Nan khatai are cardamom flavored shortbread style biscuits or cookies from India and Pakistan. Made with ghee, flour, chickpea flour (besan) and almonds, they have a buttery melt in the mouth flavor and light crumbly texture. Perfect with a cup of chai.
Based on the Khalifa style nan khatai from Pakistan, these buttery biscuits are perfect with a cup of chai. Serve them at your next afternoon tea party or make them as part of an Eid cookie box.
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About this recipe
Nan khatai, naan khatai, or nankhatai are cardamom flavored biscuits from the Indian sub-continent. Nan khatai is derived from the Persian word ‘naan’ which means bread, and the word ‘khatai’ which means biscuit. Popular in both India and Pakistan, the texture of the biscuits is similar to shortbread with a buttery melt in the mouth crumbliness. Though they taste buttery, nan khatai are made with ghee (clarified butter).
Khalifa style nan khatai
The khalifa style nan khatai is made at Khalifa Bakers, a bakery in interior Lahore, Pakistan. The nan khatai of this bakery are so good that whenever I would go to Lahore, I would get requests from friends and family to bring the nan khatai back with me.
The khalifa style nan khatai is different from the traditional nan khatai. The traditional nan khatai has a white-ish color and is circular in shape. It is sometimes plain, and it sometimes has a whole almond right in the center. The khalifa nan khatai has a flat shape, similar to a biscuit with a beautiful golden-brown top. There is no whole almond on top. Instead there are chunks of almonds throughout the nan khatai, and sometimes on top. The signature nan khatai buttery crumbliness combined with crunchy almonds, and a crispy top. The recipe I am sharing is a cross between a traditional nan khatai recipe, and the khalifa nan khatai. Made with ghee (clarified butter), chickpea flour (besan), flour and nuts. This recipe is adapted from Munira Kamal's recipe shared on her Facebook page here.
The ingredients
- Flour: Regular all-purpose flour (or maida). If you want to make the nan khatai gluten free, you can use a gluten free flour.
- Chickpea flour (besan): Also known as gram flour or besan, this is a key ingredient in nan khatai. It adds a slight nutty flavor to the nan khatai, and contributes to the pale-yellow color of the nan khatai.
- Finely ground sugar: This is a measure and mix biscuit recipe. Which means the ingredients are mixed together with a wooden spoon or spatula. It's important to use finely ground sugar as it would dissolve into the ghee (clarified butter) easily. Regular sugar won’t dissolve properly and you will taste the sugar when eating the biscuits. Use finely ground sugar or caster sugar. Otherwise pulse regular sugar 2 – 3 times in a spice grinder till it turns into a fine powder, and then use it. If you use powdered sugar, you will need to increase the quantity.
- Ghee (clarified butter): Traditional nan khatai is made with ghee (or clarified butter). It adds a unique aroma and flavor to the nan khatai. The texture of ghee at room temperature is semi-solid, and contributes to the crispness and flakiness of the nan khatai. Ghee is easily available at Indian or Pakistani grocery stores or specialized grocery stores.
- Cardamom: Cardamom is an integral ingredient in desserts from India and Pakistan. I use a mix of fresh cardamom seeds that I grind in a mortar and pestle, along with cardamom powder. Fresh cardamom seeds are more aromatic and flavorful, but it is possible to use only cardamom powder as well.
- Egg yolk: There is no egg in the nan khatai dough. Egg yolk is brushed on top for a beautiful golden color. In this particular recipe, I have used egg yolk as that gives a richer and more golden color. If you can’t have eggs, can skip this step.
- Roasted, and crushed almonds: Roasting almonds deepens their flavor, making them taste even more nutty and complex. That’s why I roast and crush the almonds, and then mix them through the nan khatai dough for the best flavor.
- Nuts, for garnishing: I like to garnish the nan khatai multiple ways as that makes the entire platter look super pretty. I use whole almonds, crushed almonds, crushed pistachios, and a mix of crushed almonds and pistachios.
Making the recipe
To make the nan khatai start off with adding flour in a bowl. Add sugar, followed by chickpea flour (besan), baking powder and baking soda.
Then add crushed cardamom seeds (or powder) followed by ghee (clarified butter) and then the roasted nuts. Mix together, and form into a dough.
Use a cookie scoop or your hands to form the nan khatai dough into balls. Place the biscuits on a baking tray lined with parchment.
Top with egg yolk and then garnish with choice of nuts such as almonds, and/or pistachios. I prefer to do a mix of whole almonds, crushed almonds and crushed pistachios to add variety.
Bake the nan khatai in a pre-heated oven till the edges are firm and the nan khatai are golden brown.
Expert tips
- Use finely ground sugar so it dissolves into the ghee (clarified butter). In case finely ground sugar isn't available pulse regular sugar 2 - 3 times in a spice (or coffee grinder) till it turns into a fine powder.
- Use roasted and crushed almonds in the nan khatai dough. Roasting almonds deepens their flavor making them taste nuttier. The nuts that are used for garnish on the top don't need to be roasted as they will roast during the baking process.
- Use an egg yolk for the characteristic golden brown nan khatai top.
- Avoid over baking the nan khatai. The nan khatai are ready when the edges are firm and they are light brown on top. They will be soft when taken out of the oven, and will harden after cooling down.
Can nan khatai be made without egg?
Yes, they can! The purpose of the egg in the recipe is to give the nan khatai a golden brown top and to help in the adhering the nuts to the dough. If you can't consume egg or eggs aren't available, just skip the egg. Instead use milk or cream.
Other biscuit recipes
If you are looking for other biscuit or cookie recipes, do try out the following:
- Lemon and Cardamom Shortbread
- Caramel Chocolate Brownies
- Puff Pastry Palmiers
- Salted Caramel Melting Moments
- Coconut Macaroon
- and if you want to learn how to make a cookie box for Eid (or any other holiday), check out my post here
Would love it if you could try out and rate the recipe, and let me know how it was in the comments below!
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📖 Recipe
Nan Khatai (Khalifa style) | Cardamom flavored shortbread biscuits
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups / 190g all-purpose flour
- 6 tablespoon / 60g chickpea flour / besan
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- ¾ teaspoon baking powder
- ¾ cup / 150g sugar finely ground – see note 1
- ½ cup / 80g almonds roasted and crushed
- 6 cardamom pods husk removed, and seeds crushed into powder
- ½ teaspoon cardamom powder
- ¾ cup / 190g ghee clarified butter
- 1 egg yolk whisked
- Whole almonds crushed almonds, and crushed pistachios, for garnish
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C/ 350°F (160°C fan forced).
- Separate the cardamom pod husks from the seeds. Crush the seeds into a fine powder in a mortar and pestle.
- Dry roast the almonds in a small frying pan till light golden brown. Let them cool, and then roughly crush in a mortar and pestle or a manual nut grinder.
- Place the flour, chickpea flour (besan), baking soda, baking powder, finely ground sugar, roasted and crushed almonds, ground cardamom seeds, and cardamom powder in a bowl. Mix well.
- Add the ghee (clarified butter) and mix well. The dough will first be crumbly and then come together into a rough ball. I prefer to use a rubber spatula in the beginning, and once the ghee (clarified butter) is mixed through, I use my hands to gather the dough into a ball. The dough does not need to be kneaded.
- Use a cookie scoop or your hands to scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the dough, and then roll into a ball. Place on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, making sure that there is about 1 ½ inch space between each nan khatai. Brush the tops of the nan khatai with the whisked egg yolk.
- Garnish with almonds, and/or pistachios. You can either put a whole almond, or crushed almonds, or crushed pistachios, or a mix of crushed pistachios and almonds. Press the nuts a little so that they press into the dough. It is also possible to bake them plain and skip the garnish.
- Bake the cookies for about 12 – 15 minutes, until edges are firm and the top is light golden. Place on a baking tray, and cool completely. The cookies will be a little soft when they come out of the oven, but they will harden in few minutes.
- This recipe makes 22 – 24 nan khatai. Calories are based on a serving size of 1 nan khatai per person.
Notes
- Use finely ground sugar so it dissolves into the ghee (clarified butter). In case finely ground sugar isn't available pulse regular sugar 2 - 3 times in a spice (or coffee grinder) till it turns into a fine powder.
- Use roasted and crushed almonds in the nan khatai dough. Roasting almonds deepens their flavor making them taste nuttier. The nuts that are used for garnish on the top don't need to be roasted as they will roast during the baking process.
- Use an egg yolk for the characteristic golden brown nan khatai top.
- Avoid over baking the nan khatai. The nan khatai are ready when the edges are firm and they are light brown on top. They will be soft when taken out of the oven, and will harden after cooling down.
Nutrition
Isha says
Can you tell me egg yoke substitute?
kiran says
Hi Isha,
The egg wash can be substituted with milk or cream, and you can also skip it if you want. Use a pastry brush to carefully apply the milk or cream, if using.
Ash says
These look fab! To confirm, should I measure out 150g of regular sugar then blend to a powder? If I was to use icing sugar, what amount?
Many thanks!
kiran says
Yes - measure out 150g of regular sugar and then ground into powder. If you are using icing sugar / powdered sugar you should use about 175g.
Nabiha Ahmer says
I made nan khatai for the first time using this recipe, and it turned out super delicious!