Khalifa Nan Khatai (Pakistani Cardamom Shortbread Cookies)

A fine china plate filled with Nan Khatai is resting on a grey napkin with bowls of almonds and cardamom in the background.

5 from 5 votes

Khalifa Nan Khatai (Pakistani Cardamom Shortbread Cookies)

Buttery, crispy, full of almonds, and deliciously aromatic, Nan Khatai (Pakistani cardamom shortbread cookies) is very popular in Pakistan.

Prep Time10

Cook Time20

Total Time30

Course: Dessert

Cuisine: Indian, Pakistani

Keyword: almond shortbread, indian biscuits, indian cookies, Nan Khatai biscuit, Nan Khatai recipe, nankhatai biscuit, nankhatai recipe

Servings: Cookies

Calories: 178kcal

Author: Nosheen Babar

Ingredients

2 cups flour
4 tbsp gram flour (see notes)
1 cup superfine sugar
1 cup almonds
1 cup ghee
20 pods cardamom (See notes)
½ tsp baking soda
⅛ cup milk

Instructions

Dry roast the almonds in a non stick frying pan.
Cool and place the almonds in a ziplock bag and pound them with a rolling pin to chop them roughly.
Dry roast the gram flour in a saucepan.
Crush the cardamom pods using a mortar and pestle and remove the seeds. Throw away the green outer shells and grind the seeds to a powder.
Mix all of your ingredients except the milk using a KitchenAid stand mixer or hand beaters (see notes).
Cool the mixture in the fridge for 15 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Shape the cookie dough into 24 round balls and place them on 2 baking sheets, leaving some room in between for the cookies to expand.
Flatten the top with your hand to create a round disc.
Brush the top with the milk and bake for 15 minutes.
Remove the cookies and cool completely on the tray before moving to a cooling rack. (see notes)

Notes

Gram flour - This is also known as Besan in South Asia and is made from split brown chickpeas, known as Chana Dal. It's similar to chickpea flour, made from garbanzo beans, and the two can be substituted if necessary.

Cardamom - I prefer fresh whole cardamom pods to store-bought powder. Take the pods, split them using a mortar and pestle, and remove the seeds. Discard the husks and grind the seeds to a coarse powder. This aroma is much more pungent than store-bought cardamom powder, but if it's more convenient, use 1 tsp of the powder.

Mixing The Cookies - I use a Kitchen Aid with a paddle attachment for mixing my cookie dough. Start at speed 2 and work your way up to speed 4. A hand mixer or a food processor with a dough blade can also be used. If you don't have a lot of appliances, the dough can be mixed by hand as well.

Cooling The Cookies - Since the cookies are made of ghee, they must be cooled properly so the fat has time to solidify. They may seem too soft at first, but it's best to remove them from the oven after 20 minutes and let them cool for an hour before consuming them.

Nutrition