Nan Khatai / Nankhatai refer to a light and crunchy authentic eggless Indian sweet or savory buttery cookies with Ghee, Flour (Maida) Rava/Sooji (Semolina) sometimes Gram Flour (Besan/Kadalamavu) are also added and for sugar for the sweet version. Cardamon is also addded for that aromatic taste. Nowadays, some people are adding extra flavor to it, by adding Chocolates and Rose water to the dough. It is also described as crumbly, soft, delicate and smooth shortbread cookie.
Rava or Sooji is added for extra crunchy and cripsy texture. Some also add chopped nuts to their recipe.
Traditionally, an Indian cookie, Nan Khatai has a Dutch origin when the Dutch occupied Gujarat. It is said the recipe Nan Khatai originated the large port city of Gujarat, particularly in Surat at the end of 16th century when Dutch set up a bakery and handed down the recipe to a trusted Farsi employee named Faramji Pestonji Dotivala when they left India.
Nan Khatai is famous in Goa and distributed as goodies for Christmas. It is not only popular all over India, but also in Pakistan.
Nan Khatai is also called Nankhat and is a popular Diwali dessert. The story nowadays is that Nankhatai is a dying tradition with the emergence of so many cookies and biscuits from all over the western world. It is getting harder to find them in the local market and bakeshops. In New Delhi, however, there are still those who make sell them as street food in pushcarts.
The picture below of Nan Khatai was a gift to a family friend in Kerala who wanted very much to taste Nan Khatai because it always reminds him of his childhood. This particular cookie reminds everyone of childhood. It brings back lots of happy memories.
Related Articles to the term 'Nan Khatai / Nankhatai' | |
| 'Nankhatai' | ■■■■■■■■■ |
| Nankhatai refer to popular Indian short bread cookies/biscuits which is made from gram flour, ghee, sugar . . . Read More | |
| 'Candy' | ■■■■■■■ |
| Candy refers to a wide variety of sweet confections made primarily from sugar or other sweeteners. It . . . Read More | |
| 'Rava' | ■■■■■■ |
| Rava is Hindi word for semolina flour used widely in Indian cooking and cuisine to cook savory dishes . . . Read More | |
| 'Appalam' | ■■■■■■ |
| Appalam refers to an Indian small bread that is made with unspiced gram flour, somewhat similar to pappadum. . . . Read More | |
| 'Samsa' | ■■■■■■ |
| Samsa refers to Algerian . . . . . . Read More | |
| 'Icing' | ■■■■■■ |
| Icing refers to a sweet, often decorative coating applied to baked goods such as cakes, cookies, and . . . Read More | |
| 'Tea' | ■■■■■■ |
| Tea is an aromatic beverage commonly prepared by pouring hot or boiling water over cured leaves of the . . . Read More | |
| 'Bell peppers' at fitness-and-health-glossary.com | ■■■■■ |
| Bell peppers in the fitness context refer to a nutrient-rich vegetable that is low in calories and high . . . Read More | |
| 'Carrot' at fitness-and-health-glossary.com | ■■■■■ |
| Carrot in the fitness context refers to a highly nutritious, low-calorie root vegetable that is widely . . . Read More | |
| 'Idiyappam' | ■■■■■ |
| Idiyappam refers to a traditional South Indian and Sri Lankan dish made from rice flour, shaped into . . . Read More | |