Kesar Pista Nankhatai is an Indian shortbread cookie or a biscuit (Nankhatai) made with flour, ghee, sugar, cardamom, and saffron.The ingredients are combined to create a crumbly, buttery texture and flavored with saffron and cardamom to create a sweet and aromatic cookie. The flaky, crumbly, buttery texture of kesar pista nankhatai is due to the heavy-handed use of clarified butter (ghee).Nankhatai is a traditional cookie loved by kids and elders. The Nankhatai is the most common cookie made during Diwali in India. It is readily available in most bakery shops and is the most sold cookie. Bakeries add flavors to nankhatai dough like rose, pistachios, paan, chocolate, Nutella, Kesar, coffee, and more.Kesar Pista is the most common flavor everyone likes, whether in ice cream, pudding, mithai, or biscuits. Learn to make Kesar Pista Nankhatai at home easily and quickly. These Kesar Pista Nankhatai are made of maida, Gram flour (besan), and Rava (Sooji or Semolina). The besan imparts a taste of Indian Mithai or sweets to the Nankhatai, giving the perfect Indian touch to the cookies. Also, the gram flour and semolina add an excellent crunch to these Nanakhati.
Take ½ cup pure ghee and ½ cup powdered sugar in a mixing bowl.
Whisk the mixture till it turns smooth and fluffy or milky in color.
Place a sieve over the bowl, and add ¾ cup of maida (white flour) and ¼ cup of gram flour (besan).
Sift the flour.
Add ¼ cup of thin semolina (rava or thin suji), ½ tsp of baking powder, ¼ tsp of baking soda, 3 tbsp of coarsely ground pistachios, ½ tsp cardamom powder, and saffron soaked in a few drops of milk. Tip* - If using regular semolina (suji), grind once in the mixing jar and use in this recipe.
Mix all the ingredients until well combined.
Gently knead the dough without adding water.
Roll a little portion of the dough into a small ball. Each ball weighs 30 grams; you can adjust it as per preference.
Gently flatten it with your hands.
Garnish it with sliced pistachios.
Place them over the baking tray slightly apart and bake them at 160 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes. Tip*- The temperature of each oven differs; bake one nankhatai and check the temperature if baking them for the first time. Bake the cookies at 160 to 180 degrees.
Once baked, let them cool for 10 minutes in the tray, or you can transfer them to the cooling rack to cool.
Enjoy delicious, crunchy, and flavorful nankhatai at breakfast, with evening tea, or at any time.