Easy-to-follow guide for making homemade, bakery-style Nankhatai using an OTG oven. These delicious, soft, and crunchy cookies can be stored for 15-20 days.
Ingredients Needed
* Sugar: 3/4 cup (powdered)
* Ghee: 1/2 cup (room temperature) + 2 tbsp extra (slightly warm)
* Dry Ingredients: 1 cup Maida (all-purpose flour), 1/4 cup Besan (gram flour), 1/4 cup Suji (semolina)
* Leavening/Flavor: 1/2 tsp baking powder, a pinch of salt, 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
* Garnish: Pistachios
Step-by-Step Recipe
1. Cream the Base: In a bowl, whisk the powdered sugar and room-temperature ghee for about 10 minutes until it becomes light, fluffy, and creamy.
2. Sieve Dry Ingredients: Sieve the Maida, Besan, Suji, baking powder, and salt together to ensure a smooth dough.
3. Prepare the Dough: Add the dry mixture to the creamy base along with cardamom powder. Mix well. If the dough feels too dry, add 2 tablespoons of slightly warm ghee to achieve a crack-free consistency.
4. Shape the Nankhatai: Form small, round, and thick discs from the dough. This recipe yields approximately 15 cookies.
5. Garnish: Place a piece of pistachio on top of each cookie to enhance their appearance.
6. Bake: Preheat your OTG oven. Bake the cookies at 180°C for 20 minutes using only the top and bottom rods (fan off). Adjust the timing based on your specific oven’s performance.
7. Cooling: After baking, let the Nankhatais cool on the tray for 5-6 minutes as they are very soft when hot, then transfer them to a container.