Looking for a Nankhatai recipe that’s quick, simple & easy, yet melt-in-mouth delicious? Try this one that uses easily available pantry ingredients, and is ready under 30 minutes!
And serve these Nankhatai biscuits on festive occasions, or as a quick sweet treat for unexpected guests, and even as a complement to the daily Indian chai.
If you grew up in India, or have Indian roots, you know that when it comes to homemade Indian cookies, Nankhatai biscuits are a crowd favorite. And with good reason too.
For starters, like I said, they make for the perfect tea time cookies with Indian chai, because they aren’t too sweet. Yet, they are sweet enough to satisfy any sweet cravings you might have.
And an eggless recipe like this one is also perfect for festive / fasting days during the Indian festive season.
Plus this recipe will give you the perfect crumbly texture that will just melt in your mouth.
So many reasons to love it. But you know my favorite one?
It’s the fact that it’s a super quick and simple cookie to make. No fancy equipment or technique required.
So long as you have a bowl & a mixing ladle (and an oven for this recipe), you are good to go.
Quick and easy enough to whip up on a weekday evening for unexpected guests on short notice.
This Nankhatai recipe
- strikes a balance between sweet & savory
- uses a mix of 3 flours to optimize taste and texture
- doesn’t need eggs or baking powder
- is ready under 30 minutes!
Ingredients You Need
ingredient notes:
- combination of 3 flours – you can make nankhatai with only maida, but adding besan will add to the flavor profile, and adding rava will give it the light texture that we associate with a good khasta nankhatai
- maida, besan, rava & sugar – it’s important to sieve them all to free them of knots
- sugar – use powdered sugar, not granulated sugar
- ghee – use room temperature / grainy ghee, not melted ghee
- salt – this is optional, but highly recommended to balance the flavor
- garnish – you can use any nuts or garnish of your choice. pistachios & saffron are just a personal preference, though they work really well for nankhatai
How to Make Nankhatai
There are many ways to make nankhatai on stovetop, using a traditional pressure cooker, and even using an idli cooker, and I might share them in the future.
However this particular recipe is for making these nankhatai biscuits in the oven. Though the base dough is essentially the same for all these different methods.
Making the dough
- In a large mixing bowl (or steel paraat like I’ve used) mix together all the dry ingredients, the three (sieved) flours (maida, besan, rava), powdered sugar, elaichi powder & salt.
- Then start adding ghee, a little at a time is best. The goal is to make a semi firm dough that binds together. Though it’s okay if it doesn’t come together completely.
- What you don’t want is overly crumbly dough that doesn’t bind or overly soft dough that is too sticky.
- Once the dough is ready, start making them into flattened balls. I usually make smaller sized balls, but this is totally up to what you prefer.
Baking the cookies
- Preheat the oven to 350 F (or 180 C)
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and start placing the dough balls on it.
- Then press some chopped nuts and garnish of your choice in the center of the cookie.
- Once the oven is preheated, bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes.
- Cookies are ready when they turn light golden & crisp.
Notes:
- At around the 10 minute mark, it’s important to keep an eye on the bottom of the cookies too – lightly lift one of the cookies with a spatula to check if the bottom is getting burnt.
- Also, I simply make an indentation in the center of the cookies with my thumb while pressing the nuts / garnish in. But you can get fancy and make patterns with fork etc, if you so wish.
Variations
- Maida Biscuits – You can make nankhatai using only maida (maida biscuits), only besan, or any combination of the two, based on your preferred taste / texture.
- Besan Nankhatai – This is a popular version, using only besan flour or predominantly besan flour. These cookies have a strong nutty flavor, but they work well.
- Nankhatai using Whole Wheat flour – This version is not as melt-in-mouth and crumbly like one made using maida, but it’s still tasty, and definitely healthier. You can add besan for additional flavor and rava for crunch.
Serving Suggestion
These cookies are best served fresh from the oven (once they have had a chance to cool down). And for the most part, they can be served as is.
Though they pair very well with Indian tea, because they are not too sweet.
Storage
You can store nankhatai in an air tight glass container at room temperature. They last well for 2-3 weeks.
That is if they don’t get eaten way before that. Which is almost always the case at our place. 🙂
Video Recipe
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can make it on the stove-top using the pressure cooker and even the idli cooker. Alternatively you can make it in the microwave convection mode.
It will significantly alter the taste, but yes you can. Just ensure to run the jaggery powder in a dry mixer to make it into really fine powder.
Other Indian Sweets you might enjoy!
Mysore Pak
Besan Ladoo
Wheat Flour Ladoo
As always, I hope you found this recipe useful. If you did, please let me know your rating ⭐️ and feedback 📲 in the comments below, or simply rate the recipe right on the recipe card. I’d really appreciate it. ❤️
Nankhatai Biscuit
Equipment
- Steel Paraat
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup maida / all purpose flour sieved
- 1/4 cup besan / gram flour sieved
- 1 tablespoon sada rava / semolina sieved
- 1/2 cup powdered sugar sieved
- 1 teaspoon elaichi / cardamom powder
- 1/16 teaspoon salt
- 5 tablespoon ghee room temperature
For garnish
- crushed pistachios
- saffron strands
Instructions
For making the dough
- In a large bowl (or paraat) mix together the sieved maida, besan, rava, powdered sugar, elaichi and salt. (see note 1)
- Then start adding room temperature ghee, a little at a time, till you get a semi firm dough that binds reasonably well. (see note 2)
- Once the dough is ready, start making them into flattened balls, based on the size you prefer.
For baking nankhatai
- Preheat oven to 350 F (or 180 C).
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and start placing the dough balls on it.
- Press crushed pistachios and safron strands (or your choice of garnish) in the center of the dough balls.
- Once the oven comes to temperature, bake the cookies for 10-12 minutes. (see note 3)
- Nankhatai cookies are ready when they turn golden and crispy.
- Let it cool, and serve as is, or pair it with Indian tea.
Notes
- For this recipe, it’s important to sieve the flours and sugar, use powdered sugar instead of granulated sugar, and room temperature ghee instead of melted ghee. However you can adjust the quantity of flours based on your preferred taste and texture. I have added besan for additional flavor, and rava for that light texture that we associate with a good khasta nankhatai.
- It’s okay if the dough doesn’t come together completely. You can still make dough balls if the dough binds together well. What you don’t want is overly crumbly dough that doesn’t come together at all, or overly soft dough that is too sticky. Which is why it’s important to add the ghee a little at a time.
- At the 10 minute mark, when the cookies are almost ready, do also check on the bottom of the cookie to ensure it’s not getting burnt. Light brown color is okay, too dark a brown or black means the cookies are getting over done.
- I have garnished with pistachios and saffron because they work well with nankhatai. But you can use any nuts or garnish you prefer. Also, I have just made an indentation in the center of the cookie with my thumb, but you can make it look prettier by using sweet stamps, fork marks etc.
- Maida Biscuit vs Besan Nankhatai: You can make nankhatai using only maida, only besan, or any combination of the two (with or without adding rava), based on your preferred taste / texture. Besan nankhatais have a nuttier flavor, but they work well too.
- Whole Wheat Nankhatai: This version is not as melt-in-mouth crumbly like the maida and besan nankhatai, but still very delicious. And definitely healthier. In this one you can also add besan for flavor and rava for crunch, while still keeping it healthy.
- Using Jaggery powder vs Sugar: You can use jaggery powder instead of sugar – just ensure to run the jaggery powder in a dry mixer to make it into really fine powder.
Nutrition
Video Recipe
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Rajlakshmi
2-3 weeks… I would finish them in 1 day. They look incredible. Ok I will give this a try. May not be as good looking as yours.
The Love of Spice
Haha yeah, they never ever last that long at our place. The max they have lasted is 2-3 days, and that’s also if I made a very big batch.
Kala Ravi
Lovely recipe Shantala! Good that it has no soda of any kind. Definitely trying it.
The Love of Spice
Thank you so much, Kala. Hope you love it as much as we do.