Better for you – Nankhatai
I have been eyeing posts like this and this staring wistfully longing for this delicate melt in your mouth cookies. An Indian Style shortbread of shorts. I also want to play around with the flour in the recipe. Chickpea flour and almond flour are kind of my new flour experiment kind of things. All things considered, they are definitely less processed than all-purpose flour. Higher in protein and nutrition than whole wheat flour. So I made Nankhatai today with a combination of almond and chickpea flour. Nankhatai is an Indian shortbread cookie. Made with just a handful of ingredients. I mixed up the ingredients, cooked them until they were dark and toasty. The results were this absolutely flavorful better for you cookie. Well, it is still a treat. It contains butter and maple syrup. But so good!
What is a Nankhatai?
Nankhatai’s are a simple egg less Indian shortbread cookie, light tasting and filled the richness of melted clarified butter. I never really have so much ghee on hand, so this recipe uses melted butter. The word nankhatai is derived from the Persian word naan meaning bread and khatai from a Dari Persian word meaning biscuit.
A vegan version on this site is here. So yes, you can make this recipe by substituting with coconut oil. If you are looking for a more conventional cooking with an Indian accent, you might want to try these coconut cookies.
My variations in this Better for you Nankhatai
This recipe is gluten free and refined sugar free as I use chickpea flour, almond flour and maple syrup. The net result of all of this is that it boosts the nutritional profile a little. I bake this until dark brown, it enhances the depth of flavor with the chickpeas. This is optional, if you want a more delicate looking cookie just reduce the bake time by three minutes.
The one absolute ingredient!
Freshly crushed cardamom! So now go ahead and get on the nankhatai bandwagon! I use a mortar and pestle for crushing the cardamoms and absolutely swear by this step.
How to Enjoy your Nankhaties
Anything that can be dunked is best enjoyed with a good cup of tea. It is what my cup of masala chai is reserved for.
A delicate almond cookie that is fragrant with freshly crushed cardamoms.
Ingredients
- 15 green cardamoms
- 6 tablespoons butter melted.
- 2 cups almond flour
- 1 cup chickpea flour (besan)
- 3 tablespoons maple syrup or honey
- Slivered or chopped almonds to garnish.
Instructions
- Peel the cardamoms and grind the seeds in a mortar and pestle (it is important to use fresh cardamom seeds for this recipe).
- Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees
- In a mixing bowl place, the melted butter and add the almond flour, chickpea flour and the crushed cardamom seeds. Gently work in the almond and chickpea flours.
- Add in the maple syrup and keep mixing until they are all mixed. You should be able to form a soft dough. If desired, knead a little with your hands.
- Grease the cookie sheet and shape the dough into 1-11/2 inch round and flatten and place on the tray 1-11/2 inches apart.
- Add some slivered almonds in the center and bake the cookies for about 18 minutes. This results in a roasted texture and dark golden color, for a lighter softer texture, bake for just 15 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and enjoy after they are cooled a little.
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Shahzad
Wow, these Nankhatai cookies sound delicious! The combination of almond and chickpea flour, with the added touch of freshly crushed cardamom, makes this recipe a healthier and more unique take on the traditional Indian shortbread cookie. The fact that it’s gluten-free and refined sugar-free is a bonus! Can’t wait to try making these myself.
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