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A stack of nankhatai seen , few on a white tray and seen alongside are colourful Diwali diyas

Whole Wheat Nankhatai (Indian Eggless Cookie)

Indian Egg-less Cookies flavored with cardamom 
Prep Time: 10 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
15 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

Ingredients

  • 1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour - can be repalced with All purpose Flour/Plain Flour/Maida
  • 1/2 Cup Semolina (Rava)
  • 1/4 Cup Gram Flour (Besan)
  • 3/4-1 Cup Ghee (Clarified Butter) -Room Temperature (Semi solid Type)
  • 3/4 Cup Demerara/Light Brown Sugar - one can use white sugar too
  • 1 teaspoon Cardamom (Elaichi) coarsely grounded
  • 1 teaspoon Chopped Pistachio

Instructions

  • Take Whole Wheat flour (APF/Plain/Maida), Rava, Besan and Sugar in a bowl. Give it a quick mix.
    1 Cup Whole Wheat Flour, 1/2 Cup Semolina (Rava), 1/4 Cup Gram Flour (Besan), 3/4 Cup Demerara/Light Brown Sugar
    The flour mixture
  • Add the Ghee and rub it into the flour. 
    3/4-1 Cup Ghee (Clarified Butter)
    Adding of ghee in the flour
  • One can add Pistachio powder to the mix, I do not add it.
  • Bind to form a dough like structure. Wrap it in a cling wrap and refrigerator for minimum 15-30 minutes. If you do not have a cling wrap, simply cover and keep in a bowl or box.
  • After 15 minutes, make ball's of same sizes. Lightly press them.
    Shaping the nankhatai
  • To decorate, add a cut using a knife as shown. This gives it a nice shape
    Shaping the nankhatai, giving a cut on the top
  • Garnish with chopped nuts and cardamom.
    1 teaspoon Cardamom (Elaichi) coarsely grounded, 1 teaspoon Chopped Pistachio
    Adding of cardamom seeds
  • One can refrigerate the balls again, during the time the oven is getting preheated.
  • Preheat the oven to 180 Deg C
  • Bake in a preheated oven for 15 minutes.
  • After 15 minutes they might appear a bit soft, let them sit on the baking tray for 5-10 minutes or until cool to touch. This is an essential step as it continues to cook during that time. and also if you pick the nankhatais at this time it tends to break.
    Nankhatai Just out of oven
  • Transfer them on a wire rack and let it cool completely. Store them in an Air tight container.

Notes

  • Any size cup can be used, but use the same cup for all the flours then.
  • Cooling the dough before baking is recommended to get the crispy texture as well as the nankhatai to not spread much