Rajbhog Nankhatai
Festive Indian shortbread cookies flavored with saffron, cardamom, freshly ground dry fruits, and rajbhog essence. Melt-in-your-mouth, eggless, and bakes in an oven, kadai, or convection microwave.
Equipment
- Standard oven or heavy-bottomed kadai with lid
Ingredients
Dry ingredients
- 1 cup maida 120g; all-purpose flour
- ¼ cup besan 50g; chickpea flour
- 1 tbsp suji fine semolina
- ⅛ tsp baking powder
Wet and fat
- ½ cup ghee softened to room temperature
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- 7-8 saffron strands kesar; soaked in 1 tsp warm milk
- 2-3 drops rajbhog essence
Dry fruit powder
- 10-12 cashews
- 10-12 almonds
- 15-20 pistachios
Spices
- 1 tsp cardamom powder
- ¼ tsp nutmeg powder
Garnish
- Pistachio flakes, to top
- Almond flakes, to top
- Milk, for brushing
Instructions
Prep
- Soak 7-8 saffron strands in 1 teaspoon warm milk for 10 minutes.
- Grind cashews, almonds, and pistachios to a coarse powder in a small jar. Do not over-grind.
Mix dry ingredients
- Sift maida, besan, suji, and baking powder into a bowl.
- Add the dry fruit powder, cardamom powder, and nutmeg powder. Stir to combine.
Cream ghee and sugar
- In a separate bowl, beat softened ghee and powdered sugar for 4-5 minutes until pale and fluffy, almost like white butter.
- Add the saffron milk and rajbhog essence. Mix gently.
Make the dough
- Add the flour mixture to the ghee mixture. Fold until a soft dough forms.
- If the dough is too crumbly, add 1-2 teaspoons of milk and knead briefly. It should be smooth and pliable but not sticky.
Shape and chill
- Pinch off portions and roll into balls slightly smaller than a golf ball.
- Flatten each ball into a peda shape and press a gentle indent in the centre.
- Place on a parchment-lined tray and refrigerate for 10-15 minutes.
Bake
- Brush the tops lightly with milk. Press pistachio and almond flakes into each cookie.
- Oven method: Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Bake for 15-20 minutes until edges are just golden.
- Kadai method: Pre-heat kadai with a stand or rack inside, lid on, for 10 minutes on high. Bake on low flame for 20-25 minutes. Do not lift the lid in the first 15 minutes.
- Convection microwave: Pre-heat at 180°C on convection mode. Bake for 15-20 minutes.
Cool
- Let the nankhatai cool on the tray for at least 30 minutes before serving. They firm up as they cool.
Notes
Cream the ghee fully: skipping the 4-5 minute creaming step produces flat, oily cookies.
Chill before baking: refrigerating the shaped dough for 10-15 minutes prevents spreading and keeps the peda shape intact.
Coarse nut grind: pulse the nuts 3-4 times only. Fine-ground nuts turn the dough pasty and dense.
Kadai tip: always pre-heat the kadai before placing the cookies inside, and keep the flame on low throughout.
Storage: store cooled cookies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days. Do not refrigerate baked cookies as moisture softens them.
Make ahead: shaped unbaked cookies can be refrigerated up to 24 hours or frozen up to 1 month. Bake from frozen, adding 3-4 extra minutes.
Rajbhog essence substitute: use 2-3 drops of rose essence or kewra water, or omit entirely. The cookies are still delicious with just saffron and cardamom.
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!