The soft crumbly nankhatai brings back many a fond memory. The word ‘Nankhatai’ comes from the Persian word ‘Nan’ meaning bread and ‘Khatai’ probably comes from ‘Catai’ or ‘Cathay’, the older name for China. Thus, translating as ‘Bread of Cathay’.
Ingredients
- Wheat flour/ Atta 3/4 cup
- Maida/ All purpose flour 1/4 cup
- Sugar 1/2 cup
- Ghee , melted 1/2 cup (may not need all)
- Elachi/ Cardamom 1
- Baking powder 1 pinch
- Pistachios, for decoration 10
Nan Khatai Recipe
- 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.
Add ghee gradually, do not end up in adding more than needed. The dough should hold its shape
The ghee amount may vary depending on the flour, so handle accordingly.
So always keep an eye after 10 mins of baking.
