Besan nankhatai holds a special place in my heart. The Indian shortbread cookie (aka atta besan nankhatai) melts in the mouth and can be had as is. It's a favorite with kids and elders alike. I remember dad bringing home besan nankhatais every time he visited our local bakery and it would be a feast time for us all. My siblings and I would love to indulge in besan nankhatais and even the maida ones. Back then, maida was not seen as a dragon in my culinary world.
Sweetened with natural cane sugar, the khatai is a perfect medley of rustic flavors imparted by besan or chickpea flour. Its fusion with choco chips delivers a powerful chocolaty punch to the otherwise plain khatais. Kids might be tempted to compare these with their favorite chocolate chip cookies homemade healthy.
What makes this nankhatai different from my previous attempts?
I feel it's an improvement in taste, texture over my previous nankhatai recipe, which was a hit with many of you as well as my darling Paro.
I am delighted with the result.
Jaggery and any other natural sweetener tend to raise blood glucose levels in the body as much as white sugar. So that means these are not diabetes-friendly sweeteners.
If you want to sweeten a goody for diabetics, always opt for organic stevia, which is zero carbs and zero calories and is 100% natural.
But now there has been a sea change in my life - the kid that I have always been craves for cookies even now but no longer enjoys market junk.
Yes, storebought stuff is no longer welcome home. Rather, I have chosen to motivate others to take to healthy eating and baking. Since cookies are an everyday indulgence, it is but critically important not to indulge in unhealthy stuff. Rather, the idea is to pick healthier ingredients so we know what all is going in the cookies.
We want to make bakes healthier so we can indulge in the goodness guilt-free. But does that mean you should indulge in baked goodies?
Of course not!
For me, one nankhatais or healthy homemade cookie is enough to satiate my cookie cravings.
Perhaps I have trained my mind to stop at one. But sometimes it gets iresistible, like this besan nankhatai.
Sweetened with natural cane sugar, the khatai is a perfect medley of rustic flavors imparted by besan or chickpea flour. Its fusion with choco chips delivers a powerful chocolaty punch to the otherwise plain khatais. Kids might be tempted to compare these with their favorite chocolate chip cookies homemade healthy.
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| eggless nankhatai besan atta |
I feel it's an improvement in taste, texture over my previous nankhatai recipe, which was a hit with many of you as well as my darling Paro.
I am delighted with the result.
The addition of choco chips makes these nankhatais a favorite with kids too.
Say No To Maida & White Sugar
I have already said a lot about maida or refined flour and its being a calorie-laden ingredient that you want to eliminate from your cookbook.
Maida finds no place at my home, nor does refined sugar, which is again a pack full of empty calories - drained of all the minerals that sugarcane is loaded with. Empty calories result in obesity.
Did you know 1 gram of sugar = 4 calories?
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| atta nankhatai whole wheat flour recipe |
Why Opt for Jaggery or Raw Cane Sugar?
Did you know sugarcane juice is a boon for those with jaundice and liver issues?
Enriched with minerals and antioxidants, pure sugarcane juice keeps bilirubin levels under control.
This is one prime reason I opt for jaggery powder or raw cane sugar instead of any other sweetener. It is highly alkaline and helps maintain low acid levels.
Jaggery contains all minerals and vitamins present in sugarcane. Now you understand the reason behind its dark tint. The darker the more enriched.
Jaggery is rich in calcium, potassium, and iron!
This also gives you reasons to quit white sugar - which is completely drained of all vitamins and minerals. Not only this, it undergoes a lot of processing, refining, and bleaching for that white color.
Refined sugar tends to cause blood sugar spike, without supplying your body with any nutrients.
Jaggery, on the other hand, or for that matter, raw cane sugar, have their mineral content intact. They are unrefined and raw and have not undergone processing or bleaching, which makes them a healthier alternative to refined sugar.
Jaggery = Sugar = Caloric Value = Not for Diabetics
However, when it comes to the calories supplied by each of these ingredients, they are on a par.
So what makes jaggery and raw cane sugar healthier than white sugar is the mineral content.
Additionally, it is a grave mistake not to associate jaggery or cane sugar with diabetes.
Remember, a diabetic needs to watch out on their calories. When calories come from simple carbs, such as white sugar and maida, they tend to take blood glucose levels up.
So diabetics need complex carbs that have fiber and are slowly absorbed by the body. As a result, they are not associated with blood sugar spike.
Jaggery and any other natural sweetener tend to raise blood glucose levels in the body as much as white sugar. So that means these are not diabetes-friendly sweeteners.
If you want to sweeten a goody for diabetics, always opt for organic stevia, which is zero carbs and zero calories and is 100% natural.
Stevia is a safer sweetener for diabetics. I always opt for organic stevia.
Let's come back to the besan atta nankhatai recipe, which should easily please your kids and elders. The inclusion of chocolate chips to these cookies takes the nankhatai to another level. I feel the combination of besan and chocolate is addictive. Do try out combining both.
You will love the result.
I have tried making a gluten-free chocolate cake with besan and it was oh so so so yummy.
You will love the result.
I have tried making a gluten-free chocolate cake with besan and it was oh so so so yummy.
Ingredients
1 cup=240ml
3 tbsp- ghee (solid)
1 tbsp- hung curd (thick curd- if you do not have curd, substitute with 1 tbsp extra of ghee)
1/4 cup- raw cane sugar/dry jaggery powder
1 tbsp- semolina
2 tbsp- besan (chickpea flour)
1/4 cup +2 tbsp - atta(whole wheat flour)
Did you know semolina is a rich source of carbs and proteins? Some consider it an equivalent of maida or all-purpose flour. But it is a wrong perception. Semolina is sourced from endosperm of durum wheat, which is pale yellow in color, though it lacks fiber, which comes from bran and is lost during processing.
How to make besan atta nankhatais
- Whip together solid ghee, hung curd, and raw cane sugar until fluffy and light.
- Sift besan, semolina and atta.
- Fold into the dough.
- DO NOT KNEAD. Kneading is a way to activate gluten in flour. If you knead a cookie dough, you are bound to get chewy cookies. There are several reasons your cookies turn out chewy. Kneading is perhaps one big reason for a beautiful cookie becoming chewy or soft. AVoid kneading cookie dough at any cost.
- The nankhatai dough has got to be pretty soft. However, make sure the balls are not too big.
- Cover the dough for 5 minutes and then make lime-sized balls.
- Press them gently with your thumb at the center.
- Insert chocolate chips and nuts in the center and along the sides.
- Bake or airfry in a preheated oven/airfryer/convection/otg (preheat for 10 mins at 160 degrees...airfryer for 5 mins only) for 15-20 minutes at 160 degrees.
- Remove on a cooling rack and let the nankhatais cool down.
- Enjoy fresh homemade goodies.
- Perhaps these do not have a match.
- What I like the most about nankhatais is the look of cracks!!
Do write to me when you try out these kid-friendly chocolate chip cookies with the goodness of chickpea flour, whole wheat flour, and semolina.
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