Nankhatai is a well-loved south-asian snack. The word nankhatai is derived from the Urdu word naan meaning bread and khatai meaning biscuit. They are delicious short breads and have a really interesting of how they originated in Surat, India, by a Dutch connection. More on that later because I’m sure you want the nankhatai recipe first.
This is as shared by my mother-in-law who has been using this recipe for years.
Nankhatai Recipe:
Ingredients:
Plain flour 3 cups
Sugar 1 cup
Butter 1 cup
Baking powder 1/2 teaspoon
Eggs 2
Chopped pistachios 1/4 cup
Nankhatai Recipe:
- Melt the butter.
- Separate the egg yolk from the egg white from one egg. Set aside the egg yolk for later.
- Now mix the egg white, one whole egg, butter, plain flour, sugar and baking powder together.
- Make small balls and arrange them on a baking sheet with parchment paper spaced well.
- Make egg wash with the egg yolk you separated earlier and brush on top of the nankhatai.
- Create a small hole in the middle with your thumb.
- Add chopped pistachios in there.
- Bake in a preheated oven of 350 F for 25 – 30 minutes.
- All done!
Variations to the NanKhatai Recipe:
- Instead of 3 cups of plain flour, use 2 cups plain flour and 1 cup almond flour. This gives the nankhatais a delicious nutty taste.
- If you want to make this nankhatai recipe nut-free: use the original recipe but instead of pistachios, add sugar with a dip of food colouring.
We placed these nankhatais in our Ramadan baskets also and they were a huge hit!
Do try this recipe and share with us how it turns out!
And if you’re interested in the Nankhatai story, here you go: If you think Nankhatai looks like a biscuit, you’re not wrong! Nankhatai’s story starts from Surat in India in the 16th century. Dutch traders were regulars in the area and a Dutch couple set up a bakery to cater to their needs. When the Dutch left India, they handed over the bakery to a local. However, the bakery products were not popular with the locals and the owner experimented with the recipe of the bakery biscuit to come up wth what we now know and love as the Nankhatai!
