Naan Khataai- Desi Sugar Cookies

I'm entirely in love with these soft, buttery, sugary, aromatic, melt-in-your-mouth cookies! They're known to be a winter's delicacy for their richness but you can enjoy them all year round. The memory of tasting them for the first time goes back to me as a little girl on a visit to Pakistan during winters. A tea-time spread was prepared for some guests at my Dadi Ma Jee's house (maternal grandmother) and along with Gajjer ka Halwa, hard boiled eggs; halved and sprinkled with salt grains and freshly ground black pepper powder, there was a plate of these Khatais as well but my Dadi Ma Jee called them Khand Kulchay (Khand is sugar in Punjabi and Kulchay is soft baked bread that's made in a Tandoor, a large clay oven) Those treats were served with Kashmiri Sabz Chai (a traditional tea from Kashmir region which is pink in color) and believe me, the flavor of these delectable goodies beautifully complements with Kashmiri Sabz Chai .
So back to the time I dunked that sweet Desi sugary treat into my lukewarm cup of Sabz chai; as I was a kid but totally obsessed with tea so a special favor was bestowed upon me by providing me with not a piping hot cup of tea :D besides, my love affair with tea started at a very young age and my mom should be blamed for it which she is guilty of doing and expresses her ruefulness about quite regularly :P
Anyway, the moment I gobbled down that sweet cookie, soaked in saltish Chai, I found it very pleasant! But I became an ardent lover of it no sooner than after becoming an adult, specially after I learnt to make these from a random cooking show coming on the national TV channel :) I did tweak it a bit so here I present to you my take on making these delights. You can say its one of my specialties that I do make a couple of times during winters and store them in an air-tight box, but that's another thing that they don't last long in there ;)

Ready to unleash the cooks? Here we go :D

Freshly baked Naan Khatais served with Sabz Chai 

Naan Khataai (Desi Sugar Cookies)

Ingredients:

Flour: 2 cups
Semolina: 1/2 cup
Powdered Sugar: 3/4 cup
Ghee (clarified butter): 3/4 cup
Green cardamom powder: 1/2 tsp
Baking powder: 1/2 tsp
Salt: 1/4 tsp
Egg: 1 (beaten)

Almonds or any nut of your choice: for garnishing

Method:

1. Preheat the oven at 180C/350F/Gas mark 4. 
2. Mix ghee and powdered sugar together till creamy (this step can be done in a food-processor) 
3. Mix all the dry ingredients to the creamy mixture. 
4. Pulse or knead with your hands till everything comes together and a dough is formed. 
5. Take out in a dry bowl, knead for a few seconds and keep aside for a few minutes (preferably at a cool place) 
6. Take a small portion of the dough, roll it into a smooth, crack-free ball and flatten it a bit like small cookies. 
7. Place the prepared cookie on a baking tray/sheet. Prepare all the Khataais following the same way and place them on the baking tray/sheet by keeping a little space between all of them. 
8. Make a small dimple/indentation in the middle of each Khataai with the help of your index finger and drop a little of the beaten each in each dimple/indentation. 
9. If garnishing with any nut, simply brush the Khataais with beaten egg and place a nut on each of them.
10. Bake in the preheated oven for 12-15 mins or till the egg turns golden brown. 
11. Let them cool down a bit before removing from the tray. 
12. Place on the wire rack to cool them completely. 
13. Serve with Chai (tea).
14. Can be stored for 7-10 days in an airtight container. Makes 18 approx

P.S: egg can be replaced with milk- just brush some milk on top of each khatai. 

That's all my dear readers! :) Baking time can always be adjusted according to the type of your ovens. I hope you enjoy making and eating them. Until next time, keep sharing the goodness of this greatest blessing, that has been bestowed in abundance upon us the lucky ones, with the less fortunate ones.
Thank you and please remember in your Du'as/prayers! :)

*Not be duplicated, rewritten or published without permission- Thank you! 


Kashmiri Sabz Chai