200g ghee
200g jaggery, thinly chopped 
225g all purpose flour 
225g atta (whole wheat flour)
50g sooji (rava, medium semolina) 
¼ tsp baking soda 
¼ tsp cardamom powder (optional)
37 almonds, raw and unsalted (optional)

1. Measure out ghee and freeze it for at least a few hours to overnight. Frozen ghee ensures a cookie with less cracked top.

2. Mix all purpose flour, whole wheat flour, sooji, baking soda and cardamom powder. Next add in the jaggery and frozen ghee. Either with your hands or the paddle attachment of a stand mixer, mix into a cohesive dough. Since the ghee is frozen, this will require some muscle power. You are looking for a play dough type of a mix. Cover with a tea towel and allow to rest at room temperature for 3 to 5 hours.

3. Preheat the oven to 190°C / 375° F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Give the dough another good mix with your hands or with the paddle attachment of a stand mixer for not more than a couple minutes. Make dough balls of 35g each. You might have to press the dough into a ball and that’s expected.

4. Line them on a cookie sheet about a couple inches apart. These do not puff up a whole lot like chocolate chip cookies. Optionally, you can top each ball with an almond each. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, turning the pan mid way through if your oven has hot spots. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring on a cooling rack to cool completely.

5. Enjoy with chai!

6. Store leftovers in an airtight container. Good for about 2 weeks.

Notes: 

1. You can substitute jaggery with either equal amounts of refined sugar or equal amounts of jaggery powder.

2. Ghee can be substituted with equal amounts of butter.

3. Flour substitutes: If you do not have wheat flour on hand, you can use a total of 450g of AP flour and 50g semolina. You could also use 450g juvar flour (juvar is a type of millet and extremely healthy) and 50g semolina. You really can experiment with different types of flours - this cookie tends to be quite forgiving.