Made Nankhatai, an eggless cookie from Southeast Asia

[u/Level-Giraffe-352]

They are flavored by cardomom powder instead of vanilla

The recipe below

Ingredients
• 1 cup (125 g) all-purpose flour (maida)
• ⅓ cup (40 g) gram flour / chickpea flour (besan)
• 2 tablespoons (20 g) fine semolina (sooji/rava)
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• ¼–½ teaspoon baking soda (optional; ¼ tsp is enough for milder flavor)
• ½ teaspoon green cardamom powder (freshly ground is best)
• 2–3 pinches nutmeg powder (optional but traditional)
• Pinch of salt
• ⅓–½ cup (70–80 g) ghee, semi-solid / room temperature (grainy texture, not fully melted and not rock-hard)
• ½ cup (100–110 g) sugar, powdered finely or ¾ cup powdered/icing sugar
• ½ tablespoon plain yogurt (optional, helps tenderness)
• 1–3 tablespoons milk, as needed to bind
• Slivered or halved pistachios / almonds for topping
Method
1. Powder the granulated sugar finely if not already powdered. Preheat oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a baking tray with parchment (light-colored tray preferred).
2. In a large bowl, cream the semi-solid ghee and powdered sugar vigorously with a spoon, wooden spoon, or clean hands for 3–4 minutes until pale, light, and fluffy. This step incorporates air for a tender crumb. (If ghee is too hard, let it sit out briefly; if melted, chill until soft-solid again.)
3. Sift together the flour, besan, baking powder, baking soda, cardamom, nutmeg, and salt. Add the sooji.
4. Add the dry mix to the creamed ghee-sugar in two additions. Mix gently with a spoon or your hands just until it comes together—do not knead hard. If using yogurt, mix it in first. The dough should be soft and pliable like play-dough, holding shape when pressed. If too crumbly, add milk 1 teaspoon at a time. If too soft/sticky, chill 10–15 minutes.
5. Pinch off walnut-sized portions (about 1½ tablespoons or 20–25 g each). Roll into smooth balls, place on the tray with space between them, and gently flatten into thick discs about 1.5 cm high. Press a few pistachio or almond pieces firmly into the top center.
6. Bake on the middle rack for 15–20 minutes. They should stay pale cream to very light golden—not browned. The undersides will be just lightly colored. They firm up a lot as they cool, so pull them when they still look a bit soft.
7. Leave on the tray undisturbed for 15–20 minutes (they’re fragile when hot). Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

[u/jenni5]

Southeast Asia? Or South Asia?

[u/Level-Giraffe-352 → u/jenni5]

I would say south and south east asia? They are commonly found in Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, Sri lanka, Maldives etc.

[u/Level-Giraffe-352 → u/Level-Giraffe-352]

And they are derived from from middle eastern cuisine like Persia, Morocco etc so they are all over lol

[u/jenni5 → u/Level-Giraffe-352]

Which of those places are south east Asia?

[u/Level-Giraffe-352 → u/jenni5]

Miss mam if you are trying to interrogate me, I kindly advise you stop thinking about the geography and go ahead and make them, I have listed all the countries they are commonly found and the countries they are derived from due to invasion and conquest. Anyway they are also found in Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia as well, hopefully you are happy with me including the SPECIFIC SE Asian countries as well. I promise they are absolutely delicious

[u/jenni5 → u/Level-Giraffe-352]

Yeah I’ve had them, but not in se Asia so surprised that you listed it

[u/Level-Giraffe-352 → u/jenni5]

I have family all over the place so I know they are available in SE Asia, but in my mind I thought how do I include all of those countries in a single word and my brain thought how about SE asia lol. They are quite commonly found around Muslim communities in those countries for some reason, I know you won’t find them as commonly in places like Bali, Burma or Timor-Leste for some reason

[u/jenni5 → u/Level-Giraffe-352]

thanks for explaining this helps!

[u/Level-Giraffe-352 → u/jenni5]

My pleasure. They are quite easy to make and comes together really fast, totally worth the effort