‘Nankatayi’ can be called as Indian biscuits. I had thought this is a Konkani name, but recently I came across this name in many of the food blogs. So I guess this dish does not need any introduction.
When I was a kid, I was a big fan of Nankatayi. We had the round oven aluminum base and glass top, I haven’t seen any such ovens anywhere these days) at home. It used to take ages to bake anything and with the power fluctuations and power cuts at our village, things became worst over time. After getting the oven repaired for many times, finally mom stopped using it 
.
Her Nankatayis were the best I have ever had. I guess it is mostly because of the prolonged procedure she used to follow. She used to make the dough in the morning and start baking in the evening, allowing the dough to ‘stand’ for 4-5 hrs. When I prepared them here, I cut down the ‘standing’ time to 30mins (because I was in a hurry). Still they turned out great 
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Ingredients:
Maida/all purpose flour 2 cups
Powdered sugar 1 cup
Vanaspati/ghee 1 cup
Baking soda 1 tea spn
Cardamom powder(optional) 1/4 tea spn
Method:
Heat vanaspati/ghee till it melts and add it to flour. Mix all other ingredients. (Do not add water). Take all the mixture to one side of the bowl (press it using hand, there should not be any gaps in the dough) as shown below. Leave the mixture for 4-5 hrs.
Make small rounds with the mixture (this requires a bit of patience. Since this dough is very loose, it breaks easily while making balls. So apply a bit of ghee to the hands and apply pressure with hands while making the balls). Keep the balls on a greased oven proof dish (or on a parchment paper).
Bake in preheated oven at 300F for around 30-40 mins (till the nankatayis get a few cracks on the top).
Makes around 15-20
Preparation time : 30mins (excluding the ‘standing’ and baking time)
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99 Responses to Nankatayi
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hi Shilpa,
i tried this recipie but i had the same problem what “mike” described. did u mean i cup of melted ghee? because i measured the 1 cup of ghee before melting. the dough was not dry but extremely wet. so i added half cup more sugar and maida. after leaving it for 4 hours it had turned very hard. but somehow i managed making the small balls out of it. after keeping in the oven for 40 mins still it wasnt baked properly.it had few cracks so when i touched them to c if it was baked, it stuck to my finger as the top portion was still moist.. it was like powder on my finger. i baked it for some more time abt 20 mins but it did not bake properly.
any idea what went wrong?
Shilpa: Brin, I am not sure what went wrong. 3 cups of dry ingredients and 1 cup of wet ingredient should make a very dry dough. I don’t understand how it makes a wet dough, unless granulated sugar is used(or measurements are not right). Actually here dough is so dry that it is hard to make balls out of it. If you touch them when they are hot, it will stick to your fingers, you have to let it cool. I am wondering how they din’t get burnt after you baked them for 60mins!!!!.
Hi Shilpa,
Actually it was all so funny.. when the nankatayis did not get baked properly in first 40 mins, i kept on adding 10 mins to it n checking it whether its geting baked. this way i might have gove above 60 mins infact!!. then i saw that the house was looking preety smokey n had some burning smell of wax n suddenly the fire alarm went on. n i was so scared what to do. i first put off the oven started to get rid of the smoke… nothing major happened only few of them had little black color on the bottom of it.
actually m very new to using this oven n in baking myself so maybe i might have made some mistake in operating it.
thank u anyways.. i keep on visiting ur site though i cant prepare most of it.. everything looks so yummy!!
hi shilpa
thanks for this so easy recipe.can u also tell me how to cook wheat flour biscuits at home as my kids are fond of the biscuits.
Hi Shilpa,
These look awesome.
U and ur site rocks!!I’ll deffi try them out.
I have one query though. If I substitute the plain flour with Ragi flour, will it make good ragi cookies?
My son is 18 mths old and I’m generally trying to give him healthier stuff, so wondering.
TIA.
Shilpa: I have a ragi cookie recipe with me which is almost similar. So I think it should work out.
Hi Shilpa,
Thanks a ton for the recipe.
Nice pics too.
I madxe it 2day waiting them to bake, lets c how they turn up. My dough was not very dry as u mentioned it was quite loose more like a roti dough , i used the same proportion as u said n also powdered sugar.Plz tell me where i went wrong, the dough was tasting good . The nankatayi are now in the oven will tell u once they are ready.
thank you for recipes can you please show me how to bake egg less cake
Thanks for your Nankatai recipe. I tried it and it out good. but not crispy as much as. do u have any idae why it happened
Hii Shilpa,
tried these cookies yesterday and it turned out great.
i have a small doubt can we reduce the temp for baking the cookies.
I followed your instructions and baked them for 30 min. but few biscuits were over baked.
Can you please tell me the solution for this…
looks very appealing..am trying this soon
hii !!
This blog is simply awesome…Thanks for sharing wonderful recepies with oll of us!!
I am new to baking. I’ve a common question like other readers about preheating. I am using samsung’s microwave. i want to know for how much time the oven be preheated at 350F (150C) ?
After preheating should the balls be kept immediately in the oven?
Thanks in advance
Hi Shilpa,
R u sure it needs to be in the oven for 30-40min mine took a lot less about 20min… It definitely tastes great. I made a smaller batch so if it were go be a disaster then it would just be a small one….
Thanks!
Hi
i want to know how much temp should be set to bake the cookies?also i m using elecrolux microwave which mode is suitable to bake the cookies?
Shilpa: As I have mentioned in above post, set it to 300F. Use the convention mode for baking. I am not aware of functionality of any particular brand. Sorry
Hi Shilpa
thnx for dis recipe & a wondeful site… i tries so manythings from ue site & results r always cms gud..thnx Shilpa.. Now tell me can i use Non salted butter or pure desi ghee for dis recipe? actualy i don’t get vanaspati ghee here in dis country.. so i was wondering to use desi ghee/butter instead of vanaspati?
plz do rply coz i want to try dis recipe soon… thnx
Shilpa: Yes, you can use ghee or butter of same quantity.
hi shilpa
Recently tried ur biscuits again ….they came out really good….when i tried for the first time i couldnt figure out whre i went wrong…..but for the second time they came out just perfectly as i wished them to be….Thanks once again for ur recipe.
Hi Shilpa,
Not sure if you will see this. But is this the same white biscuit in India which has a small red tuty fruity on it?
Do you know how to make Britannia milk bikis?
Thanks and look forward to your reply.
Sunil
Shilpa: No, its not same, they have slightly different taste. I will post if I find the recipe of brittania bikis.
I made this and it was very yummy. thanks a lot.
Easy recipe. I am trying this right now. My first batch of cookies came out ok. They didnt have cracks and slightly brownish. But, they tasted fine.!
Hi Shilpa,
I tried these biscuits……..it was really yummy……the bottom did turn a little brown but it did not affect the taste…….This is the first dish that I have done and it was too good…
thanks
I just ate one………..there is some salty taste……….can u guess why?……….would be helpful
Shilpa: Did you use salted butter or something?
Thanks for sharing this recipe. In my childhood days we too had an aluminum oven with a round glass window. So happy to know you had a similar one. You are right, dont get to see it these days.
Thank you.
my mothers makes this nankatayi. but i want to know if i can make it in microwave, as i don’t have a oven to pre-heat.
thanks
Shilpa: You can try making them in microwave(Try with a small batch first). I haven’t tried it, so can’t give more details. Sorry.
Hi, Shilpa,
The nankatayis were reaaally very tasty.The whole batch finished within a day.I added whole wheat flour 1/4 cup,due to which I got golden coloured nankatayi ,also some demarara sugar was added [ 2 Tbs ]which gave a crunchy taste.
Thanks
Hi Shilpa,
Tried NaraynKatar:) it came out perfect! Thanks for teh recipe
Hi ,
Very useful recipe !!! Thanks from Sri Lanka.
Asoka ! ~
Hi Shilpa,
This recipe of yours reminds me of my childhood days. I just wanted to know if we can substitute vanaspati with Crisco shortening? It would be great if you could let me know about this as I am very eager to try out this recipe. Thanks in advance.
Shilpa: Yes,you can use Crisco shortening.
i made them and they turned out great
thnx for such recipes that make a person love baking
yesterday i tried dates cake receipe and it turned out very good, it was my first time in making this cake and also trying my electric oven. i used eno fruit salt instead of baking soda but anyway it turned out good. so i thought to share this with u.
Hi,
Looks really yummy Iwldlike to know the degree for pre-heating and 300F is how much celsius…..cos my owen has only in Celsius degree not farheniet.
Regds,
Shilpa: 148C. Btw, if you type “300 F in Celsius” in google and hit search, it gives you the conversion.
Hi, I always wanted to eat those nankatayis ..i m based in uae * & muscat for past 13 years good i saw this website recently…am in love with your website…. as i am away from home and i miss Mumbai..
Would you be able to show PAV – REceipe…
waiting to see the receipe next time round…chao
Barra vatlaley …..thanks to AAI
Hi Shilpa,
I am from Karkala in Udupi district and love konkani food. Your website is something which i use everyday now. Thanks for sharing all the recipes. By any chance, do you have recipe of Laabu Curry. Laambu is the round white mushroom we get in South canara before rainy season.
Hi Shilpa ! great recipe can u please also mention the Celsius equivalent in your future recipes ….thanx
i just love nankatai… even after marriage… i tell mom to prepare them for me… even my husband loves them… he tho eats 4-5 one after another at times…. i just love d aroma when its almost done…. i remember mom preparing it in d round oven… n even now wid latest tech… she prepares d delicious ones…
Is there is any way to use substitute for Vanaspati/ghee.. today i tried with half oil and half margarine . but i am not satisfied with the result .
Shilpa: Sorry, I don’t know. As far as i know, oil won’t work in this.
your method is good but i need microwave,s nankhatie is how can make.
i remember going to a bakery at evening time with the dove prepared and rounded. they would put nankatie in the cold oven (bhatti).
really tasty treat. no cokies taste like them
i have a OTG of morphy richard and i want to make nankhatayi it have a maximum heating temperature 250.I would like to ask you few things written below:
1) What temperature i have to preheat
2) how much time for baking i have to give.
3) I also want to know what indian baking items can be made in OTG as i am a pure vegetarain.
4) can we make naan & tandoor roti in OTG
Shilpa: The temperatures I have mentioned on this site are in F. Looks like your oven has temperatures in Celcius. So convert the temperatures accordingly. You can make vegetable kababs/naan etc.
made these today..they are good…even kids liked them
Hello,
Thank you for this wonderful recipe. I had been looking for a recipe which did not ask for Dalda/vanaspati as its difficult to find it abroad (I live in UK). The nankhatayi turned out great and I have now tried a variation using half and half wholemeal flour and plain flour and also adding ragi flour. I have to mention that when i mixed the wholemeal flour and ragi flour, the mixture was wet as compared to the one with just plain flour. I added some more plain flour and the nankhatayis still came out well. I saw a few comments which said that their mixture was too wet, so maybe adding some more flour upto another 1/4 cup or slightly more to get a working consistency might help. I increased the temperature to 200 degrees Celsius and they got done in around 12 minutes.
Thank you once again.
Cheers
Gayatri
namaskara !! tried these out today and the first batch got over as soon as it was out of the oven !!! really yum !!! i did not keep the dough for 4- 5 hours but baked it immediately.
my daughter made the second batch adding two spoons of cocoa powder to make a batch of chocolate nankhatyi and they are just as delicious. she is so excited…
thanks a lot.
vidya
Hi Shilpa,
I baked the cookies now and savoring them as they are warm.. they are yummy. They remind me of my bakery in Bangalore where I used to get them from! Thanks much.
hi shilpa how r u? hey dear by mistake i put atta powder i mean whole wheat powder ryt now dont know wht to do…..feel like throwin it but also dont feel like throwin…..hey shipa plz help me urgent!!!!!!!!! plz plz…first time i am cooki biscuit….hmmmm went wrong …..
shilpa if i cant prepare cookie in this dough …for wht can i use this batter or dough …can i prepare anything else in this dough….bcoz i dont want to throw it…plz help…….
I would have tried to bake the same and see how it works. I don’t know if it will work or not.
Hi tried them out but my 1 st batch were badly burnt at the bottom:(…………so reduced the heat and time and they came out OK………but i could not get the white colour,they were cream colour,do u think it is b cos of excess ghee??
also should v wait for ghee to cool down a bit or is it ok 2 add immediately??
You can add ghee immediately. Yes, I guess color was due to ghee
Hi Shilpa
I tried to make them twice without success. I used “bura” instead of powdered sugar. Both the times the nan khatai’s simply turned flat and refused to cook. The end product was cookie shaped and too soft.
Cooked them for a longer duration and still the same thing!…they were extremely soft and undercooked. Do u have a clue as to what could be the possible reason? Why are they turning flat and soft!?
Sorry, I have no idea how bura works.
Can you suggest how to reduce the calorie content?
Thanks!
Shilpa- I made these for the first time a few weeks back using a very-similar recipe- they are awesome, and yours are beautiful!