Chocolate Nankhatai / Festive Cooking

Festivals bring a smile on everyone's face and in India there is no end to festivities. With so much diversities embedded within one culture , there is no doubt , India is called the land of festivals and fairs. The customs and beliefs behind every festival may be different , but one thing that is common is that food and festivals go hand-in-hand. No festival is complete without the festive food  and i would not be wrong if i say that in India festive foods equals Sweets :)

With this thought in mind , our fellow blogger Pushpita who blogs at Pushpita's Chakhum has selected #Festive Recipes as the theme for our #104th Foodie Monday Blog Hop. My contribution to this wonderful theme is a healthy and delicious treat - Chocolate Nankhatai.

 Nankhatai is a popular short bread cookie or tea biscuit in India. It is liked by kids and adults equally and is easily available in sweet and bakery shops. Chocolate nankhatai is a fusion twist to the traditional nankhatai. Further to give it a festive touch, i have added almonds to it and to make it a guilt free and healthy affair have replaced refined flour with whole wheat flour, ( as i almost always do with my bakes :) Did i say i have also replaced refined sugar with jaggery . What else can one expect from a recipe ! 

The Chocolate Nankhatai turned out to be crumbly, delicious , mildly sweet and they just melt in your mouth. Cardamom flavor compliments very well with jaggery. The recipe is very easy and do not require any fancy ingredients. You can have them over a cup of tea or coffee, kids can enjoy them with a glass of milk or have them as an after school treat. Pop one or two just to satisfy those sweet cravings and believe me you do not have to wait for a festivity or for a reason to enjoy them as these guilt free cookies can actually make any occasion special. 

  Preparation Time: 15 minutes

  Cooking Time : 20 minutes

  Serves : Makes 1 dozen cookies

 Ingredients: Measurements used , 1 cup = 200 ml

• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup jaggery powder
• 1/4 cup ghee / clarified butter
• 1/4 cup milk or as per need
• 1/4 cup almond slivers
• 2 tablespoon unsweetened coco powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• Pinch of salt

Method:

1. Line the baking tray with an aluminium foil or parchment paper. Preheat the oven at 180 degree Celsius for 15 minutes. In a bowl sieve the whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, coco powder, salt, cardamom powder , baking soda and baking powder or you can just mix all the dry ingredients together with a spatula.

  2. In another bowl take powdered jaggery powder and add ghee to it. Whisk well. 

  3. Add this jaggery ghee mixture to the bowl of dry ingredients and rub . The mixture should appear like bread crumbs .

  4. Add milk little by little  as required and make a dough. Do not knead , just gather the flour together.

  5. Pinch out 12-13 equal sized portions of the dough . Roll the portion between the palms  and then flatten slightly. Take almond slivers in a flat plate. Now press each cookie separately over the almond slivers. Apply slight pressure so that the slivers stick to the cookie.

  6. Arrange the nankhatais on the baking tray such that they do not adhere to each other. Keep enough space between them as they spread out while baking. Bake them at 180 degree Celsius for about 20 minutes. Allow the cookies to cool down on the rack before transferring them to an airtight container.

                               

 7. Enjoy the delicious melt in mouth chocolate nankhatai with your loved ones !

  Sending in this recipe to the #104th Foodie Monday Blog Hop under the #Festive Recipes theme. Do check my fellow bloggers post for some brilliant ideas on festive food.

    I hope you would love to try out these tempting chocolate nankhatai for yourself. If you do so show us some love by sharing your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments. Would appreciate if you could share the pic of the dish with us if  you try out these beauties. 

 Notes:

• Over baking make the nankhatai hard. The nankhatai is little soft when hot and harden as they cool.
• Once cooled, immediately transfer the cookies to an air tight container to retain the crunch.
• The cookies stay good for about a week at room temperature.
• You may use brown sugar or regular sugar in this recipe, if you do not have powdered jaggery. Just powder the sugar before adding to the recipe.
• The above mentioned quantity of jaggery yield mildly sweet nankhatai, so if you have a sweet tooth, adjust the sugar .

 For more festive ideas , do check my posts on

• Khoya Gulab Jamun
  

  

  Khoya Gulab Jamun

• Sponge Rasgulla
  

  

  Sponge Rasgulla

• Almond Chocolate Ladoo
  

  

  Almond Chocolate Ladoo

  Bengali Sandesh 

  

  Bengali Sandesh Recipe

  Kesar Phirni
  

  

  Kesar Phirni

  Quick Kalakand
  

  

  Quick Kalakand

  
  No Bake Chocolate Swiss Roll
  

  

  No Bake Chocolate Swiss Roll

  Instant Peanut Coconut Ladoo
  

  

  Instant Peanut Coconut Lado