Vegan Besan Nankhatai with Coconut Oil, Cardamom and Pistachios
Crumbly vegan nankhatai made with roasted besan, refined coconut oil and a little semolina for crunch, scented with cardamom and topped with pistachios.
- Prep
- 20 min
- Cook
- 25 min
- Rest
- 45 min
- Serves
- 16
Vegan Besan Nankhatai with Coconut Oil, Cardamom and Pistachios is a vegan dessert recipe made with chickpea flour (besan), all-purpose flour, fine semolina (sooji). It takes 45 minutes of hands-on time, plus 45 minutes resting, serves 16, and each serving has 129 calories, 2 g of protein and 1 g of fiber.
This version uses equal parts chickpea flour and all-purpose flour, so the cookies taste distinctly nutty, closer to besan ladoo than plain shortbread. Dry-roasting the besan first removes its raw, beany edge, and refined coconut oil, creamed while soft and scoopable, gives the same melt-in-the-mouth crumb as ghee without any coconut flavor. A short chill keeps the dough from spreading, and the cookies keep well enough to bake ahead for a Diwali cookie box.
A dietary (fully vegan with refined coconut oil instead of ghee) + flavor profile (nuttier, higher ratio of roasted besan with semolina crunch for a Diwali cookie box) take on our Eggless Nankhatai (Indian Shortbread Cookies) with Ghee, Cardamom and Pistachios.
Ingredients
- ¾ cup69 gchickpea flour (besan), sifted
- ¾ cup94 gall-purpose flour
- 2 tbsp21 gfine semolina (sooji)
- ½ cup109 grefined coconut oil, soft but solid (not melted), Refined oil has no coconut taste; it should be scoopable, like soft butter.
- ⅔ cup80 gpowdered sugar, sifted, Check the label if you avoid bone-char-refined sugar.
- ¾ tsp1.5 gground cardamom, freshly ground if possible
- ¼ tsp1.2 gbaking soda
- ¼ tsp1.5 gfine salt
- 1 tbsp15 gunsweetened oat milk or other plant milk, only as needed to bind (optional)
Topping
- 2 tbsp15 gunsalted pistachios, roughly chopped
Kit: skillet, mixing bowl, hand mixer or wooden spoon, baking sheet, parchment paper, wire rack
Tips
- Coconut oil melts at around 76°F (24°C). In a warm kitchen, handle the dough quickly and don't skip the chill, or the cookies will spread flat.
- Roast the besan on low heat and keep it moving. It goes from nutty to bitter quickly once it starts to brown.
- Weigh the flours if you can; a heavy hand with cup measures makes the dough dry and the cookies sandy rather than tender.
- For a cookie box, let the cookies cool completely before packing and layer them between parchment so the pistachio tops don't get knocked off.
Swap ideas
- Use vegan butter (block style) instead of coconut oil
- Gives a more buttery flavor; the cookies spread a little more because of the water content, so skip the plant milk.
- Use chopped almonds or cashews instead of pistachios
- Same crunch on top with a milder, sweeter nut flavor.
- Add a pinch of crushed saffron or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg with the cardamom
- Gives a richer, more festive mithai-style aroma.
- Replace the semolina with an extra 2 tbsp all-purpose flour
- A softer, more uniformly melt-in-the-mouth cookie without the slight sandy crunch.
The numbers
Nutrition per serving
129kcal per serving
Everything else · 16 servings per recipe
- Saturated fat
- 5.7 g 29%
- Sugars
- 5.4 g
- Sodium
- 59 mg 3%
- Potassium
- 56 mg 1%
- Calcium
- 5 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: Chickpea flour (besan), Wheat flour, white, all-purpose, enriched, bleached, 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., Oil, coconut, Sugars, powdered, Spices, cardamom, Leavening agents, baking soda, Salt, table, Nuts, pistachio nuts, raw
Method
Put the chickpea flour in a dry skillet over low heat and roast, stirring constantly, until it darkens a shade and smells toasty and nutty, 6–8 minutes. Tip it into a bowl straight away so it doesn't scorch, and let it cool completely, about 15 minutes.
Whisk the cooled chickpea flour with the all-purpose flour, semolina, cardamom, baking soda and salt, breaking up any lumps of besan.
In a mixing bowl, beat the soft coconut oil and powdered sugar with a hand mixer or wooden spoon until pale, creamy and fluffy, 2–3 minutes. If the oil is liquid, chill it for 10–15 minutes until it firms to a soft, scoopable paste first.
Add the flour mixture and work it in with a spatula, then your fingertips, until a soft dough forms that holds together when squeezed. If it stays crumbly, add the plant milk 1 teaspoon at a time; stop as soon as it comes together and don't knead.
Divide into 16 portions (about 1 tablespoon or 25 g each) and roll into smooth balls. Place 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet, flatten each slightly to about 3/4 inch thick, and press a pinch of chopped pistachios firmly into the top.
Chill the tray for 20 minutes so the coconut oil firms up. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325°F (165°C) with a rack in the middle.
Bake until the tops are matte and lightly crackled and the bottoms are light golden, 16–18 minutes. The tops should stay pale; don't wait for them to brown.
Leave the cookies on the tray for 10 minutes, as they are very fragile while hot, then move to a rack and cool completely. They crisp up and turn crumbly as they cool.
Storage: Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks; in a hot kitchen, keep them in the fridge so the coconut oil stays firm. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature.
Questions
- How much protein is in vegan besan nankhatai with coconut oil, cardamom and pistachios?
- Each of the 16 servings has 2 g of protein, 1 g of fiber and 129 calories, calculated from USDA FoodData Central values for every ingredient.
- Is vegan besan nankhatai with coconut oil, cardamom and pistachios vegan?
- Yes. It contains no dairy, eggs, honey or other animal products.
- How long does vegan besan nankhatai with coconut oil, cardamom and pistachios take to make?
- 20 minutes of prep and 25 minutes of cooking, so 45 minutes of hands-on time, plus 45 minutes of unattended resting.
- Can you make vegan besan nankhatai with coconut oil, cardamom and pistachios ahead?
- Store in an airtight container at cool room temperature for up to 2 weeks; in a hot kitchen, keep them in the fridge so the coconut oil stays firm. Freeze baked cookies for up to 2 months and thaw at room temperature.
- What can I substitute in vegan besan nankhatai with coconut oil, cardamom and pistachios?
- Use vegan butter (block style) instead of coconut oil — gives a more buttery flavor; the cookies spread a little more because of the water content, so skip the plant milk.. Use chopped almonds or cashews instead of pistachios — same crunch on top with a milder, sweeter nut flavor.. Add a pinch of crushed saffron or 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg with the cardamom — gives a richer, more festive mithai-style aroma.. Replace the semolina with an extra 2 tbsp all-purpose flour — a softer, more uniformly melt-in-the-mouth cookie without the slight sandy crunch..
- Does vegan besan nankhatai with coconut oil, 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 20, 2026 ·Indian
