June 05, 2007

EGGLESS SOOJI NANKHATAI



I have been trying to eliminate the use of eggs in my baking,of late. I think my tastes are changing these days.I came across a recipe for cookies made with semolina which sounded very different to me.It does not even have baking powder or baking soda.How different?well,read on:I made changes to the recipe to suit my taste and working methods.

Ingredients:125 gms margarine/butter(I used Flora original spread)

150 gms all purpose or plain flour/maida

75 gms Semolina/sooji(the one used for upmas etc)

75 gms soft brown sugar/raw cane sugar/light brown sugar

25 gms ground almonds

1 tsp vanilla essence

8-9 pods of elaichi/green cardamom,powdered

Method:Preheat the oven to 375F/190C/Gas mark 5


Beat the margarine with the sugar until light and fluffy.Add the vanilla essence and

Mix the flour,semolina and ground almonds.

Add this into the margarine-brown sugar mix in two batches,mixing well to form a dough.

Knead lightly to a tight dough.Make sure that the dough does not stick to your hands.

Oil a baking sheet lightly or use a greaseproof paper to line it.

Make 3/4 inch diameter balls of the dough and flatten a little with your palms.Place it on the baking sheet.

Do this for all the cookies.Then use the tines of a fork to press the cookies vertically as well as horizontally,making a check pattern on top.Bake for 20-25 mins.In my oven it took 25 mins.

Take out the cookies when you see the sides browning lightly.They will still be soft but don't be disheartened.These cookies dry up fairly well as they cool and take on a nice crunch once they are completely cooled.

My Notes:These cookies turned out great,not too sweet either.Great accompaniment to tea or coffee.For all my readers wondering what to do if you cnnot find brown sugar,simply substitute with white sugar.Normally in India the sugar is of larger granules,and if that is the case with you,all you need to do is to run it through your food processor to make a powder of the sugar.

21 comments:

Seema Bhat said...

Vini,
Beautiful nankhatai. Looks like store bought cookies. I never add sooji when I make nan katai. Will save it and try it out soon. Thanx for such a wonderful recipe Vini.

Roopa said...

yummy Vini, these look so good wonderfull color.

Richa said...

wow! that is such an unique recipe! nankhatai looks YUM!

Coffee said...

WAH!!!!! Nankhatais raining everywhere!!!! I just saw one at roopa's!

Your eggless version looks cool! :)

Sia said...

u r a wonderful baker vini and i always enjoy reading ur recipes... this one is no exception and eggless recipes are always welcome:) my amma makes nankatai using maida and never heard of one using sooji. beautiful looking cookies...

FH said...

Yummy! I love the pattern on the cookies Vini.Good to see you cooking again err.. blogging I should say.Got to cook everyday for the family!:))
Looks great.I made some too,Coffee will shocked!;D

Vini K said...

Seema,thanks dear.Actually it is a kind of cookie but I named it nankhatai..hee hee.But tastes really nice and crunchy.do try and let me know.

Roopa,Richa,Cofee:Thanks girls!:)

Sups:You are such a sweet girl!thanks dear.actually these are cookies that I adapted and renamed:)

Asha,thanks so much!looks like I am becoming busy with every passing day.Trying to cook new recipes but mostly it is convenience food like pasta adn thinks like that for us these days:)My little A has been giving me a lot of trouble for eating lately.I am getting into the gear again now.so hopefully you'll see more from me in the coming days:)

TNL said...

I love the way they look, Vini......and eggless.....so its perfect!

hope you're well....

:)
hugs,trupti

USHA said...

Hi Vini,

Good to see your post with wonderful, perfect eggless cookies...Really looks great.

swapna susarla said...

WOW vinik
u are amazing.awesome recipe.chetulu durada pedutunnayi try cheyyamani.hee heeee...
how is aneena?hope she is doing well in school.sunil has told me that she got the UK accent.wonderfull.take care.

Sharmi said...

I would love to make this. brown sugar is the normal brown sugar right. what is soft brown sugar?

Vini K said...

Hi Trupti,thanks dear.I am fine,just catching up with lots of backlog work at home since A is now going to nursery..

Usha,thanks dear,Try them.I am sure you will like it.

Swapna,what are you waiting for?try it sometime.yes,A is liking her school now and getting UK accent alright..hee hee

Sharmi,I just edited my post to mention that it is light brown sugar.Normally brown sugar is available in both dark and light varieties,this recipe uses light brown sugar.Bt you could use normal white sugar too if you cannot find brown sugar.Do try them .

Viji said...

Nice cookies Vini. Hope you are doing fine. Viji

Bharathy said...

I saw nankatta recipe in Roopa's lately..Good recipe,that too eggless..thanx for sharing,Vini.

Suma Gandlur said...

Vini,
Lovely nankhatais.I have never tried them with sooji. Today I am craving something for sweet. Will try yours.

Prema Sundar said...

looks perfect . thanks for the eggless version.

Rachna said...

these nankhatai look so good, that too eggless...bookmarked to try....

Anonymous said...

Tried this recipe today... my first ever try at baking... they turned out ok for the first try...In my oven they turned brown in 7 mins at 190!!!... but I thought it's too early...so left it for a few more mins ... so the base became dark brown...:( but no burnt taste anyway...:) The cookies were extremely crunchy & tastes good... will try again soon but with lower temp...:) Thanks for the recipe...:)

Anonymous said...

Hi Vini,

This is my first visit to your site. I tried your nankhatai and they were fabulous. I made 2 batches one with almond flour another with powdered pistas. I've tried several versions of this fav cookie but yours has given the best result. Thanks for sharing the recipe with us!

Vini K said...

Hi Latha,thanks for the feedback.I am glad that they turned out good for you.Infact,I was thinking of making them for the coming chirstmas:)enjoy!

Anonymous said...

Thank you soooo much for putting a recipe for these biscuits up which used measurements British people could follow! All other recipes measure in cups, so i'm really grateful and look forward to making them!