Nankhatai / Narayan Katar / Eggless Cookies

My first memories of nankhatais are of the store-bought ones which used to be hard to bite into and that's how I thought nankhatais should be. Then my aunt started making them. Melt-in-the-mouth goodies with a subtle tinge of  golden brown on the otherwise off-white outsides which would assure you that they are baked just a minute longer - exactly the way I love them. During my last India trip my aunt packed some nankhatais for me to take to my in-laws' place. Guess who ended up eating most of them - ME!

My aunt gave me the recipe of these lovelies in grams for about 7 dozen of them! I did some rough conversions, scaled down the proportions and came up with the following cup measures. Luckily they came pretty close to how my aunt makes them but still need some tweaking.

Ingredients :

1 1/4 cup maida (all purpose flour)

3 tbsp besan (gram flour. If not available, replace with maida)

1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup (packed) powdered sugar

6 to 7 tbsp (little less than 1/2 cup) fairly hot ghee

1/2 tsp cardamom  powder

Method :

Combine maida, besan and baking soda. Use a large sieve to sift them.

To the above, add powdered sugar and cardomom powder and mix well. Add ghee little by little and knead into a dough.  If it is difficult to knead, just push the dough to the side of the vessel, press with your palm and knead.

[The ghee should be hot but shouldn't burn your fingers. Do not pour ghee all at once. Add about a tablespoon at a time and knead into a dough. If the dough turns out too sticky you can refrigerate it for half an hour.]

Keep aside for about an hour. 

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (180ºC)

Line a baking tray with parchment paper. Make equal sized balls of the dough [ I used a table spoon measure to make the balls, that way you can make them equal sized].

Place on the parchment paper atleast 2 inches apart. Flatten a little [flatter ones have a better texture compared to round ones].

Bake for 19 to 20 minutes. Makes about 18 cookies.

Next time I meet Nandini Pachi, I'm going to get the exact cup measures of these beauties. Until then, enjoy these!

Baby / Toddler Food - Khichdi

Two years back at this time when I introduced my son to vegetables, I was indeed fortunate that he took to them easily. Now that he has grown up a little bit and has experienced tastier food in life (read chocolates, chips and cheese), it can sometimes be a challenge to make the vegetables look good. However, he seems to like khichdi and eats it with (usually) no fuss. Is it the ghee, I wonder. No complaints there. Ghee is good, say the elders and don't hesitate to drizzle a generous amount on baby food. I have to admit ghee adds a great flavour to this dish, which otherwise can be pretty bland with just rice, dal and some veggies thrown in.  After my son was comfortable with spices in his food, I started adding some of them. I sometimes add roasted whole jeera, powdered ajwain etc.You may want to avoid the spices if your baby is too small. Also, If your baby is not able to bite properly, mash well before feeding.

Ingredients :
[This quantity usually lasts him for two meals.]

1/4 cup rice (uncooked)
2 tbsp moong dal
1/2 cup chopped carrots / beans / frozen (cooked) green peas, thawed or a combination of veggies of your choice
2 tsp ghee
Salt
1 pinch turmeric (optional)
1/4 tsp jeera powder (optional)
1 pinch chilli powder (optional)
[Adjust the spices according to your child's preference]

Method :
Combine all the ingredients and add 2 cups water. Cook in a pressure cooker for 3 to 4 whistles or until completely cooked.

Drizzle some more ghee on top if desired.