There are several variations to this Indian biscuit. Some recipes use only cake flour and ghee with cardamom while others use semolina or chana flour (gram flour). Or as a reader has just informed me -some also use Cornflour and bicarbonate of soda as a raising agent. For this recipe I have used semolina and cake flour. The result was a very rough textured biscuit. Perhaps a finer grain product like Tasty Wheat (in South Africa) would be more appropriate. Similarly you can also substitute the semolina with chana flour or rice flour. I have used a similar ratio as Shortbread 1 part sugar: 2 parts butter: 3 parts Flour (combination of flour and semolina)
This recipe makes 24 Naan Khatai's
Preparation Time: 10 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Ingredients
- 1 cup butter
- ½ cup sugar
- ¼ cup semolina or (chana flour, rice flour or cornflour)
- 1¼ cup cake flour
- 1 teaspoon cardamom powder
- Pinch of salt
- Slivered almonds or pistachios for decoration
1. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees Celsius.
2. Cream the butter and sugar until smooth.
3. Sift the cardamom powder and flour. Mix with the butter until a firm dough is formed.
4. Pinch out small pieces. Roll into a ball by rolling between your palms (much like meatballs)-flatten slightly then top with an almond or pistachios.
5. Bake for a maximum of 15 minutes-the Naan Khatai should retain a pale color like Shortbread.
5. Allow to cool before serving.
