whole wheat nankhatai recipe, indian short bread cookies,

                  whole wheat nankhatai recipe 

 nankhatai are basically indian shortbread cookies. the recipe shared in this post shows how to make nankhatai with whole wheat flour or atta.

whole wheat nankhatai recipe – how to make atta nankhatai
sharing these nankhatais made with whole wheat flour as i had got a few requests for the recipe. i have already posted the nankhatai recipe made with all purpose flour or maida.

wherever possible, i prefer to bake cookies and cakes using whole wheat flour. these nankhatais are not as crumbly as the ones made with all purpose flour but they taste good. of course they taste like nankhatais made with whole wheat flour. you do get the nutty taste of wheat flour in these indian shortbread cookies.

since they are made from atta, they are a better alternative than nankhatais made with all purpose flour. i have also added besan to give some crumbly texture.

whole wheat nankhatai easy recipe

the recipe yields 300 grams nankhatai or 14 to 15 medium sized nankhatais. the recipe can be doubled too.

make these whole wheat nankhatais this diwali and serve them as a tea time cookie snack.

if you are looking for more diwali snacks recipes then do check karanji, shakkar pare, chakli, shankarpali, khandvi, samosa and corn flakes chivda recipe.

atta or whole wheat nankhatai recipe below:

whole wheat nankhati recipe - easy recipe and method to make nankhatais with atta or whole wheat flour
recipe type: snacks
cuisine: north indian
serves: 300 grams
ingredients (measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml)

1 cup atta or whole wheat flour, 125 grams
2 tbsp besan or gram flour
¼ tsp baking soda or ¼ tsp baking powder
a pinch of salt - do not add if using salted butter or ghee
70 grams cold salted or unsalted butter, approx ½ cup butter or 70 grams ghee in semi solid state
⅓ cup sugar, 70 grams or 70 grams powdered sugar or approx ½ cup powdered sugar
4 to 5 green cardamoms, crushed lightly to remove the cover and the seeds kept
a pinch of saffron strands
⅛ tsp grated nutmeg or nutmeg powder
1 to 2 tbsp milk
1 to 2 tsp butter or ghee for greasing baking tray
how to make the recipe:
in a grinder jar, take ⅓ cup sugar (70 grams), seeds from 4 to 5 green cardamoms, a pinch of safron strands and ⅛ tsp grated nutmeg.
grind to a fine powder. keep aside. if you have powdered sugar already, then use ½ cup of powdered sugar.
grease a tray or pan very well with 1 to 2 tsp butter or ghee. also preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/356 degrees fahrenheit.
in a seive, take 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta), 2 tbsp besan and ¼ tsp baking soda. add ¼ tsp baking powder if you do not have baking soda.
sift the dry mixture very well in a mixing bowl or pan.
to the sifted flour mixture add approx ½ cup or 70 grams of cold or chilled butter. you can also use ½ cup of ghee in semi solid state.
with your fingertips break the butter and mix with the flour. you can cut the butter in the flour with two knives too. this can also be achieved with a food processor or a stand mixer. if the butter melts while mixing with your hands, then its fine.
mix till you get a bread crumb like texture in the mixture.
now add the powdered sugar and lightly mix with your hands.
add 1 to 2 tbsp milk. the amount of milk to be added depends on the quality of flour. the mixture should be able to come together and hold itself. if required you can also add overall 3 to 4 tbsp of milk. i added 2 tbsp milk. add the milk in parts and mix.
gently bring together the dough into a ball. do not knead the dough. just gently mix.
now pinch small or medium sized balls from the nankhatai dough and lightly roll them. place the balls on the greased baking tray.
you can gently press them to flatten them. you can also make designs on them with a fork or toothpick. i used a peda design maker to lightly flatten as well as to give a pattern on the top.
bake the nankhatai in the pre heated oven at 180 degrees C/356 degrees fahrenheit for 20-25 mins till light golden or golden. since oven temperatures vary, it may takes less or more time. so do keep a check. after 2 to 3 minutes, remove them from the tray and keep on a wire rack for cooling.
when cooled at room temperature, store nankhatai in an air tight jar. serve whole wheat nankhatai as a tea time cookie.

step by step atta or whole wheat nankhatai recipe:

1. in a grinder jar, take ⅓ cup sugar (70 grams), seeds from 4 to 5 green cardamoms, a pinch of saffron strands and ⅛ tsp grated nutmeg.

sugar for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

2. grind to a fine powder. keep aside. if you have powdered sugar already, then use ½ cup of powdered sugar along with ½ tsp of cardamom powder, ⅛ tsp grated nutmeg and crushed saffron strands.

sugar for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

3. grease a tray or pan very well with 1 to 2 teaspoon butter or ghee. also preheat oven to 180 degrees celsius/356 degrees fahrenheit. the oven should be preheated 15 minutes before baking.

tray for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

4. in a seive, take 1 cup whole wheat flour (atta), 2 tbsp besan and ¼ tsp baking soda. add ¼ tsp baking powder if you do not have baking soda. you can also add a pinch of salt at this step, if using unsalted butter or ghee. if using salted butter then skip adding salt. 

ingredients for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

5. sift the dry mixture very well in a mixing bowl or pan.

ingredients for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

6. to the sifted flour mixture add approx ½ cup or 70 grams of cold or chilled butter. you can also use ½ cup of ghee in semi solid state.

ghee for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

7. with your fingertips break the butter and mix with the flour. you can cut the butter in the flour with two knives too. this can also be achieved with a food processor or a stand mixer. if the butter melts while mixing with your hands, then its fine.

dough for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

8. mix till you get a bread crumb like texture in the mixture.

dough for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

9. now add the powdered sugar.

sugar for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

10. lightly mix with your hands.

dough for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

11. add 1 to 2 tbsp milk. the amount of milk to be added depends on the quality of flour. the mixture should be able to come together and hold easily. if required you can also add overall 3 to 4 tbsp of milk. i added 2 tbsp milk. add the milk in parts and mix.

milk for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

12. gently bring together the dough into a ball.

dough for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

13. do not knead the dough. just gently mix and gather the mixture to a dough.

dough for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

14. now pinch small or medium sized balls from the nankhatai dough and lightly roll them. place the balls on the greased baking tray.

dough for whole wheat nankhatai recipe

15. you can gently press them to flatten them. you can also make designs on them with a fork or toothpick. i used a peda design maker to lightly flatten as well as to give a pattern on the top.

atta nankhatai recipe

16. here is the nankhatai tray ready to go in the oven. if you want you can sprinkle and lightly press some chopped dry fruits like pistachios, almonds etc from the top.

atta nankhatai recipe

17. bake the nankhatai in the pre heated oven at 180 degrees C/356 degrees fahrenheit for 20-25 mins till light golden or golden. since oven temperatures vary, it may takes less or more time. so do keep a check. once baked, after 2 to 3 minutes, remove them from the tray and keep on a wire rack for cooling. don’t brown them too much as then they the crust becomes too dense and hard. a light golden color on the top keeps them soft and crumbly. for convection ovens use the pre heating and baking temperature of 160 degrees celsius/320 degrees fahrenheit.

atta nankhatai recipe

18. when cooled at room temperature, store them in an air tight jar. serve whole wheat nankhatai as a tea time cookie.

enjoy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!