Ragi Nankhatai or Finger Millet Cookies is a light, crunchy and crumbly vegan cookie with delightful aroma of cardamom. In short, melt in mouth cookies that anyone will love. These cookies are perfect accompaniments for any tea party, and can also be given as a personalized gift to your family and friends during holidays or anytime of the year.
Traditionally nankhatai is prepared using maida (all purpose flour). These are also referred to as shortbread biscuits or pecan sandies, ofcouse with some minor variations. It is called narayan katar in konkani. A very popular tea time snack available in most bakery shops in India. , My readers were kind enough to give me positive feedback. With all these I was inspired to experiment further with the traditional recipe at home.
This time the experiment was mainly for my little one who stares at us for every bite we eat. The first thing that came to mind was how about making some cookies or biscuits at home. I wanted it to be healthy as well as tasty.
In India, we also give ragi porridge to kids.I have kept the traditional recipe as is, but just substituted half of the all purpose flour with ragi flour. It was perfect. The way any nankhatai should be - crumbly and crunchy. Your house is going to smell like a bakery. Make sure your reserve some for you even before you serve because this will disappear in no time :-). My little one had a very big smile on his face after he had his first bite. What more do I have to say on this 🙂 Plus, it reminded me of the ragi biscuit that is popular in our hometown, Mangaluru.
Ragi Flour / Finger Millet flour - ¾ cup
All purpose flour / Maida – ¾ cup
Vegetable shortening – ⅔ cup + 1 tablespoon (also called vanaspati / dalda in India)
Baking soda – ¾ tsp
Sugar – ¾ cup
Cardamom powder – ¼ to ½ tsp
Salt – a pinch
Almonds - 15 for topping
- You should be able to form balls with no effort. If required, a
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Swathi
Hi kushi
I want yo try your recipe fir my little one.could u substitute shortening with ghee?if yes then the qty please
Kushi
shortening contains no water, while butter(ghee) does, so it takes slightly more of it in the recipe. you may have to add 1 tbsp more of butter. Shortening makes crusts flaky but butter gives good flavor 🙂 Butter will make it brown faster and may expand a little more. So keep an eye while baking Let me know how this turned out
Swathi
Hi kushi can I replace sugar with jaggery?
Kushi
Hi Swathi, I have not tried using jaggery in my baking so not sure how it would turn out. The color and texture might change. I will surely try and let you know!
Himali
Hey khushi.. what can we do if nankhatai is not enough sweet.?
Kushi
You can glaze it or sprinkle powdered sugar.
Himali
Thank you so much.
Parul
As u used dalda or shortening in the recipe its a complete no no for me all nutrients turn zero. Sorry
Kushi
I forgot to update the recipe which I will be doing soon. I have tried the recipe even with desi ghee and it works absolutely fine and is more flavorful. You can check the traditional version here https://www.cookwithkushi.com/nankhatai/