Nankhatai recipe is one among the several to try baking list for long time. I had no idea about the recipe, so was waiting for a good recipe. And my friend Sangeeta came like an angel 😇 at time for this Diwali 2014, with this recipe which was from her mamis. When she made it and came out good, immediately she sent pictures in whatsapp along with the recipe. I was so happy and the very next day I baked these beauties. Yes, beauties!!😊 She told, most people make it with maida and besan but this one is with ¾th wheat flour/ atta and maida. This will be really a perfect snack for you kid’s snack box, its healthier than the store bought cookies and handmade with lots of love😍. And for this festival season, this is perfect for gifting, just bake it in batches, pack neatly in cute gift boxes and gift for your near and dears for this Diwali. They will be amazed for sure. So Bake this easy cookies and send me your pictures to my email ID or as message in Facebook page and I will as usual happily share it in Facebook page, Tried and tasted album😊.
Nankhatai recipe
Recipe Cuisine: Indian | Recipe Category: Sweets
Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Makes: 15
Prep Time: 20 mins | Cook time: 15 mins | Makes: 15
Ingredients
Wheat flour/ Atta – ¾ cup
Maida/ All purpose flour – ¼ cup
Sugar – ½ cup
Ghee , melted – ½ cup (may not need all)
Elachi/ Cardamom – 1
Baking powder – 1 pinch
Pistachios, for decoration – 10
Maida/ All purpose flour – ¼ cup
Sugar – ½ cup
Ghee , melted – ½ cup (may not need all)
Elachi/ Cardamom – 1
Baking powder – 1 pinch
Pistachios, for decoration – 10
Method
- In a mixer, place sugar along with elachi and powder it. Transfer to a mixing bowl.
- In the same mixer, coarsely powder pistachios, keep aside. Preheat the oven at 190 deg C or 375 F.
- Add atta, maida to the powdered sugar along with baking powder. Mix well.
- Add ghee little by little rubbing as you add. You may not need all, may be 1 tblsp you can reserve. You should add ghee to form a dough. No water.
- In a baking tray, line with cookie sheet or grease with ghee, dust with a tsp of flour. Make equal sized balls (15) out of the dough. Flatten slightly, not too much.
- Cut with a knife to make a criss-cross pattern in the top middle of the cookie. Add a pinch of powdered pistachios over each cut.
- Bake it for 12 to 15 minutes at 190 deg. C/ 375 F. The cookie should not change in colour to dark brown. When it just starts golden in colour in the sides, that is enough. Cool in wire rack before storing in an airtight container.
Notes
- Add ghee gradually, do not end up in adding more than needed. The dough should hold its shape, if not, ghee is more.
- The ghee amount may vary depending on the flour, so handle accordingly.
- I felt if the cookies are made smaller, it looked more cute than this. So make it smaller if you wish.
- This cookie will be sweet, if you want, reduce 1 or 2 tblsp of sugar.
- I made in two batches, second batch gets baked quickly. So always keep an eye after 10 mins of baking.
Aren’t they perfect for gifting your friends and relatives this Diwali 2014? Easy for you to bake too! 
Wow my favourite and am missing baking badly and now am virtually enjoying here.love the cute prop
Perfectly baked nankhattais. My all time fav cookies.
Looks perfect!!!! Definitely irresistible!! 🙂
Looks yummy! And as usual catchy pics! Gonna try it tomorrow itself. Thank u Raji for simple & tasty receipes. Can u let me know the temprature level for baking?
Surely a perfect gift. I just love cookies! And your pics are so tempting that I feel like having this now. I'll try them soon.
Don't have preheated oven in my home any alternative options bro bake
Updated now 🙂
loved the set up with gift bag 😀 cute thing to present
Sorry no idea.
yummy…
Raks, can powdered sugar be used instead of powdering granulated sugar?
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Thanks Raji. And today I tried this and came out tasty!! My family liked it. But as a first timer baker, I'm not sure how long it will take to bake. So the first set of cookies got little burnt. So for the next set, I was keenly watching. I request u to mention approximately the time it takes to bake which will help the first time bakers like me!
Nice recipe n lovely clicks..love these goodies a lot!
if u get pure powdered sugar yes, but use 2 tblsp more
hi, i have samsung convection microwave, and the convection temp setting is 160 180 200 and 220 degree celsius and the recipe demand 190 degrees what to do?
Hi Raks, Thanks a lot for sharing the wonderful and easy recipe for nankatai. Please let me know how do I share the picture with you.
Will using only all purpose flour change anything?
Perfect for the festive season for gifting….looks absolutely beautiful!
Thank you for this yummylicious yet simple recipe. Just made them…and they taste heavenly. ..
Nope, just keep an eye while adding ghee, may need less.
Hi, you can send it to my facebook page picture attached to the message or to [email protected]
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Thank you for such a wonderful recipe. I tried it today and it came out very well. My daughter loved it.
Can we use butter or oil?
Yes can, not sure abt the quantity, add as per needed
Tried this recipe yesterday and came out well. Mainly my daughter aged 12 was very excited as she was allowed to help me since it didn't involve stove and oil. She has suggested me to prepare the same recipe with one variation. She wanted me to add some cocoa and make it as choco nan kattai. Planning to try it today. Will keep you updated. Thank you for this recipe
Hi Raks, Can I replace Pistachios with Almonds and or Pecans
Sure can.
Thank you for this delicious cookies! I tried it for Deepavali; my son and husband loved it a lot! I tried it again today it was tasty and yummy.
You Didnt mentioned the oven temperatures for batches??
Hi Raks, i tried this recipe today but the cookies got burnt at the base. I own a 24 liter morphy richards oven. Can you suggest on this. Else the cookies taste great!!
You should check your settings in the manual for baking cookies. Sure there should be some options that heats only from top. Use that option.
Hi Raks tried this recipe and came out really nice.i. have tried other recipes like kadai paneer aloogobi rasam powder… always the resilts were awesome. Than you
Thanks a lot…Just tried baking & it came out perfect…Just 2 query, can we totally eliminate maida by using full wheat?
Can I add some flavor to it say chocolate?
Sure, try skipping maida and add a tblsp of cocoa.
I made these with only whole wheat flour and they were super delicious and soooooo easy to make! Thanks for sharing this recipe!
can this recipe be made in microwave which has no convection. It has grill and combi options.
I am afraid not.
Try baati maker which makes baati on gas. If you don't have that also try putting them on gas on wire rack at a height so only heat reaches them not flames and cover. No idea about time keep checking
Is this like butter biscuits that are sold in local market?
It wont be that soft,this will be different texture and taste
Hi there.. Ur recepie is just amazing.. I tried so many recepie a but ur was the best.. Totally loved it
Raks u rock….. just made this recipe and short bread too came out amazing……
can ghee be replace with unsalted butter?
can you use brown sugar or guy?
can you use brown sugar or ghee instead?
You can try sure.
Sure same you can follow
You can try using pressure cooker to bake
I should be using only heat from top option for this??
No, while pre heating, use both heating elements, while baking use only bottom heat
I don't have atta/wheat flour, with what can i replace and quantity
If you do not have atta, you can use maida. If not can try with besan, but I have not tried so, not sure about the measure.If I try sure will post.
Thank you for the recipe.I tried it and was very happy with the result.It was my first attempt at baking and was very happy that my family enjoyed eating the nankattai.I have a small query. Can we add some milk while making the dough instead of using ghee completely? Maybe 2 tbs of milk and the remaining ghee to make the dough.Will it affect the taste of the biscuit?
Thank you once again.I love all your posts and especially the photos.
I think you can try, I have not tried yet 🙂