Nankhatais are buttery cookies that
simply melt in the mouth. Though I had a lot of choices for the Letter N, I
picked this simple delight since I haven’t made these before. After making the
delicate Macs, the Nankhatais were a breeze to make!
N for NANKHATAIS - INDIA
The word Nankhatai is derived from Persian word Naan meaning bread and Afghan word Khatai meaning Biscuit. In Afghanistan and Northeast Iran, these biscuits are called Kulcha-e-Khataye. Kulcha is a type of bread similar to Naan.
History: (Source-Wikipedia)
Nankhatai is believed to have
originated in Surat, Gujarat in the 16th century,the time when Dutch and Indians
were the important spice traders. A Dutch couple set up a bakery in Surat to
meet the needs of local Dutch residents. When the Dutch left India, they handed
over the bakery to an Iranian.The bakery biscuits were disliked by the locals.[To save his business he started
selling dried bread at low prices. It became so popular that he started drying
the bread before selling it. With time, his experimentation with bread
ultimately gave birth to the Nankhatai.
Though these biscuits were
brought into India by the Dutch, they are very popular and widely known across
the country.
You will need:
Recipe adapted from here
Makes: 30 cookies
1¼ cup All-purpose flour
¼ cup Semolina (Sooji)
¾ cup Unsalted butter, at room
temperature
½ cup plus 1 tbsp Granulated
sugar
1 tsp Vanilla extract
½ tsp Cardamom (to sprinkle on
top)
2 tsp Unsalted shelled
pistachios, finely chopped
Cream butter until smooth, for about
20 seconds. Add the vanilla extract, flour, semolina and sugar. Beat for a
minute until it forms a dough. Divide into two and pat into discs or logs. Wrap
tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes to an hour.
Preheat oven to 350F. Line a
baking sheet with parchment paper.
If you made logs, you can slice
these cookies gently and place on the baking sheet. If you made a disc, you can
roll out the dough into ¼ inch thickness and use a round cookie cutter to cut
into circles.
Place the cookies on prepared
baking sheet and chill for 20 minutes.
Using a sharp knife make a small
criss cross on the top. Sprinkle a pinch of cardamom powder on the cross. Bake
for 11-13 minutes. The cookies will still be soft when done, the edges will be
golden brown. Carefully transfer cookies to a cooling rack using a spatula.
Press a pinch of chopped
pistachios on the cross while the cookies are still hot. Cookies will harden
once cooled completely.
Enjoy these scrumptious
melt-in-the-mouth Nankhatais!
BAKES FROM AROUND THE WORLD:
A for ANZAC BISCUITS - AUSTRALIA
B for BASBOUSA - EGYPT
C for CHOCOLATE ECLAIRS - FRANCE
D for DAMPER BREAD - AUSTRALIA
E for EMPANADAS - MEXICO
F for FLAN MEXICANO - MEXICO
G for GRISSINI BREADSTICKS - ITALY
J for JOULUTORTTU - FINLAND
K for KORVAPUUSTI - FINLAND
L for LEMON SPRITZ SANDWICH COOKIES - GERMANY
M for MACARONS - FRANCE
I see a second version of Nankhatais , equally stunning . Beautifully baked and drooling over these.
ReplyDeleteSuper like and beautiful baked nankhattais, never get bored of this butter cookies. You are tempting me to bake some rite now.
ReplyDeleteThey come out perfect each and every time. Our family fav too!
ReplyDeleteYummy nankhatais! Makes me nostalgic since I had these in hordes as a kid. Lovely bake and lovely origin story of nankhatais
ReplyDeleteWell after macroons everything is easy hehehe..these look so delicious Nams.
ReplyDeleteWe need to some easy ones to bake/cook during this mega BMs... As Valli mentioned, after macroons this one would have been an easy peasy one.
ReplyDeleteLovely looking nankhatai. I'm loving the stories you are sharing with every dish -- that is lot of research you have done.
ReplyDeleteI love nankhatai and yours looks amazing.
ReplyDeleteThis is in my to-do list for a long time now... Need to try it out. Yours has turned out too good.
ReplyDeleteEver delicious and awesome cookies!!
ReplyDelete