The rickety cardboard boxes in pastel hues held together with cotton twine, each scribbled with the name of its bearer. Ours contained a tall, dark and handsome rum cake, slim and fair wine biscuits, the well rounded Surti batasa/ butter biscuits, Irani sada, bitter and flaky methi puffs and the wheatish toned Nankhatai. Each time we had visitors from Surat or when we travelled to Surat, my Masasaab/maternal Uncle ensured the boxes from the historic Dotivala Bakery he ordered for us invariably contained these five goodies that our family loved. My favourites were the fruit/rum cake and wine biscuits. The rich and addictive Nankhatai were eaten with prudence. Not because they were sweet or loaded with ghee, but because Nankhatai was considered an epitome of biscuit it had to be treated with reverence. And these weren’t Nankhatai from any neighbourhood baker these were from the Dotivala, the bakery believed to be the birthplace of Nankhatai, so they were a class apart. The Dotivala Nankhatai is pale brown in colour, dotted with charoli, and plump with the flavours of nutmeg and cardamom. It is the nutmeg and charoli that distinguishes the Dotivala Nankhatai. In fact, the connoisseurs of Gujarati food treat the Dotivala Nankhatai as a benchmark to rate all the other nankhatais. Even today, after 50 years the boxes arrive with the same contents and love as my sister carries forward the tradition her father initiated. And we continue to enjoy them with the same joy!
Nankhatai is considered to be Indian shortcrust cookies. They are laden with fat and the flavoured with cardamom and nutmeg rather than vanilla. There are numerous regional versions of this Indianised biscuit. T As I shared the baked Nankhatai with Bhavana, a dear friend here in Singapore I was enlightened about the north Indian Nankhatai that has all-purpose flour, semolina and chickpea flours. While in Gujarat we just use all-purpose flour and some whole wheat flour. One can also use just the whole wheat flour but it might be too dense to your liking. The Gujarati version is always egg free.
I insist you try Dotivala Nankhatai at least once but until that happens, try making Nankhatai using this recipe. It is part whole wheat, part ghee, heady with the signature nutmeg flavour and slow baked to perfection.
Serve them with love and warmth with a piping hot cup of ginger, mint and lemongrass flavoured chai.
❤️
Nankhatai
Ingredients
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 1 tablespoon corn flour
- 1/2 cup caster sugar or fine-grained sugar
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cubed and chilled
- 1/2 cup ghee, chilled
- a pinch of salt
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg powder, freshly grated/pounded
- 1/2 teaspoon green cardamom powder
- slivered almonds, pistachio
- charoli/chirongi
Instructions
Preheat the oven to 140 degrees centigrade.
Prepare a large baking sheet by lining it with a baking paper.
In a mixing bowl bring together all the flours, baking powder, salt, nutmeg, and cardamom powders. Mix well
Cream butter, ghee, and sugar till light and fluffy. It will turn pale yellow in color.
Add the flour mixture and gently fold in until it comes together as a soft dough.
Use an ice cream scoop to shape the dough.
Place each dough ball 1" apart from each other as the Nankhatai will spread as they bake.
I have used small/1.5-inch ice cream scoop to shape the Nankhatai.
Place and press almond slivers, pistachio slivers and charoli on the face of each dough ball.
Bake at 140 degrees for the first 15 minutes.
After 15 minutes lower the temperature to 100 degrees centigrade.
Continue to bake for 40 to 45 minutes to 1 hour till the Nankhatai turn pale brown in colour.
Remove from oven, transfer and cool on a wire rack.
Store in an airtight container.
Serve with masala chai.
Notes
The Nankhatai from Gujarat is pale brown in colour. If you slightly press the dough ball, it will spread a little more while baking just like you see the ones with almond slivers. The Nankhatai with charoli on top wasn't pressed after shaping and were removed 40 minutes into baking. Hence, they are whitish in colour. Both are done well but since the Dotivala Nankhatai is light brown in colour the one with almond slivers is a closer match. The chilled fat and creaming provide structure to the Nankhatai. Hence cream well. While you are scooping the dough on the baking sheet and you are left with no space keep the balance dough in the refrigerator.
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18 Must-Try Western India Mithai – Tasting Table - Sephari India
January 2, 2023 at 8:11 am[…] nankhatai simple and dense, adding to the tenderness of their nankhatai with a long bake time (via The Route 2 Roots). Like any shortbread cookie, nankhatai pair perfectly with tea or coffee and melt in your mouth […]