Millet cookies recipe – Pearl millet known as bajra in Hindi and Kambu in tamil, made to cookies with bajra flour. A gluten free cookies with simple ingredients like ghee (clarified butter), sugar and cardamom.
When I went for a quick trip to Chennai last week for a family function, I tasted this bajra cookies. Every evening MIL gives some snacks for every one at home and millet cookies were kept isolated and she was asking my co sis if she wanted it. Millet cookies were passed through someone when they visited. Since my co sis likes millets, she opened and tasted. Gave one for me too for tasting and it was so crisp, light and tasty too.
I just loved it and wanted to try myself baking it. I read the ingredients and wanted to note it down, but forgot as usual. Still last week when I went for grocery shopping, took this pack of bajra flour from mustafa. Today I wanted to try and post bajra millet cookies. I adapted the same recipe I used for making nankatai. I was not sure if the cookies will be in shape or would spread out. And it turned out really tasty and crisp just like the nan katai I made, except that this one is gluten free. Perfect for your kids snack box too.
Millet cookies recipe
Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Snacks
Prep Time: 10 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Makes: 10 cookies | Author: Raks anand
Click here for cup measurements
Pearl millet known as bajra in Hindi and Kambu in tamil, made to cookies with bajra flour. A gluten free cookies with simple ingredients like ghee (clarified butter), sugar and cardamom.
Ingredients
- pearl millet flour (Bajra/ kambu) – 1 cup
- Ghee – 1/4 cup plus as needed
- sugar – 1/4 cup, heaped
- salt – 1/4 tsp
- Cardamom – 1
- Baking powder –1/4 tsp
Instructions:
- Pre heat oven at 190 deg C. Mean while, powder sugar with cardamom and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, mix pearl millet flour, above powdered sugar mixture and baking powder well.
- Add 1/4 cup ghee little by little as you keep mixing in a rubbing way.
- You may need more ghee, so keep it handy. It may take 1 or 2 tbsp of ghee more. You need a dough that is stiff as well as without cracks. No water or milk needed, just make dough with ghee.
- Divide into 10 equal sized balls, flatten slightly.
- Arrange in a tray lined with butter paper and dust it with flour.Flatten the divided balls to cookies, no need to flatten lot, just a little.
- Bake at 190 deg C for 14- 15 minutes. Once done, cool over wire rack.
Notes
- I used un refined sugar. You can use white sugar too.
- Do not add ghee more than needed.
- Note that baking powder is different from baking soda.
- If the dough cant be rolled or flattened without cracks, it needs little more of ghee.
- You can sprinkle some pistachios as I have did in my nan khatai.
Step by step method with pictures
- Pre heat oven at 190 deg C. Mean while, powder sugar with cardamom and salt.
- In a mixing bowl, mix pearl millet flour, above powdered sugar mixture and baking powder well.
- Add 1/4 cup ghee little by little as you keep mixing in a rubbing way. You may need more ghee, so keep it handy. It may take 1 or 2 tbsp of ghee more. You need a dough that is stiff as well as without cracks. No water or milk needed, just make dough with ghee.
- Divide into 10 equal sized balls, flatten slightly. Arrange in a tray lined with butter paper and dust it with flour.Flatten the divided balls to cookies, no need to flatten lot, just a little. Bake at 190 deg C for 14- 15 minutes. Once done, cool over wire rack.
Once cooled down completely, store in airtight container and enjoy! It just melts in mouth.
Asha
February 16, 2017 at 7:56 amExcellent…. Looks yummy…. Thanks.
Can we use raagi flour instead of bajra?
Asha
February 16, 2017 at 3:01 pmI tried with Raagi flour….and came out very well..thanks once again.
Anitha Josephine
February 16, 2017 at 7:46 pmWill try it for sure and let u know…
and I guess it should be ghee in step 4 under instructions..
Nishaa V
February 16, 2017 at 11:50 pmMouth watering cookies!
Raks anand
February 17, 2017 at 2:33 amOh wow, awesome, thank you for your prompt feedback 🙂
Raks anand
February 17, 2017 at 2:35 amOopsi, yes, updated, thanks 🙂
Deepu Nanda
February 17, 2017 at 9:37 amIs it brownSugar as bit confused with the color of the sugar?
Rifaya Khan
February 17, 2017 at 10:38 amCan I replace ghee with oil..Or is it a no go…
ramya murali
February 21, 2017 at 4:59 amToday I tried this, came out well and we all enjoyed, thank you for sharing this.
Raks anand
February 21, 2017 at 5:14 amThanks a lot for the feedback!
Unknown
February 27, 2017 at 2:52 pmtried and tested.. it's awesome..Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Raks anand
February 27, 2017 at 3:34 pmThanks a lot for the feedback
jaya ashok
March 21, 2017 at 3:59 pmMade this with ragi and kambu came out well…. Tq
Unknown
May 9, 2017 at 12:57 amcan i try the same recipe with butter and ragi flour ?
Anusuya Thirumalai Eachambadi
May 9, 2017 at 1:04 amCan we use naattu sakarai or jaggery instead of regular sugar? How about honey too?
Raks anand
May 9, 2017 at 6:01 amYes I guess.
Raks anand
May 9, 2017 at 11:24 amYes you can try other sweeteners, but honey I am not sure how the texture would be
Nathara nandu
June 29, 2017 at 3:53 pmHi raks, i planned to provide this cookie as teething biscuit for my LO so is there any alternatives for ghee? If not ghee is compulsary? (My doc advised not to give diary products until he yurn 1 year)
பிரேமாவின் செல்வி
June 29, 2017 at 3:53 pmWhat if I don't have baking powder?
Raks anand
June 29, 2017 at 4:03 pmYou can use any cooking oil (neutral smelling)
Raks anand
July 5, 2017 at 8:05 amit will turn hard I guess.
Nathara nandu
July 5, 2017 at 8:08 amThank you for quick reply raks…. Will try soon….
Sathya
March 24, 2018 at 1:04 amWhat is the shelf life of these cookies
Unknown
March 24, 2018 at 1:04 amWhat is the shelf life of these cookies?
Unknown
June 7, 2018 at 5:07 amcan soya flour add with bajra flour?
Unknown
June 7, 2018 at 5:07 amcan soya flour add with bajra flour?
Unknown
July 19, 2018 at 6:28 amMy Bajra flour is greenish, your is different, do i need to use a diff kind of bajra flour?
Abhilasha Soni
February 7, 2019 at 11:24 pmAre you sure there is no need of milk and water bcz whenever i tried any cookies without milk or water in cookies i found cookies are little dry in taste and also when we touch the cookies i found flour to finger.
Raks Kitchen
February 7, 2019 at 11:26 pmYes, I have not used water or milk
Divya
May 7, 2019 at 1:37 pmI baked these cookies and they were good. Just wondering what will happen if milk is used while kneading it. Just calorie conscious because of ghee. Do you think the cookies will become less crisp???
Let me know your thoughts.
Raks Anand
May 8, 2019 at 3:10 pmSure you can reduce it a little, use milk for binding, there will be texture change, but worth a try. Also I want to tell you the whole recipe uses 1/4 cup ghee, you will eat may be one cookie a day, it is not too much of ghee for one day’s consume unless otherwise you are macro counting the calories, after all it is good fat, ghee being super food too 🙂