Learn how to make easy, perfect Nankhatai recipe with detailed step by step pictures. Nankhatai, Indian style ghee biscuit recipe – khasta nan khatai recipe, perfect with a hot cup of tea/coffee!
Nankhatai is Indian style homemade cookies made using ghee or clarified butter. The word Nankhatai is a combination of two words, Nan meaning bread and Khatai meaning biscuit. It seems to have Persian origin, but one is sure to find many different variations of it all over India. These Indian ghee biscuits (cookies in other parts of the world) are crispy & airy but immediately melt in the mouth too.
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Nankhatai Biscuit is very simple and easy to make, even for novice bakers. There are just three main ingeredients – flours, sugar and ghee or clarified butter. Cardamom Powder is used to the flavor the biscuits and it is a match made in heaven when cooked in ghee. You can also add your choice of dry fruits & nuts like slivers of almonds, pistachios and cashews, to enhance the flavors. These are so rich and delicious, fitting for festival celebration like Diwali or Christmas. The beauty of this recipe is that it doesn’t require any special equipment (both oven or stovetop works) or skillset. It can be easily made by anyone with a few basic ingredients.
Ingredients
Flours – I used a mixture of All Purpose Flour, Besan/Gram Flour and Fine Semolina to make my Nankhatai Cookie mixture. Besan gives it an earthy, nutty flavor and semolina/sooji adds to the crispness of the biscuit. You can play around with the ratios of the flours and can even skip some ingredients, check out the substitutions & variations section for more info.
Ghee or Clarified Butter is the only fat used in this easy cookie recipe. Although it works with butter or any other vegetable fat, desi ghee makes the perfectly crispy nankhatai biscuit that is super flavorful too.
Powdered Sugar is used to sweeten the ghee biscuit and the quantities can be adjusted depending on taste preferences.
Cardamom Powder adds a beautiful flavor to the biscuit, and the aroma of the biscuits getting baked is intoxicating too.
Slivered Almonds, Pistachios & Cashews can be garnished on top of the biscuit for richness & enhanced taste.
For full list of ingredients and exact measurements, check the recipe below.
Step by Step Instructions
In a blender add ½ cup sugar with 2 cardamom pods. Grind into smooth powder. This helps powder the cardamom also finely.
In a mixing bowl add 1 cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup besan/gram flour, 2 tablespoon fine semolina/sooji, pinch of salt.
Combine all the ingredients together using a whisk. Alternatively, you can also sieve the ingredients to mix well.
Now add ½ cup ghee at room temperature. The ghee should be grainy in texture, without having completely melted or completely solidified.
Using your fingers, gently mix the dry ingredients with the ghee and the texture should be crumbly.
Do not be tempted to add any liquid like water or milk to this mixture but instead use the heat of your fingers & palm to bring the dough together. It should take about 5 minutes for the dough to start coming together. If it doesn’t work, add extra ghee 1 teaspoon at a time and bring the dough together. It should be crack-free and smooth. Over-working the dough will melt the ghee fully and flatten out the biscuits.
Now pinch small lime sized balls and roll it between your palms to a round shape without any cracks.
Gently flatten out the dough ball and shape it to a disc. Repeat this with rest of the cookie dough.
Place the shaped biscuits onto a baking tray lined with baking sheet. Make sure that there is at least 3 centimeters gap between each biscuit.
Using a sharp knife, make plus shaped indents on the biscuit.
Cover the biscuit tray with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 45-60 minutes. In the last 15 minutes, begin preheating the oven at 170°C.
Take out the baking tray from the fridge and place a few slivers of almonds & pistachios at the center of each biscuit.
Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom of the biscuit turns golden brown.
The biscuit will be very soft and delicate to touch immediately taken out of the oven. The biscuit is done baking if you start to notice a golden-brown hue at the bottom of the cookie. The top of the biscuit will look paler, but it will continue to cook in the residual heat.
Let the biscuits rest for 5 minutes on the tray and then, gently remove them. The bottom of the cookie should look golden brown and the cookie should be hard enough to handle by now.
Without any raising agents like baking soda or baking powder, the nankhatai biscuit turns out light, airy and crisp with a melt-in-mouth texture.
Garnish with more slivered almonds, pistachios. Store the nankhatai in an airtight container for upto 10 days at room temperature.
Recipe Notes
- These nankhatai are not overly sweet and are apt with tea or coffee. Feel free to add 2-3 tablespoon extra sugar or reduce as preferred.
- The consistency of the ghee makes or breaks these biscuits and it is important that the ghee should be grainy & semi-solid.
- Keep a close eye on the cookies as they bake. Oven timings differ based on different oven sizes & brands. As the bottom of the biscuit turns golden brown, remove them from the oven immediately.
Top Tip
Nankhatai uses no raising agents like baking soda or baking powder and yet, the biscuits are light & airy, crispy with a melt-in-mouth texture. The key to achieving this is by using the ghee in right consistency. It should not be completely melted (biscuits spread and flatten out) or solidified (dough doesn’t come together). It should be semi-solid with grainy texture.
If you live in a place where it is hot and humid, place the ghee in fridge for a few minutes to get it to the right consistency.
The nankhatai dough should be refrigerated before being baked into the cookies. This will ensure that the ghee doesn’t completely melt out, flattening the biscuits in the process.
Always leave enough gap between the biscuits on the baking tray as they tend to raise up and double up in volume during the baking process.
Making an indent at the center of the biscuit will help raise the biscuits while baking.
The biscuits will be extremely soft to touch and can crumble easily immediately after coming out of the oven. Rest the biscuits in the same tray for 5-7 minutes as they tend to bake in residual heat and harden up in the process.
It is important to remove the biscuits from the oven as the bottom turns golden brown. Any minute longer, the biscuits will burn easily.
Substitutions & Variations
The combination of flours used in the nankhatai recipe can be modified depending on taste preferences. It can made with 100% all purpose flour or besan. Sooji is optional too, but it adds crispness to the biscuit.
Cardamom Powder is optional, vanilla essence can be used instead.
Slivered almonds, pistachios can be pressed into the shaped biscuits before baking. I do not recommend adding any nuts to the dough, as it needs to be smooth & crack-free.
Nankhatai can be rolled into different shapes as desired too. It should not be too thin, but at least 1 centimeter in thickness. Instead of making plus shaped indents at the center of the biscuit, thumb indent can be made too.
You cannot make this recipe without ghee as butter or vegetable fat do not come close to the texture of the ghee.
Making Nan Khatai without Oven
Nan Khatai can be made on stovetop too, either using a pressure cooker or any thick bottomed flat kadai. If you are using pressure cooker, fill it with 1 kg of salt or sand. Let it heat up for 20 mins (like preheating an oven) and then place the baking tray with shaped & chilled biscuits. Cover the pressure cooker and cook for 15-17 minutes. Alternatively, you can directly place the baking tray in an preheated heavy bottomed flat pan and cover it with a tight lid (use aluminum foil to wrap the lid if needed.
Storage & Serving Suggestions
Nankhatai can be stored in an airtight container for upto 10 days at room temperature. It tastes best with hot cup of tea or coffee. It makes for a perfect edible gift too, customized to individual’s liking & taste preferences.
More Cookie Recipes
I would be delighted to know if you have tried this recipe, don’t forget to provide your rating for this recipe and do share your comments below. If you have any questions, you can always e-mail me! I am also available on Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram and Twitter 🙂
📖 Recipe
Nankhatai | Ghee Biscuit | Easy Biscuit Recipe
Equipment
- OTG
- Baking Tray
- Baking Sheet/Parchment Paper
MEASUREMENT
1 cup = 250ml, 1 tablespoon = 15ml, 1 teaspoon = 5ml
Ingredients
- 1 cup All Purpose Flour
- ¼ cup Besan/Gram Flour
- 2 tablespoon Fine Semolina/Sooji
- ½ cup Ghee
- ½ cup Sugar
- 2 Cardamom Pods
- 2 tablespoon Slivered Almonds
- 2 tablespoon Slivered Pistachios
Instructions
- In a blender add ½ cup sugar with 2 cardamom pods. Grind into smooth powder. This helps powder the cardamom also finely.
- In a mixing bowl add 1 cup all purpose flour, ¼ cup besan/gram flour, 2 tablespoon fine semolina/sooji, pinch of salt.
- Combine all the ingredients together using a whisk. Alternatively, you can also sieve the ingredients to mix well.
- Now add ½ cup ghee at room temperature. The ghee should be grainy in texture, without having completely melted or completely solidified.
- Using your fingers, gently mix the dry ingredients with the ghee and the texture should be crumbly.
- Do not be tempted to add any liquid like water or milk to this mixture but instead use the heat of your fingers & palm to bring the dough together. It should take about 5 minutes for the dough to start coming together. If it doesn’t work, add extra ghee 1 teaspoon at a time and bring the dough together. It should be crack-free and smooth. Over-working the dough will melt the ghee fully and flatten out the biscuits.
- Now pinch small lime sized balls and roll it between your palms to a round shape without any cracks.
- Gently flatten out the dough ball and shape it to a disc. Repeat this with rest of the cookie dough.
- Place the shaped biscuits onto a baking tray lined with baking sheet. Make sure that there is at least 3 centimeters gap between each biscuit.
- Using a sharp knife, make plus shaped indents on the biscuit.
- Cover the biscuit tray with cling wrap and place in the fridge for 45-60 minutes. In the last 15 minutes, begin preheating the oven at 170°C.
- Take out the baking tray from the fridge and place a few slivers of almonds & pistachios at the center of each biscuit.
- Bake in a preheated oven at 170°C for 10-12 minutes or until the bottom of the biscuit turns golden brown.
- The biscuit will be very soft and delicate to touch immediately taken out of the oven. The biscuit is done baking if you start to notice a golden-brown hue at the bottom of the cookie. The top of the biscuit will look paler, but it will continue to cook in the residual heat.
- Let the biscuits rest for 5 minutes on the tray and then, gently remove them. The bottom of the cookie should look golden brown and the cookie should be hard enough to handle by now.
- Without any raising agents like baking soda or baking powder, the nankhatai biscuit turns out light, airy and crisp with a melt-in-mouth texture.
- Garnish with more slivered almonds, pistachios. Store the nankhatai in an airtight container for upto 10 days at room temperature.
Notes
- These nankhatai are not overly sweet and are apt with tea or coffee. Feel free to add 2-3 tablespoon extra sugar or reduce as preferred.
- The consistency of the ghee makes or breaks these biscuits and it is important that the ghee should be grainy & semi-solid.
- Keep a close eye on the cookies as they bake. Oven timings differ based on different oven sizes & brands. As the bottom of the biscuit turns golden brown, remove them from the oven immediately.
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