Rose Pistachio Saffron Nankhatai
These Nankhatais in three different flavors (rose, pistachio and saffron-cardamom) are a simple, yet elegant dessert for this upcoming festive season! These beautiful cookies are a memorable twist on traditional sweets that your family is sure to love for Diwali!
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup ghee , 60 grams in semi-solid form (not melted)
- 6 tbsp powdered sugar or confectioners (icing) sugar , 60 grams
- 1/3 cup wheat flour
- 5 tbsp all purpose flour
- 1/3 cup besan (gram or chickpea flour)
- 1 tbsp semolina
- 1/8 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
Rose Nankhatai
- 1/2 tsp rose essence
- 2 drops red food color , or as per your required color
- rose petals , for garnish
Pistachio Nankhatai
- 1 1/2 tbsp pistachio , coarsely ground
- 1/2 tsp pistachio essence
- 2 drops green food color , or as per your required color
Saffron-Cardamom Nankhatai
- 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
- 12-15 strands saffron , soaked in 1/2 tsp warm milk
- 2 drops yellow food color , if needed
Instructions
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In a large mixing bowl, mix together the room temperature ghee (make sure it is solid and not melted), and icing sugar till it's creamy and fluffy. Make sure that you beat the mixture till it changes color to light yellow and becomes fluffy. This is really important for making perfect nankhatais.
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Now, add in wheat flour, all purpose flour, besan, semolina, baking powder and salt using a sieve. Mix everything gently with light hands till it forms a dough. I did not use any milk, but if your dough is not coming together, you can use little milk, starting with 1 tsp at a time. Don't over mix the dough, otherwise it will become too soft. If that happens, you can keep it in the fridge for 10 minutes to firm it up a little.
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Divide the dough into three equal parts, one for each flavor - rose, pistachio and saffron-cardamom. Now, add the ingredients of each flavor to its separate dough.
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Shape the dough for each flavor into 10-12 balls that are of equal size, using a weighing scale to ensure that they are of the same weight.
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Flatten them slightly and place them on a lined baking sheet.
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Preheat the oven at 350°F / 175°C and bake the nankhatais for 12-15 minutes (it may vary depending on your oven) till the base turns slightly brown. They may seem little wet from the top, but will become crunchy as they cool down. Don't over bake them or they will turn hard.
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Once done, let the nankhatais cool for 5 minutes on the tray. They will firm up as they cool. Then move them to a wire rack till they are completely cool.
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Your nankhatais in 3 different flavors are ready!
Recipe Notes
- Make sure that you use a preheated oven otherwise the nankhatais will become flat.
- Don't over bake the nankhatais otherwise they will become hard. Take them out of the oven as soon as the base turns slightly brown.