Eggless Nankhatai (Indian Shortbread Cookies) with Ghee, Cardamom and Pistachios
A simple nankhatai recipe for Diwali: crumbly eggless Indian shortbread made with ghee, chickpea flour and semolina, scented with cardamom and topped with pistachios.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 16 min
- Rest
- 35 min
- Serves
- 16
Eggless Nankhatai (Indian Shortbread Cookies) with Ghee, Cardamom and Pistachios is a vegetarian dessert recipe made with ghee, powdered sugar, all-purpose flour. It takes 36 minutes of hands-on time, plus 35 minutes resting, serves 16, and each serving has 122 calories, 2 g of protein and 1 g of fiber.
Nankhatai get their sandy, melt-away crumb from three flours: all-purpose for structure, chickpea flour for nutty flavor and a little semolina for crunch. Creaming soft (not melted) ghee with powdered sugar until pale traps air, so the cookies bake up light and crack on top. A short chill firms the ghee and keeps them from spreading flat.
Ingredients
- ½ cup102 gghee, soft and scoopable (not melted)
- ⅔ cup80 gpowdered sugar, sifted
- 1 cup125 gall-purpose flour
- ⅓ cup30 gchickpea flour (besan)
- 2 tbsp21 gfine semolina (sooji)
- ¾ tsp1.5 gground cardamom
- ¼ tsp1.2 gbaking soda
- 1 pinch0.4 gfine salt
- 2 tsp10 gmilk, only if the dough will not hold together (optional)
- 2 tbsp15 gunsalted pistachios, finely chopped, for topping
Kit: mixing bowl, whisk or hand mixer, fine-mesh sieve, baking sheet, parchment paper, wire rack
Tips
- The ghee should be the texture of soft butter. If yours is liquid, refrigerate it for 15–20 minutes and stir until it turns opaque and creamy before using.
- Weigh the flours if you can; too much flour is the usual reason the dough will not come together.
- For a nuttier flavor, dry-toast the chickpea flour in a skillet over low heat for 3–4 minutes until fragrant, then cool completely before using.
- If the dough balls crack badly at the edges when flattened, the dough is too cold or dry; warm it in your hands for a few seconds and reroll.
Swap ideas
- Use softened unsalted butter instead of ghee
- Milder, less nutty flavor and slightly more spread; chill the dough 30 minutes.
- Replace half the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour (atta)
- Earthier taste and a slightly denser, more crumbly cookie; you may need the extra teaspoon of milk.
- Top with sliced almonds or cashew halves instead of pistachios
- Same crunch with a different look and a milder nut flavor.
- Add a pinch of saffron crushed into the milk, or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
- Warmer, more festive aroma alongside the cardamom.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
122kcal per serving
Everything else · 16 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 4 g 20%
- Sugars
- 5.2 g
- Sodium
- 31 mg 1%
- Potassium
- 38 mg 1%
- Calcium
- 4 mg 0%
- Iron
- 0.6 mg 3%
- Vitamin C
- 0 mg 0%
- Vitamin B12
- 0 µg 0%
% Daily Value on a 2,000 calorie diet. Calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for each ingredient; optional ingredients are excluded. Estimates vary with brands and portions.
Sources: Butter oil, anhydrous, Sugars, powdered, Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached, Chickpea flour (besan), Semolina, enriched (USDA SR Legacy, Cereal Grains and Pasta), values as mirrored by getfoodfacts.com. The fdc.nal.usda.gov page itself could not be fetched., Spices, cardamom, Leavening agents, baking soda, Salt, table, Nuts, pistachio nuts, raw
Method
Put the soft ghee and sifted powdered sugar in a mixing bowl and beat with a whisk or hand mixer until pale, fluffy and noticeably lighter in color, 3–4 minutes by hand or about 2 minutes with a mixer.
Sift the all-purpose flour, chickpea flour, baking soda and salt into the bowl, then add the semolina and ground cardamom.
Mix with a spatula, then bring together with your hands just until a soft, smooth dough forms that holds when pressed. Do not knead. If it stays crumbly after a minute, work in the milk 1 teaspoon at a time.
Cover the bowl and chill for 20 minutes so the ghee firms up. Meanwhile heat the oven to 350°F (180°C) and line a baking sheet with parchment.
Divide the dough into 16 pieces (about 1 tablespoon each) and roll into smooth balls. Set them 2 inches apart on the sheet and flatten each slightly to a thick disc, about 1/2 inch tall.
Press a pinch of chopped pistachios into the center of each cookie so they stick.
Bake on the middle rack for 15–17 minutes, until the tops are cracked, dry to the touch and still pale, and the bottoms are light golden. They will feel soft; do not wait for the tops to brown.
Cool on the baking sheet for 15 minutes without moving them, since they are fragile while warm and crisp up as they cool. Transfer to a rack to cool completely before storing.
Storage: Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months, or freeze shaped dough balls and bake from frozen, adding 2–3 minutes.
Questions
- How much protein is in eggless nankhatai (indian shortbread cookies) with ghee, cardamom and pistachios?
- Each of the 16 servings has 2 g of protein, 1 g of fiber and 122 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is eggless nankhatai (indian shortbread cookies) with ghee, cardamom and pistachios vegan?
- No, it's vegetarian rather than vegan because it contains ghee and milk. Everything else in it is plant-based.
- How long does eggless nankhatai (indian shortbread cookies) with ghee, cardamom and pistachios take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 16 minutes of cooking, so 36 minutes of hands-on time, plus 35 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make eggless nankhatai (indian shortbread cookies) with ghee, cardamom and pistachios ahead?
- Cool completely, then store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 weeks. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months, or freeze shaped dough balls and bake from frozen, adding 2–3 minutes.
- What can I substitute in eggless nankhatai (indian shortbread cookies) with ghee, cardamom and pistachios?
- Use softened unsalted butter instead of ghee — milder, less nutty flavor and slightly more spread; chill the dough 30 minutes.. Replace half the all-purpose flour with whole-wheat flour (atta) — earthier taste and a slightly denser, more crumbly cookie; you may need the extra teaspoon of milk.. Top with sliced almonds or cashew halves instead of pistachios — same crunch with a different look and a milder nut flavor.. Add a pinch of saffron crushed into the milk, or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg — warmer, more festive aroma alongside the cardamom..
- Does eggless nankhatai (indian shortbread cookies) with ghee, cardamom and pistachios contain gluten or tree nuts?
- Yes — the ingredient list includes gluten and tree nuts, in some cases as an optional ingredient you can leave out. Check the labels on the products you buy if you're cooking for an allergy.
Nutrition is calculated from USDA data for every ingredient — how we work it out.
Published October 11, 2026 ·Indian
