Sunday, December 12, 2010

Nosh on Nan Khatai - Indian Eggless Cookies


Can you hear me?.......I am whispering in a low pitched voice since the kids are napping. I want them to continue to nap for another hour as I have gathered the ingredients to bake this melt in the mouth Indian cookie - nan khatai. It is a quite Sunday afternoon in my house since the kids have gone down for a nap. Oh guess what? their dad nodded off while patting them to sleep. The ingredients on the kitchen counter are ready to take a leap into the mixing bowl, rest in the refrigerator and bake up in the oven. Oh boy, I should admit I enjoy occasional solitude when I can measure and mix with composure.

I was introduced to this cookie by my friend whom we meet regularly for play dates. I saw my little girl gorge quite a few cookies in her house that evening. With so much excitement being shown towards this sweet treat by my little girl I obtained the recipe from my friend, but never attempted to bake it until today. I prefer to stay away from the oven when my little darlings are around knowing them for their mischievous moves. Today I am baking nan khatai for the first time with a few tweaks of my own. The Sunday evening tea will be accompanied with mouth watering nan khatai and jubilant faces. I cannot wait for my little girl to taste these cookies and say "Um mm Um mm Um mm deeeeeelishun".

Nan khatai is a popular tea time snack originally from Surat, Gujarat. It is an egg less cookie using ghee (clarified butter) instead of butter to give a rich texture and flavor. It gets a big thumbs up from lacto vegetarians since they consume diary products but refrain from eggs. This cookie is very versatile as it accommodates any nuts and toppings. In this recipe I have used cocoa powder to make chocolate nan khatai and it is taking an entry into Kitchen Corners December cook off - Giving Cookie. A few of these cookies are boxed for a sweet friend while the rest are to be relished by my family.

Ingredients:
  • 1 cup all purpose flour/maida
  • 1/2 cup fine sugar
  • 1/4 cup melted ghee (clarified butter)
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/4 cup milk
  • Pinch of salt
  • 1 teaspoon cocoa powder

Method:
  • Sieve all purpose flour/maida, baking power, baking soda and salt into the mixing bowl.
  • Add sugar and milk.
  • While adding the ghee little at a time, start kneading the ingredients into a smooth pliable dough without any cracks.
  • Remove 1/4 portion of the dough and knead in cocoa powder.
  • Cover both the doughs with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 15-20 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 350 degree F and line a cookie sheet with parchment paper.
  • Divide both the doughs into 10 equal portions.
  • Roll each portion into tubes with 1:3 proportion (chocolate to unflavored) of same lengths.The chocolate tube will be thinner than the unflavored tube.
  • Roughly braid the tubes and roll the dough in your hands until the doughs swirl. Flatten them between palms, the center being slightly thicker than the edges.
  • Bake them in the preheated oven for about 13 to 15 minutes.
  • When they are out of the oven, arrange them on a cooling rack to bring it to room temperature.
  • Store it in an air tight container for several days.


Denouement: 
As soon as the kids and their dad woke up, the aroma of freshly baked cookies brought them straight to the kitchen. We all devoured the cookies right from the cooling rack. Just a few leftover cookies to box for a weekday evening snack while the already boxed ones are reaching my friend in a day or two.







Linking this post to Chocolate Extravaganza - Ria's Collection

Linking this post to Best-of-year-2010
Linking this post to Choco Delite's Event - Taste Buds
Linking this post to Tuesday Night Supper Club
Linking this post to Hearth and Soul Hop - Volume 27
Linking this post to Cookies and Cakes for Xmas
Linking this post to Vegetarian Foodie Friday
 LInking this post to Foodie Friday

24 comments:

  1. wow veena super kane! ur blog is turning out real good!

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  2. Beautiful looking nan khattai, scrumptious.

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  3. Hey,

    Beautiful nan khatais...:)Check out the event in my blog dear...:)

    Dr.Sameena@

    http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

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  4. hey veena excellent blog. I enjoyed reading all the time my mouth watering.When r u coming to India? i'll take care of the kids and u can cook all these recipes for me :)

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  5. Hey Veena,

    Thanx for the beautiful entry my dear...:0

    Dr.Sameena@

    http://www.myeasytocookrecipes.blogspot.com

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  6. Visiting via Tuesday Night Supper Club...
    These look so easy and sweet! They'd be a nice addition to a cookie tray.

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  7. thank you Veena
    delicious cookies festive lovely pictures

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  8. Nan khatais look crispy-buttery n melt in mouth kind..yum!


    US Masala

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  9. Veena, you made me weep a little bit when you spoke of your children going down for a nap! I remember those blessed times when i had a few minutes to myself when my girls were young (they are in highschool now!) and all I wanted to do was COOK! :) These cookies do look melt in your mouth and they certainly puff up nice and light even without the egg! Thanks for sharing with us on the hearth and soul hop this week! All the best! Alex

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  10. the idea of using ghee in a cookie is enchanting! i can hardly wait to give this a try. i love how you mixed in cocoa to create a swirl cookie. YUM! thank you for sharing with tuesday night supper club!

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  11. Wow, those cookies look amazing!

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  12. nankhataies is suparb looking yummy
    1st time here lovely space
    do visit my site

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  13. wow these sound really interesting i love to find new recipes to make and because this one sounds so great this may be the new one we try

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  14. Those really look delicious. I would love to try making them.

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  15. hi Veena, love your write ups and the name of the blog (so cute!)
    you have great recipes here and love the pictures as well. love to come back again and again.

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  16. These look so pretty! I can just imagine how they taste too! Yummy! I think I will give these a try. Thanks to you and your friend!

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  17. We will try & let you know about your Nan Khatai

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  18. A very Happy new year to you n ur family , loved going thru ur wonderful blog !!!

    - Smita
    www.littlefoodjunction.blogspot.com
    (fun foods for little eaters

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  19. And you made them into nice big cookies too, nice recipe, I look forward to trying, thanks.

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  20. beautiful marbled nan khatai :)
    Hey i shared an award with u.. please follow this link :)
    http://tahemeemshaik.blogspot.com/2011/02/its-raining-awards.html

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  21. Wow Marbled nan khatai looks awesome.U have a lovely space.Do drop by
    Padhuskitchen
    when u find time

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  22. wow..looks good...yummmmmmm..
    first time here....u hv a lovely space with awesome recipes....visit mine as time permits
    sanyukta
    http://creativesanyukta.blogspot.com/

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  23. Hey There. I found your weblog the use of msn. This is a really well written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and come back to read extra of your helpful info.
    Thank you for the post. I will certainly comeback.

    ReplyDelete
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