Nankatai are melt in mouth, flavorful, eggless Indian biscuits or shortbread cookies prepared using just 5 ingredients.
**This is my old blog post updated with new pictures.**
The bakery near our house had one of the best nankhatai and whenever we had guests visiting our house, this would be our common tea time snack because it’s loved by all. Nobody can stop eating just one. So we always get it in large numbers 🙂
I have tried to replicate and recreate the old beautiful memories. I have followed this recipe multiple times and so have my readers. This is a no fail recipe. You can also check out my variations to nankhatai like
My family just loves it. I don’t miss the bakery cookies anymore. Make sure your reserve some for you even before you serve because this will disappear in no time :-). This is also called narayan katar in konkani and is similar to pecan sandies available here in the United States.
How to serve Nankhatai?
Serve it as a snack with a cup of coffee or tea or as a sweet after lunch or dinner. This is a very good and simple recipe to make at home for any special occasions or festivals like Ganesh Chaturthi, Navratri, Diwali, Holi or even give it as gift for Raksha Bandhan or Christmas.
How to make the best Nankhatai ??
No liquid is added to make nankhatai dough. In a bowl combine flour, fine sugar, baking powder, cardamom powder, salt and mix. Now add shortening and mix well till the dough is formed. Cover and keep it aside for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 300 degree F. Form around 16 golf (or table tennis) size balls and place it in a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Make sure you keep some space between them, at least 1 inch apart.
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks are formed at the top and bottom becomes light golden in color. This is very important. Do not over bake the cookies.
Allow it to cool down completely and you can store in an air tight container for up to 10 days.
For those who want to use ghee, make sure you use them in semi solid state or even use butter at room temperature (semi solid state). The texture of cookies and time for baking may vary accordingly.
Detailed Recipe for Nankhatai
Nankatai are melt in mouth, flavorful, eggless Indian biscuits or shortbread cookies prepared using just 5 ingredients.
- 1 1/2 cups All purpose flour or Maida
- 3/4 tsp Baking soda
- 3/4 cup Fine sugar
- 1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
- 1/8 tsp Salt (Optional)
- 2/3 cup Vegetable shortening (also known as dalda)
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In a bowl add flour, baking soda, sugar, cardamom powder, salt and mix.
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Now add shortening and mix to form the dough. Note that I have not added any water for the dough. Vegetable shortening binds everything together. Cover it and keep this aside for atleast 30 minutes.
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Preheat the oven for 300 degree F / 148 degree C.
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Form 16 golf size balls from the dough and place it in a baking tray lined with parchment paper, at least 1 inch apart.
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Bake it for about 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks are formed on the top and it becomes light golden at the bottom.
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Allow it to cool down for about 10 – 15 minutes.
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Nankhatai is now ready. Serve with a cup of coffee or tea and enjoy.
- For those who want to use ghee, make sure you use them in semi solid state or even use butter at room temperature (semi solid state). The texture of cookies and time for baking may vary accordingly.
- You can store in air tight container for up to 10 days.
- You can also bake this in microwave on a convection mode.
***Click below to save it on Pinterest***
Preparation time : 1 hour
Serves : 16 Nankhatai
Ingredients for Nankhatai
All purpose flour / Maida – 1 1/2 cup
Vegetable shortening also known as Dalda – 2/3 cup
Baking soda – 3/4 tsp
Fine Sugar – 3/4 cup
Cardamom powder – 1/4 tsp
Salt – a pinch
Steps to prepare Nankhatai
Step I
- In a bowl add flour, baking soda, sugar, cardamom powder, salt and mix.
- Now add shortening and mix to form the dough. Note that I have not added any water for the dough. Vegetable shortening binds everything together. Cover it and keep this aside for at least 30 minutes.
Step II
- Preheat the oven for 300 degree F / 148 degree C.
- Form 16 golf size balls from the dough and place it in baking tray lined with parchment paper at least 1 inch apart.
- Bake it for about 30 to 35 minutes or until cracks are formed on the top and it becomes light golden at bottom.
- Allow it to cool down for about 10 – 15 minutes.
- Nankhatai is now ready. Serve with cup of coffee or tea and enjoy.
Tip:
- You can also bake this in microwave on a convection mode.
Wow dear Kushi it looks really delicious..I m looking for the recipe…thanks for sharing it 🙂
Thank you Jolly 🙂
My fav:-) looks yum dear
Thank you Vidya 🙂
Really…I love its melt in mouth nature..looks so perfect
You are right, I love how they melt away in the mouth. Thank you for the comment 🙂
These cookies look perfectly awesome Kushi 🙂
Thank you dear!
Wow these look so easy ☺ Khushi can we use atta instead of maida?
Parinaaz, yes they are very easy to make. I have not tried making it with atta because I was trying to replicate the store bought nankhatais that are prepared using maida, but I am sure it may be worth a try. Please do let me know how they tasted.
I love naan-khatai and yours look so so yummy! I wish I could have 4-5 of these right away!
Anu, thank you for the lovely comment. Yes – you are more than welcome to have these.
I too tried it recently…kids will love it for sure!!
Oh great!! yes, I agree with you 🙂
my favorite! love it!!
ditto, since childhood. I have so many beautiful memories 🙂
Looks so delicious kushi…can feel the melt..want to grab a few right away!)
Padma, you are more than welcome to grab some. Thank you for the lovey comment 🙂
Hi Kushi
Ur Nankhatai look very tempting..Can i use butter or ghee for making these.
Tnx
Anchal
Sorry for the delay dear. You can use. but the baking time will be different.
I have been thinking about nankatai from this morning and guess what I see on landing here – some awesome nankatais! Delicious dear! 🙂
Thank you so much dear 🙂
The nankhatais look so perfect Kushi, the texture is too good..
Thank you so much Hema 🙂
Nankhatai looks so tempting! Beautiful Kushi
Thank you Jyothi 🙂
Oh, wow! These shortbread cookies look so soft and delicious! I bet they just melt in your mouth too.. I really need to make these soon!
Thank you so much dear Joscelyn 🙂
Kushiiii… This is my favorite mommy’s special recipe…. You have made it perfectly and it looks very similar to my moomy’s nankhtai..
After reading this recipe post… I truly miss my mom very much
Thank you so much for the lovely comment Priya 🙂
Khushiji….
Can butter or desu ghee be used in place of dalda/vegetable shortening..n cooking mode n timing in microwave
Yes you may use desi ghee or butter. Microwave should be in convection mode, should probably take the same amount of time as mentioned in the post. But honestly I have never baked anything in a microwave. You may want to check the microwave manual for exact timing.
You know what Kushi, I love the sweet sooo much. Love to make it soooon.. Looks superbb.. 🙂
Thank you dear 🙂
will you plz converted this measurements into gram
I think can be googled 🙂
Did you use Crisco vegetable shortening? What else can I use instead of dalda or vanaspati.
You can use even butter or vegetable oil but the time to bake, and the taste will vary accordingly.
These look great! Will definitely try.. thanks for sharing!
Thank you Prerna 🙂
Thanks so much for the recipe. My grandmother used to make these but over time I had misplaced the exact proportion of the ingredients and have been looking for it ever since!
These cookies look so delicious and perfect with a cup of coffee ♥
I’ve never seen this before, they look really nice and I can’t wait to try them 🙂
I haven’t heard of these before, but they look delicious. I will definitely be trying them.
These look absolutely delicious. I love that you only need five ingredients too.
These look fabulous! Can’t wait to give them a try!
These Nankhatai’s look delicious and yum. Thanks for your recipe.
These look delicious! homemade is always better thanks for sharing
Well these look amazing! I love a good shortbread cookie, they are the best. Definitely trying this with a cup of coffee!
Oh my goodness these look and sound marvelous! I love a soft cookie like this…perfect with a cup of coffee. I also love how simple this recipe is and now I have no excuse not to make it! 😀
These cookies look so light and flaky! Perfect for tea time or a nice after-dinner treat with coffee.
I love that these are only 5 ingredients! My kind of cookie, so easy!!
Shortbread cookies are one of my favorites! I love the bite the cardamom gives too. Thanks for sharing.
Mmmmm, these cookies are so inviting! And that shape is so unique you want to make these as soon as possible! Can’t wait 🙂
I love how quick and easy these cookies are! So cute, and the cardamom gives such a nice flavor.
I cant say that I have ever had a real Indian desert, let alone these nankhatai. But I am loving the sound of them. I am not an overly sweet snack person – and these cookies sound perfect, like you suggest, with tea. I can’t wait to give them a try!
Wow! These are so good and I love traditional Indian food! I had never had these before but they didn’t dissapoint!
These are baked to perfection. Surely tasty and yum. Great for the festive seaon.
Beautiful images and awesome recipe. I have never baked nankhatai but used to enjoy these in my childhood. I will definitely try this recipe since it triggers my childhood memories.
I love how simple and flavorful these biscuits are!
I love the simple ingredients, thanks for sharing!
This is my kind of cookie – quick, easy and melts in my mouth!!
5-ingredients sounds perfecttt, sometimes I need sweets but my pantry is looking light!
I love trying different cuisines – especially when it’s something simple that I feel confident I can make. These look delicious!
These absolutely lovely and delicious! I know the family will love these for sure! Making them this week! Thanks for this recipe!
These cookies are really cute! Moreover, they seem easy to make! I am gonna spoil my family with this deliciousness!
I can’t believe you only need 5 ingredients for these – they look so good! I should definitely give them a try some time soon!
These look so good! I love that they are melt in the mouth and only need a few ingredients.
I have never tried this kind of cookies, but I’m looking forward to try this recipe, they look delicious!
I LOVE these cookies! And your recipes, with such few ingredients, makes it look so easy to make. I cannot wait to give your recipe a try and get to enjoy them at home!
So easy to make and are SO good! We all loved them!
Oh Kushi, these look amazing and anything with cardamom in it always gets my vote! These would make such a great addition to any cookie plate. I will bookmark them for Christmas.
Yum!!! Our dear neighbors would bring these over during Diwali and share it with us. As a kid, I always looked forward to them. Thanks for sharing!
What a quick and tasty treat! Exactly what I needed to cure my sweet tooth! Yum!
Wow! These biscuits look so fluffy and soft! I love how easy this recipe is and it sounds perfect as side for sure!