Nankhatai
नानखटाई
Nankhatai is India's most beloved traditional shortbread cookie — a crumbly, melt-in-mouth biscuit made from besan (chickpea flour), maida (all-purpose flour), ghee, sugar, and cardamom, with a distinctive crackled top. The name comes from Persian/Dari — "naan" (bread) and "khatai" (biscuit). Unlike butter-based shortbreads, nankhatai uses ghee, giving it a uniquely nutty, warm fragrance. The texture is extraordinarily short and crumbly — it almost disintegrates when you bite it. Sold in every mithai (sweet shop) and bakery across the Indian subcontinent, they are particularly beloved during Diwali and Eid, and are the quintessential tea-time biscuit of Indian households.
- Total
- 35 min
- Serves
- 6
- Level
- Easy
Prep 15 min · Cook 20 min
Ingredients
Method
Preheat oven to 170°C (fan 150°C). In a large bowl, cream the room-temperature ghee with powdered sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add cardamom powder. Sift together maida, besan, semolina, and baking soda. Add to the ghee mixture. Mix gently with your fingertips until a soft, pliable, non-sticky dough forms. Do not knead — just bring together. The dough should be very short (crumbly-feeling) and fragrant.
About 10 min
Tip: Room-temperature ghee (not melted) is crucial for the right texture. Melted ghee will give a completely different, oily result.
Shape: Roll the dough into balls the size of a large marble (about 30g each). Place on a parchment-lined baking tray with 3cm spacing between them. Press each ball lightly — they will crack slightly on top (this is the characteristic nankhatai crack). Press a pistachio or almond sliver gently into the centre of each.
About 5 min
Tip: Do not flatten too much — nankhatai are small, domed cookies, not flat discs.
Bake: Bake for 15–18 minutes until the edges are just beginning to turn pale golden. They will look underdone and very pale — this is correct. Remove from oven and let cool on the tray for 10 minutes — they firm up as they cool. Do NOT move them while hot or they will crumble. Once firm, transfer to a wire rack. They will become increasingly crumbly and short as they cool completely.
About 20 min
Tip: Nankhatai should look barely golden when removed from the oven. They continue cooking from residual heat. Over-baking makes them hard instead of crumbly-short.
Nutrition per serving (estimate)
- Calories
- 320
- Protein
- 5 g
- Carbs
- 30 g
- Fat
- 20 g
- Fibre
- 2 g
- Sugar
- 16 g
- Sodium
- 110 mg
Contains: gluten, dairy
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Recipe by Boon Tools.