A quick and easy nankhatai recipe (the classic Indian cookie) using basic pantry ingredients, and only 20 minutes!
No egg, no baking powder or baking soda. Only a combination of maida, besan, and rava to get the perfect crumbly (khasta) texture that nankhatai cookies are famous for.
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, 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.
The fact that it is super quick & easy, and really simple to make, is just a happy bonus! So if you have never made them, try it!
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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 in 20 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 (very important – see notes)
- 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 nankhatai in the oven. Though the base dough is essentially the same for all these different methods.
Making nankhatai dough
- In a large wide bowl (or paraat), place a sieve, and through it sieve – ½ cup all purpose flour (maida), ¼ cup gram flour (besan), 1 tablespoon semolina (rava), and ½ cup of powdered sugar.
- To the sieved ingredients, add 1 teaspoon of cardamom (elaichi) powder & a dash of salt (1/16th of a teaspoon).
- Give everything a quick mix, and start adding the ghee (3.5-4 tablespoons) a little at a time, to help make it into a dough.
- Here it’s important that the ghee is grainy, has a flow-y consistency, and is at room temperature (see notes).
- Also important to add ghee a little at a time to control how much moisture you are adding to the dough (see the recipe video if you need a visual reference).
- The final dough should be neither dry and crumbly (that it doesn’t come together) nor too soft and wet (that it sticks to your hand).
- When the dough is ready, shape it into small flattened balls, based on the size you prefer.
Baking nankhatai cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 F (or 180 C).
- Line a baking tray with parchment paper, and place the dough balls on it.
- Press crushed pistachios and saffron strands (or your choice of garnish) in the center of the dough balls.
- Once the oven comes to temperature – bake the nankhatai cookies for 10-12 minutes, till they are done.
- Nankhatai cookies are ready when they turn golden and crispy.
Recipe Notes
- A key element of this recipe is using room temperature ghee. This is true for most baked goods like cakes and cookies. Room temperature ingredients (like butter / ghee) form an emulsion that traps air, and while baking in the oven, they release this air to make the baked good light and fluffy.
- At the 10 minute mark, when the cookies are almost ready, you can check both the top and the bottom of the cookie to ensure that the bottom is 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.
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
Nankhatai 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. 🙂
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.
Popular Indian sweets to try..
⭐️ Fail-proof Homemade Mysore Pak
⭐️ Easy Besan Ladoo Recipe
⭐️ Churmundo (Atta Maida Ladoo)
⭐️ Motichoor Cream Cheese Cups
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. ❤️
📖 RECIPE
Nankhatai Recipe (Indian Cookie)
Equipment
- Steel Paraat
- Parchment Paper
Ingredients
- ½ cup all purpose flour (maida)
- ¼ cup gram flour (besan)
- 1 tablespoon semolina (sada rava)
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder (elaichi powder)
- a dash of salt (1/16th of a teaspoon)
- 3.5-4 tablespoon ghee grainy, at room temperature (see notes)
For garnish
- crushed pistachios
- saffron strands
Instructions
For making the dough
- In a large wide bowl (or paraat), place a sieve, and through it sieve – ½ cup all purpose flour (maida), ¼ cup gram flour (besan), 1 tablespoon semolina (rava), and ½ cup of powdered sugar.
- To the sieved ingredients, add 1 teaspoon of cardamom (elaichi) powder & a dash of salt (1/16th of a teaspoon).
- Give everything a quick mix, and start adding the ghee (3.5-4 tablespoons) a little at a time, to help make it into a dough. Here it's important that the ghee is grainy, has a flow-y consistency, and is at room temperature (see notes). Also important to add ghee a little at a time to control how much moisture you are adding to the dough (see the recipe video if you need a visual reference).
- The final dough should be neither dry and crumbly (that it doesn't come together) nor too soft and wet (that it sticks to your hand).
- When the dough is ready, shape it into small 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 place the dough balls on it.
- Press crushed pistachios and saffron strands (or your choice of garnish) in the center of the dough balls.
- Once the oven comes to temperature – bake the nankhatai cookies for 10-12 minutes, till they are done.
- Nankhatai cookies are ready when they turn golden and crispy.
Notes
- A key element of this recipe is using room temperature ghee. This is true for most baked goods like cakes and cookies. Room temperature ingredients (like butter / ghee) form an emulsion that traps air, and while baking in the oven, they release this air to make the baked good light and fluffy.
- At the 10 minute mark, when the cookies are almost ready, you can check both the top and the bottom of the cookie to ensure that the bottom is 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
This recipe was first published in Aug 2020, and has been republished with updated instructions, notes & tips, images, as well as video in Feb 2022.
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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.