Naani’s Nankhatai
A big part of the Indian culture, and a top 5 favorite aspect in my opinion, is hospitality. अतिथिदेवो भव (Atithi Devo Bhava) is a Sanskrit term that simply translates to “guest is God.” This hospitality transcends beyond just hosting guests at home. Naturally, I show such hospitality through food. When I realised that my best friend Maxcy loves indulging in ginger flavored milk bubble tea, I had to introduce her to masala chai. Since then, never have I returned back to the US from spending the holidays in India without her favorite masala chai mix! On one occasion when mumma was visiting me, she went a step further. She brought homemade Nankhatai: an Indian shortbread cookie that goes perfect with chai.
Being a cookie aficionado herself and now a nankhatai lover, Maxcy asked me for the recipe. I pestered mumma for it and guess what she said! “‘Just a little bit of this and a little bit of that.” Yeah. As you can tell, it is always a challenge to get complete recipes from mumma! This did not deter Maxcy. She ended up making pumpkin spiced nankhatai once while waiting on the recipe! C R A Z Y!
Traditional nankhatai is made with ghee, a couple different types of flour and baking soda. Pretty straightforward. However, the key is to use frozen ghee. Wondering why it is so, I asked my mom. Apparently, according to Naani (her mom), frozen ghee ensures less cracks on top and gives a much smoother mouth feel. Naani used to be a pro-est of all chefs, so obviously when I made these according to her recipe, the nankhatais were delicious.
There are quite a few fans of this recipe. In fact, our neighbours, an old couple, have one nankhatai each after lunch every single day! It brings me joy that Naani’s nankhatai recipe has travelled to middle-of-cornfields Indiana. I love knowing that it is someone’s source of daily happiness. And, I am excited for it to leave a smile on your face when you try it out too!
