
- 1 teaspoon Baking powder
- 2 tablespoon Sooji (fine rava or cream of wheat) or 20 grams sooji
- 2 to 3 pinches Nutmeg powder Or grated nutmeg or ⅛ teaspoon nutmeg powder (jaiphal powder)
- ½ teaspoon Cardamom powder
- ½ cup Ghee (semi solid) or butter at room temperature, 80 grams
- ½ cup Sugar, 100 to 110 grams sugar or ⅔ cup powdered sugar or icing sugar or add as per taste
- ½ tablespoon Dahi (yogurt)
- 1 to 2 tablespoon Milk
- Few almonds or chironji (charoli)
INSTRUCTIONS
making nankhatai mixture
- Powder the sugar finely in a grinder.
- Then cream the ghee and powdered sugar with a electric mixer or blender. You can also cream in a food processor.
- The mixture should become smooth, light and creamy.
- Sift the following dry ingredients - all-purpose flour, besan (gram flour), baking powder and baking soda. Keep the sifted dry ingredients aside.
- Add curd (yogurt) to the creamed ghee+sugar mixture. Mix very well.
- Now add the sifted dry ingredients. Also add the sooji (rava or cream of wheat), cardamom powder and nutmeg powder.
- Gently mix everything. Do not knead.
making nankhatai
- Just mix and gather to a smooth dough. If the mixture is too crumbly and you cannot bring together to a dough, then add 1 to 3 tbsp of milk. Mix lightly and bring the mixture to a dough.
- Pinch medium sized balls from the dough.
- Roll them evenly in your palms. Slightly flatten them. Press chironji or almonds on the top lightly.
- You can also make some criss cross designs on the nankhatai with a fork or toothpick.
baking nankhatai
- Place the nankhatai in a baking tray.
- Keep some space between them as they expand while baking.
- Bake the nankhatai in a pre heated oven at 180 degrees C for 20-25 mins till light golden.
- Remove and place them on wire racks, so that they cool down.
- When cooled, store the nankhatai in an air tight container.
NOTES
- As the temperatures vary in different oven models, keep an eye while baking. If the nankhatais are not baked enough then bake them for some more minutes.
To make nankhatai in microwave oven
- You cannot make nankhatai in the microwave mode of the microwave oven. However if your microwave oven has convection option, then you can use the convection mode (option) to make them in the microwave oven.
- Pre heat the microwave oven in the convection mode at 180 degree celsius for 10 minutes. Then bake the nankhatai in the pre heated microwave oven in the convection mode at 180 degrees celsius for 15-20 minutes or till light golden.
Hiii mam my nankhatai is too hard like a biscuits instead of soft I bake for 25min even though its hard pls guide mam
meenu, looks like they have got baked too much or they the moisture content is less in them or the dough has got kneaded. if the dough is kneaded, the nankhatai will become hard. wait for some hours. the texture will change and the hardness will reduce a bit. hope this helps.
Hi dassana, The nankhtais turned out nice, but if we don’t want to add besan and suji, can we increase the same amount in maida as that of besan and suji combined ? All your recipes are explained in a very detailed way. Keep up the good work ????????Thanks
thanks nita. you can overall add 1.25 cups maida. then you may not need to add milk or add very less milk just enough to bind the dough.
The cookies smelled great in the beginning, but the baking time is off. I did 18-minutes at 350degrees and that was just way too much; they were close to burned. I normally do my other cookies for about 12-15 minutes and will be remaking these with shortened bake time. I also recommend refrigerating the dough for about 30-minutes before baking. It helps solidify the fat and will prevent them from spreading so much when you bake them (as seems to be the problem for some folks).
tanu, timing varies from oven to oven. hence i always mention in my baking posts to keep a check while baking. some ovens bake faster and some take more time. the dough can be refrigerated. i have not mentioned nor do i refrigerate as traditionally for making nankhatais, dough is not refrigerated. but for people living in hot and humid climate zones, this is a good suggestion. thanks for sharing.
Dear Dassana,
The Nankhatais were excellent!!Thanks for emphasizing on the cream like consistency of the ghee. That was key I think. Have a Merry Christmas!!
Love,
Dalia
thanks dalia. glad to know. wish you a merry christmas and happy new year.
Hi,
I tried your receipe today followed by each and every step exactly with accurate measurement…but my nankhatai flattened and became biscuit shaped…pls help…
jyoti, try not to make the size thin. depending on the quality of ghee or butter used, the nankhatais can flatten. even if they are made thin they will flatten. so you can just roll them like pedas and keep. when baking they will spread and flatten. hope this helps.
Hi there
Im gonna be making this recipe
Hope i get my cracks same like yours????????????
Afff, I am sure you will like the taste of nankhatai.
my nankhatai turned flat despite accurate measurements.pl guide
when making nankhatai do not flatten them too much. keep them thick. too much of fat can also flatten them.
Can I make these with wheat flour ?
purvi, you can check this nankhatai recipe made with whole wheat flour – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/whole-wheat-nankhatai-recipe-atta-nankhatai/
hi dear
all went well n great
but
why did my nankhatai flatten more than it should have and also why its breaking up after removing from the baking tray
please advice
vedika, looks like the nankhatai has become too crumbly. did you make them thin. if yes then they will flatten more and become crumbly. the crumbliness also could be due to the quality of butter used.
Excellent ! Kid and Husband just love it. Going to make second batch. Can I double the amount you mentioned in the recipe?
thanks shabistan for the feedback and glad to know that your family liked the nankhatais. of course you can double the amount. in case the mixture does not bind, then some more milk can be added.
hi dassana i hve made these cookies in pressure cooker and they are turn out super yummy and delicious..thankuu
welcome sabjot. glad to know this.
I tried but instead of nan khatai they turned out to be excellent homemade cookies….i dont know which ingredient i have put more but still it tastes good!!!
Thanks Akanksha. I can’t say what went different. but glad that end result was good.
But I don’t have oven…Then how càn I make these cookies?
Sanjana, you can make in pressure cooker. You can use the method shown in this pressure cooker cake recipe – https://www.vegrecipesofindia.com/pressure-cooker-cake-recipe/
Hey can I use hand blender the one that is use to make smoothies???
you can use a hand blender.
Hi this is deepa,I follow the receipe but unfortunately the ghee and milk proportion was more than what u explain.
So it gets very flat and oily after bake.
But the dough is balance should I keep the dough in refrigerator and bake tomorrow.
please help.
Next time for this proportion can I take 100 grm Amul butter packet
deepa, i have measured the proportions and given. these nankhatais are not oily. did you use the correct cup measurement (1 cup = 250 ml) or the correct grams measurement. you can refrigerate and bake later. also in summers, the dough will look greasy as the ghee will be in a melted form. 100 grams butter will be slightly too much. so you can remove 2 to 3 tablespoons from it and then use.
Hello mam , im a frequent visitor of ur website and i have done so many receipes and all came out very well , but this one don’t know whr i went wrong i got my nan katais like papads tastes good but still not that crispy taste and all r flattened pls need ur suggestion , luv ur receipes with step by step pics very well explained by u thanq …
Thanks Rajni. Looks like the ghee has become too much. thats why they have got flattened. do not shape them too thin. if they get over baked then they will have texture like papad. shape them slightly thick.
They are pretty good. Not the naan khatai I remember eating as a kid, but these are good cookies.