Festive Kesar Pista Nankhatai

Easy and best Nankhatai recipe,made with a combo of flour and gram flour (besan),flavoured with Kesar and Pista. A eggless,melt in the mouth festive treat !

Raksha Bandhan or Rakhi is the festival of celebration of the special bond of love between the brother and sister celebrated in all parts of India irrespective of the caste and creed. We Indians love our festivals and the indulgent food that is a quintessential part of every Indian festival.

This Rakhi I am in Bangalore with my sister and brother in law  and I decided to bake some Nankhatais with traditional Indian flavours of Saffron and Pistachios to give them a festive look as well as taste. Nankhatai is a Indian shortbread Cookie with a delicious, melt in the mouth taste made with all purpose flour, ghee or butter, sugar, nutmeg and cardamom. The flaky, crumbly and buttery texture of the Nankhatai is due to the heavy handed use of butter or ghee.

These Nankhatais are made with Maida or All purpose flour, little besan or Gram flour and Sooji or Semolina. The besan in it imparts a taste of Indian Mithai or sweets to the Nankhatai making it a perfect festive speciality. A little besan added to the flour and semolina or Sooji makes them crunchier too.

Kesar Pista Nankhatai

Print Recipe

Easy and best eggless Nankhatai recipe,made with a combo of flour and gram flour (besan),flavoured with Kesar and Pista,a melt in the mouth festive treat.

• Coursedessert
• Cuisineindian

Servings	Prep Time
24 Pieces	10 Minutes

Cook Time

20 Minutes

Servings Prep Time 24 Pieces 10 Minutes

Cook Time 20 Minutes

Kesar Pista Nankhatai Print Recipe Easy and best eggless Nankhatai recipe,made with a combo of flour and gram flour (besan),flavoured with Kesar and Pista,a melt in the mouth festive treat. Coursedessert Cuisineindian Servings Prep Time 24 Pieces 10 Minutes Cook Time 20 Minutes Servings Prep Time 24 Pieces 10 Minutes Cook Time 20 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 Cup maida All purpose flour
• 2 Tbsp besan Chickpea flour
• 2 Tbsp Sooji Fine Semolina
• 1/2-3/4 * Cup ghee Clarified Butter
• 1/2 Cup sugar Ground
• 1/2 Tsp baking powder
• 1/2 Tsp Kesar or saffron Crushed
• 8-10 Pieces pistachios Slivered
• 1 Tbsp milk Optional

Servings: Pieces

Instructions

1. Sieve the flour, chickpea flour, semolina and baking soda together.
2. In a bowl whisk the ghee and sugar together till it's well mixed and creamy.
3. Add the sieved dry ingredients and the crushed saffron and form a smooth dough gently with the hands.
4. If the dough is crumbly add the milk to form a dough.
5. Divide the dough into 24 equal sized smooth balls, flatten a little in the middle ,press some slivered pistachios and a saffron strand on the flattened portion.
6. Arrange the nankhatais in a greased or lined baking tray with some space in between them as they spread while baking.
7. Bake in a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 20 minutes.
8. Cool on a wire rack and keep them in an airtight container.

Recipe Notes

If you don't find fine semolina or rava or Sooji, grind the regular semolina in the grinder for a second and add.

*If the ghee looks solidified then take 1/2 a cup and if it's melted then take 3/4 cup.

The Nankhatais will be soft when taken out from the oven but will harden when cooled.

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Can these be made with Gram flour/Besan only ?

Yes, these can be made totally with besan or gram flour or chickpea flour too! Just add besan instead of the Maida in the recipe and keep rest of the ingredients as mentioned in this recipe.

Can these be made without an oven?

If you don’t have an oven, do not worry these Nankhatais can be made in a pressure cooker too. Arrange the cookies in a greased or lined tray which can go into the pressure cooker you own. Lower the tray inside the cooker, close the lid, and start baking in low flame without the gasket and the whistle for 10 -15 minutes or till the sides of the cookies turn brown. The time may vary according to the size of the cooker too.

Sending these Festive Kesar Pista Nankhatais to the 104th Foodie Monday Bloghop for the theme Festive Recipes.