Yvonne’s Nankhatai (Indian shortbread biscuits)

Growing up, Yvonne made Nankhatai biscuits at Christmas with her family and children in her building to share with friends. Nan is derived from the Persian word meaning bread and khatai meaning biscuit.

Learn more about Yvonne's story and find more recipes from #TheBiscuitTin on Seniors Online.

Makes 36 biscuits.

Ingredients

• 200g maida (finely ground wheat flour)
• 50g besan/chickpea flour
• 50g sooji/semolina
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 200g powdered sugar
• 200ml ghee
• 1 tsp cardamom powder
• Handful of pistachios (chopped)

Method

1. Pre-heat oven to 160°C.
2. In a bowl add powdered sugar, ghee and cardamom powder.
3. With a whisk, cream them together.
4. Add the maida, besan, sooji and baking powder and mix to form a thick crumbly dough.
5. Take a small portion of dough, roll it into a ball and arrange on a greased baking tray.
6. Add some chopped pistachios on top.
7. Bake for 15–20 minutes until the bottom is slightly golden.
8. Remove from oven and allow it to cool on tray for 10 minutes.
9. Gently remove the cookies from the tray and cool completely on a wire rack.
10. Store in an airtight jar.

This recipe was provided by Yvonne and was originally published in Recipes for Respect, available on the Whitehorse City Council website.