Nankhatai recipe – Delicious, light & crisp eggless cookies made with flour, ghee, cardamom powder and sugar. Nankhatai are traditional Indian shortbread cookies made with all-purpose flour, semolina, sugar and ghee. There are so many variations of nankhatais and can be made with different combinations of flour.
In the earlier days most Indian homes did not have an oven so these were baked in stovetop aluminium ovens & cookers.
The recipe shared in this post will give you crisp nankhatai that are not only delicious but also have a unique flavor.
I make different kinds of cookies often for my kids. These nankhatai are the easiest and make a great snack to pack in the kids’ school box.
More cookie recipes
Eggless ragi biscuits
Eggless choco chip cookies
Chocolate chip cookies
Coconut ragi cookies
Tips to make nankhatai
Flour : These were actually made with all-purpose flour or maida. However they also turn out good with wheat flour, or a combination of wheat flour and besan (gram flour). For healthier option make these with any whole grain flour.
Fats: This time I have made these nankhatais with ghee but I have made several times with melted butter or oil too. But ghee makes the best crisp nankhatais. If using oil, try using extra virgin coconut oil. I did not feel the flavor of oil in the cookies as I doubled the amount of cardamom powder.
Sugar: The recipe needs powdered sugar. I powdered the sugar in a small chutney jar. You can also use store bought icing sugar.
Cardamom powder: Nankahtais are flavoured with elaichi or cardamoms. To make cardamom powder, simply blend the cardamoms with sugar in the blender. You can also replace cardamom powder with vanilla or cinnamon if you like the flavours.
I had shared these nankhatai pictures years ago made with more quantity of besan and little atta. The color of the cookies will depend on the flour.
Substitutes
Besan : I always prefer besan or gram flour in nankhatai as it really elevates the flavor of the cookies. The aroma of the baked besan is unique and cannot be got by substituting it with any other ingredient.
However if you do not want to use it just replace with any nut powder, all-purpose flour or whole wheat flour. The same amount of almond meal works well in this recipe.
Semolina or rava (suji) : The recipe uses 1 tbsp of fine semolina just to add a crunch to the nankhatai. I personally prefer the chiroti rava for this recipe.
Substitute it with the same amount of nut meal or flour. You can also just skip it and reduce 1 tbsp of ghee in the recipe.
Best combination of flour
¾ cup atta or maida, ¼ cup besan & 1 tbsp of semolina is what I have used in this recipe. You can also alter this proportions but the texture is not the same.
How to make nankhatai
I have made the nankhatai in a simple way by just mixing up the dry ingredients and then combining it with ghee to make a dough. Then divided the dough to portions, rolled them to balls and then flattened. Baked until golden at 180 c.
How to make nankhatai in cooker
If you do not own a oven, you can also make these in a heavy bottom pan or pressure cooker.
Fill 1 inch of the cooker base with crystal salt and then place a trivet or a ring or some stand. Preheat it well until hot for 10 to 15 mins.
Place the nankhatai on a plate and keep it on the stand/trivet. Ensure the cookies are in the center of the cooker (heightwise). Remove the gasket and close the lid. Bake on a low flame. Keep checking after 10 mins.
Related recipes:
Eggless chocolate cake
Biscuit cake
Ragi cake
Eggless Black Forest Cake
Eggless fruit cake
Nankhatai recipe
Nankhatai recipe | How to make nankhatai
Ingredients (1 cup = 240ml )
Ingredients for nankhatai
- ¾ Cup wheat flour or all-purpose flour – 75 grams
- ¼ Cup besan or gram flour – 25 grams
- ¼ teaspoon baking powder or 1 pinch baking soda
- 3 green cardamoms powdered or ½ tsp powder
- ½ Cup powdered sugar (65 grams)
- ⅓ Cup ghee or soft butter (75 grams) (use only as needed)
How to make the recipe
Preparation for nankhatai
- Preheat the oven at 180 C at least for 15 mins.
- Prepare a tray with parchment paper.
- Powder sugar along with cardamom seeds.
- Sieve the flours, sugar and baking soda together. Set this aside.
- You can also just mix up all of them together and skip sieving. Ensure the baking powder is mixed well.
How to make nankhatai
- Pour ghee in parts and bring the flour together to make stiff dough.
- Use ghee only as needed mixing. You may need a tsp more or less depending on the temperature.
- Do not knead the dough.
- Make 12 balls out of the dough.
- Then slightly flatten and pierce with a fork lightly to make a design.
- Bake exactly for 10 mins. Or until light golden and crisp.
- The timing may vary depending on many factors.
- Remove to a wire rack immediately.
- Cool the nankhatai completely and store in an airtight jar. They keep good for 3 weeks.
- Enjoy nankhatai as a snack with milk or tea.
Video
NUTRITION (estimation only)
If you are a beginner or new to Indian cooking, I highly suggest you to check the supporting step by step photos for best results. Step by step photos with description available below after the recipe card.
Nankhatai recipe originally published in Dec 2012. Republished in June 2019 with video.
Preparation
1.Add wheat flour or maida to a mixing bowl.
2.Add besan or gram flour. You can substitute besan with maida or any nut meal or even with atta. But besan lends a good aroma to the nankhatai.
3.Next add sooji. It gives a light crunch. You can skip this completely and reduce a tbsp ghee in the recipe. You can also replace sooji with any nut meal. I used chiroti rava here but regular sooji works too.
4.Add cardamom powder and baking powder or baking soda. You can skip the baking powder or baking soda if using maida. But with atta they turn out too dense if you skip the leavening agent.
If you do not have cardamom powder, you can add some cardamom pods to the sugar and the powder them.
5. Add powdered sugar. Measure half cup powder and not the sugar.
6.Mix all of them well together. Ensure all the ingredients have combined well especially the baking powder.
7. Measure 1/3 cup ghee and pour it in 3 parts. Mix well to make a dough adding more ghee as needed.
8.The nankhatai dough should not be dry or crumbly but must bind together well. Do not knead it just bring the flour together with the help of ghee.
How to make nankhatai
9.Divide the mixture to 12 portions and roll to smooth balls. If the mixture is dry and crumbly it means you need more ghee. Just add a tsp of it and mix.
10.Flatten the balls and place them on the tray. You can make some design with the help of a fork or a skewer. I also garnished the nankhatai with some chopped pistachios. They usually get browned so you can also skip them.
11.Ensure your own is preheated for at least 15 mins at 180 C or 350 F. Bake them at 180 C or 350 F for 10 mins. When done the nankhatai will be golden and almost dry on the top.
12.Immediately remove to a wire rack and cool them completely. They will continue to brown at the bottom if you leave them in the hot tray.
Store nankhatai in a air tight steel or glass jar. They keep good for 2 to 3 weeks at room temperature.
These are besan nankhatai made with 3/4 cup besan and 1/4 cup atta.
Roopa says
Hello Swasthi,
I enjoy making recipes using your website. Thank you.
I made these nankhatais today and it turned out great. I want to make them with butter but wanted to confirm the kind of butter – salted or unsalted?
Thank you again.
swasthi says
Hi Roopa,
You are welcome! Thank you so much! Unsalted butter is better. If you don’t get it then you may use salted one. Melt it and use. Hope this helps.
akshita says
i baked for aprrox 10min but it turn dark brown from bottom nd soft from top 😔
i adjust baking time bt it doesn’t turn out good🤔🤔😔
akshita says
i forgot to tell u that i baked in cooker…
swasthi says
Akshita,
If your cooker is a tall one then the cookies don’t get baked on top. The dough has to get the heat from top as well. You can check my cooker cake recipe. The plate has to be in the center(lengthwise) of the cooker for even baking. You may need a trivet or a ring like I used in my cooker cake post. The bottom has burnt because the salt got overheated, so a lower flame should help. The cookies need not be on the salt they can also be on a trivet. I have updated the post with some more instructions for cooker. Hope this helps
akshita says
can i store the dough for an hour after adding baking soda or before it
akshita says
it is baking soda or baking powder in above comment
swasthi says
Please follow the recipe as mentioned for best results.
Monica says
Can I use refined oil instead of butter or ghee? Thanks in advance 🙏
swasthi says
Hi Monica,
I haven’t tried but it should work. A reader left a comment on a similar recipe that she made with oil and turned out good. You can check the comment here – Ragi cookies
Divya nair says
Turned out well. Thank you for this wonderful yet easy recipe.. Definitely helps beginners ..!
swasthi says
Welcome Divya,
Glad they turned out good!
Neema says
Hi Swathi, the mix turned out soft couldn’t form balls. Hence the shapes have varied.
The Nankhatai’ s are really soft. Kept on the wire rack. Once they cool completely hope they turn out better. Keeping my Fingers crossed.
swasthi says
Hi Neema,
Not sure where you went wrong. I guess it is the weather, in colder climates ghee just doesn’t spread well to the dough. You should add more ghee if it is dry. Hope they turned out good.
Cecilia says
Taste was yummy
swasthi says
Thank you
Cecilia says
Hi i tried lower bottom of biscuit got burnt.. Should we keep both the rods on. Or only upper. Kept 180 for 10 mins
swasthi says
Hi Cecilia,
Heat on both the rods should be ON. Just reduce the temperature by 10 degrees or reduce the time by 1 to 2 mins. Each oven is different. So please experiment what timings work out well for your oven. It is usually + or – few minutes. Some times reducing the temperature also helps.Thanks for rating.
Stuti says
Hi,
The dough did not come together…it was crumbling n cracking while rolling into balls. Even on adding more ghee, it dint come together. I had used 1 tblsp of rawa in the recipe. Later, I had to add some milk to bring the dough together
swasthi says
Hi Stuti,
Yes I too used 1 tbsp rava in the video. It shouldn’t affect. Some times milk makes the nankhatai hard. I always use the same amount of ingredients as mentioned. For accuracy I have even given them in grams. One thing could be the temperature. In cold weathers the flour may need more ghee as it will not bind the dry ingredients easily. Do share how they turned out. I can help you
Reenu mathew says
Very simple and easy to cook dishes and snacks yet very tasty. Best recipies with easy explanatory steps.
swasthi says
Hi Reenu
Thank you so much. Hope you will enjoy making them
🙂
Navjot says
Hi swasthi
Yesterday I tried your recipe. The khatais came out really well. My daughters took no time to finish these. Really appreciate your efforts. Keep posting such recipes. Next I want to bake sugar-free (with Stevia) khatais. Please guide.
swasthi says
Hi Navjot
Thank you so much for the comment. So happy to know your daughters liked them. I haven’t tried anytime with stevia, not sure if the moisture would be enough.
Arpita says
My nankhatais turned out beautiful and awesome. My entire house was filled with besan aroma. 😉 amazing
Bhavya says
Hello Swathi
I made nankhatais
Your besan and wheat flour recipe
But they came out very very soft
Breaking in hand .?
Can u give ghee measurement in grams ?
swasthi says
Hi Bhavya,
As of now I do not have the ghee measurements in grams. I can update it when I make it again. I have another method which you can follow for the same recipe. You can check it here Ragi biscuits. You can also adapt that recipe completely with 3/4 cup besan and 1/4 cup atta. You will not go wrong with that method as the ghee used is added in parts. Do let me know how they turned out.
Shaila says
Hi Swasthi,
Nankhatai turned out awesome. Very excited to try more recipes from here. Thanks
swasthi says
Welcome Shaila
Thanks for trying
Neena says
Hi , I made it yesterday,it turned out very delicious. Much loved .Thank you very much..
swasthi says
Welcome Neena
Thanks for trying.
Komal goyal says
I have make balls from dough n there is powerfailure so can i keep the balls in fridge or in refrigerator???
swasthi says
Hi Komal,
Unfortunately I have not tried it anytime by resting the dough in fridge. I am not sure if it will work. But still try it by keeping in the fridge.
Komal says
Kk thnks..it works i kept balls in refrigerator n comes out good
swasthi says
Thank you so much for trying