Whole Wheat Nankhatai

Nankhatai is a traditional Indian shortbread cookie made with refined flour, ghee, and sugar. I have made it using a combination of whole wheat flour, semolina, and chickpea flour. This whole wheat nankhatai is light, crunchy, and very much like store-bought one in texture and taste. It is mildly sweet in taste and flavored with green cardamom. It makes for a perfect festive treat and gifting option as it can be made much ahead of time with a good shelf life of about 3 weeks at room temperature. The best part of this delicious whole wheat nankhatai is that with a very simple recipe you require only a blender to mix all the ingredients together and the cookies are ready within 30 minutes from scratch. Did i tell you that this healthy whole wheat nankhatai is super addictive and can be baked in a cooker as well?

                          

I have been relishing these beauties since my childhood days. My mumma used to make them on many festive occasions. Back then, microwave ovens were not as common as today, nor was maida treated as unhealthy. Mumma used to make them with maida and bake them in large woks with heated sand. I follow the same recipe only have substituted maida (refined flour) with whole wheat flour. I often bake this whole wheat nankhatai for my family, friends and relatives. I know these sugary biscuits are high on calories but once in a while, we can indulge in such homemade cookies. Due to its good shelf life, this nankhatai makes for delicious travel food and wonderful gifting option.  I have already shared Whole Wheat Chocolate Nankhatai recipe using jaggery as a sweetener here on this blog which is also a hit with kids and adults alike and healthy too. 

                          

What is Nankhatai?

Nankhatai is a traditional Indian shortbread cookie. It is a sweet biscuit made with refined flour, ghee, and sugar. Nankhatai is usually flavored with green cardamom. It is a popular bakery product throughout India that is light and crisp in texture with a melt-in-mouth sweet taste. Nankhatai is rich in calories as a good amount of ghee and powdered sugar goes into it. Nankhatai can be baked in an oven or in a cooker. 

What goes into my Nankhatai?

I have made this nankhatai using a combination of flours. Whole wheat flour, gram flour (Besan) and suji are used here. Pure ghee is used as the fat in this recipe. Though one can substitute it with oil, i would recommend not to lower its quantity or replace it with oil if you are looking for the authentic taste of Nankhatai. Powdered sugar is used as a sweetener here. The quantity of ingredients mentioned in this recipe yield approximately 2 dozen nankhatai. You can easily halve or double the recipe. The nankhatai is flavored with green cardamom. You can keep the nankhatai plain or use any slivered nut to garnish. I have used chironji here. Chironji is called Almondette or Buchanania Lanzan in English and charoli in Marathi. It is a very healthy almond- flavored seed commonly used in many Indian desserts like Basundi and Masala Doodh. I have also used 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder in this recipe and baked the nankhatai in my microwave oven with convection mode. For the first 12 minutes, i have baked the nankhatai at 160 degrees Celsius and then increased the temperature to 180 Degrees Celsius for the next 5 minutes. The key to this recipe is the exact amount of ingredients used, proper formation of dough balls and perfect baking temperature in a preheated oven. I have added all the ingredients of nankhatai except chironji to a blender and pulsed so that the ingredients mix with each other very well which also helps in the easy binding of the flour. I have not used milk or any thinner in this recipe. Only ghee is used. The nankhatai dough balls should not have any cracks prior to baking. The dough should be soft and smooth. 

                           

Steps to make Nankhatai in Cooker

Use an old 5-liter cooker baking the nankhatai. Add 3 cups of salt to it. Remove the whistle and gasket and close the lid of the cooker and preheat it for 15 minutes on medium flame. When ready with the nankhatai dough balls, open the lid, place a wire rack or small stand on the heated salt and then place the nankhatai plate on it. Cover the cooker and cook the cookies for 12-15 minutes on low flame. Make sure you do not burn the nankhatai. You can open the lid and check after 12 minutes. On baking, the nankhatai turns light pink in color from the corners and light cracks appear over its surface which shows the nankhatai is baked perfectly. 

Annapurna Bakes:

A couple of months back, there was an art craft and food exhibition cum sale in our society. I also participated in that event and displayed my eggless bakes there. The event was a big hit and everyone appreciated my bakes, especially this whole wheat nankhatai. I had baked around 4 dozen each of this whole wheat nankhatai and Chocolate nankhatai, 8 dozen muffins including the Choco muffins, Walnut Banana Muffins, Suji Tutti Frutti Muffins, Plum Bundt Cake and some Fruit cakes. Sharing a glimpse of it with all of you.

Christmas Treats @ Foodie Monday BlogHop

It is Holiday season and one of the most joyous festival, Chrismas is just around the corner. Nowadays even in India, Christmas is celebrated with very much zeal and enthusiasm like any other major festival like Holi, Eid, and Diwali. Though all homes may not have Christmas trees, there are Christmas parties everywhere. Most of the people bake fruit cakes, cookies and muffins at home or get them from bakeries and food marts which are loaded with such festive stuff. Kids and elders exchange chocolates, sweets and bakes with their loved ones. Taking this into account, Mayuri di who blogs at Mayuris-jikoni, suggested Christmas treats as the 225th theme on our gourmet Facebook group, Foodie Monday Blog Hop. Mayuri di wanted us to make any sweet or savory festive dish that can be given as Christmas gifts. A dish which has a good shelf life and that can be packed and exchanged for the festival. I chose this whole wheat nankhatai which is healthy, delicious and with a good shelf life of up to 3 weeks at room temperature. Mayuri di is a versatile food and travel blogger and i love the way she weaves her real-life events in the form of intersting stories in her blog. Her blog is home to many delicious recipes from around the globe and i look upon her space for authentic Gujarati dishes as well. Do visit her space, i am sure you would love it as much as I do.

                                     
Preparation Time: 15 minutes
Baking Time: 15-17 minutes per batch
Serves: 2 dozen Nankhatai

Ingredients: Measurement used 1cup = 250 ml

• 1.5 cup whole wheat flour
• 3/4 cup ghee
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup chickpea flour/ besan
• 1/4 cup semolina/suji
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon chironji / Almondette
• 1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 180 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes. Line the baking tray with aluminum foil or grease it with ghee and keep ready until use. Now, take the whole wheat flour, chickpea flour, powdered sugar semolina, baking powder, cardamom powder in a blender jar or food processor. Pulse it 2-3 times to mix the flours well with powdered sugar. 

2. Add ghee to this mix and pulse again multiple times until a dough is formed.

3. Take about a tablespoon of the nankhatai dough in your palm and shape it like a ball. Gently press it between your palms and place on an aluminum foil-lined baking tray. Shape all the nankhatai dough similarly.

4. The nankhatai dough spreads while baking so arrange the dough balls accordingly on the baking tray, making sure you do not overcrowd them. Place one chironji on each nankhatai dough ball and press gently.

5. Bake the nankhatai at 160 Degrees Celsius for about 12 minutes and then increase the temperature to 180 degrees celsius for the next 5 minutes. On baking, for around 17 minutes the nankhatai will turn light pink around the edges and will get cracks all around it which is a sign the nankhatai is baked to perfection.

6. The nankhatai hardens a bit on cooling so do not overbake them. Allow the nankhatai to cool down completely on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container.

7. Serve the delicious and healthy whole wheat nankhatai at tea time or just to satisfy those sweet cravings !

                          

Recipe Notes:

• If you are looking for an authentic nankhatai, do not reduce the quantity of pure ghee used in this recipe or substitute it with oil or any other fat.
• You can use any other nut in place of chironji (Almondette) as a garnish or even keep the nankhatai plain. 
• Bake the nankhatai at 160 Degree Celsius for first 12 minutes and then increase the temperature of the oven to 180 degrees for the last 5 minutes.
• Do not overbake the nankhatai or else it will turn hard and the color will also change.
• Pulsing the nankhatai dough mix in the blender makes the dough even and soft. The dough ball should not have any cracks before baking to get that perfect texture of nankhatai.
• Always bake the nankhatai in a preheated oven.
• I have powdered the regular sugar at hoem using a grinder. You may do the same or use store-bought icing sugar in the recipe.
• Do not over crowd the nankhatai dough balls n the baking tray as the dough spreads while baking.
• To make nankhatai in cooker, use an old 5-liter cooker baking the nankhatai. Add 3 cups of salt to it. Remove the whistle and gasket and close the lid of the cooker and preheat it for 15 minutes on medium flame. When ready with the nankhatai dough balls, open the lid, place a wire rack or small stand on the heated salt and then place the nankhatai plate on it. Cover the cooker and cook the cookies for 12-15 minutes on low flame. Make sure you do not burn the nankhatai. You can open the lid and check after 12 minutes. On baking, the nankhatai turns light pink in color from the corners and light cracks appear over its surface which shows the nankhatai is baked perfectly. 
• Allow the nankhatai to cool down completely on a wire rack before storing them in an airtight container.
• The above-mentioned quantity of ingredients yield around 2 dozen nankhatai. You may halve or double the recipe as per your need.
• As there is no milk or other moisture apart from the ghee ( fat) the nankhatai stays good at room temperature for about 3 weeks in an airtight container.

 I hope a few of you would love to try out this recipe. If you do so, feel free to share your feedback with us in the form of likes and comments in the comment section below this post. All your suggestions are also more than welcome. If you like my work and feel it is worth following, do hit the follow button at the top right corner of this blog. Your appreciation means a lot to me. For more recipes and new updates follow us on social media.

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For more cookie recipes from this blog, check out the following links

• Healthy Gingerbread Cookies

                      

• Beetroot Oats Cookies

                       

• Eggless Coconut Cookies

                       

• Thandai Cookies

                        

• Eggless Strawberry Cookies

                                 

• Oatmeal Cranberry Cookies

                                

• Coconut Cookies using Stevia

                                

• Chocolate Nankhatai