Naan Khatai
Earthquake on a Platter!
Naan Khatai is a crumbly Indian biscuit which goes wonderfully with a hot drink. Once baked, they acquire distinct cracks across their risen, dome-like surface.
As a child, it fascinated me so, that I had named them earthquake cookies! The hero of the recipe is Verka Ghee, full of ‘desi’ flavour and healthy goodness.
Ingredients:
- 100 gm ‘maida’ (1 cup)
- 50 gm ‘besan’ (1⁄2 cup)
- 50 gm ‘sooji’ (1/3rd cup)
- 200 gm sugar(1 cup)
- 200 gm Verka Ghee (1 cup)
- 10 ‘elaichis’
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Nuts to garnish
Method
- Melt the ghee and grind the sugar to a fine powder
- Grind the ‘elaichi’ seeds and keep aside.
- Beat the ghee and sugar together until they are blended.
- Sieve to combine the maida, besan, sooji and baking powder.
- Scatter elaichi powder and the sweetened ghee over the dry ingredients, then mix lightly, using your fingertips.
- Cover the prepared dough with a damp cloth or cling film.
- Preheat oven to 180 degrees C.
- Grease a flat tray with a little extra ghee.
- Now shape small balls of dough and arrange on the ready tray. Keep space between them.
- Flatten each ball and stud it with an almond or cashew nut. Allow them to ‘rest’ for 10-15 minutes
- Bake in a central section of the oven for 10 minutes. Maybe you will need to pop them back for another 5 minutes.
- Pull out of the oven when slightly tinged with brown.
- Cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. Enjoy with a cup of ‘adrak chaai’ !
Note: Be really vigilant once the baking time begins. These little dainties can burn very quickly if not monitored. To make a chocolate flavoured khatai, replace
2 tbsp of maida with cocoa powder. Instead of nuts, you could ‘press into service’ some choco-chips