Jumbo besan ke nankhatai (Indian short-bread cookies)

As the story goes nankhatai was invented by Mr.Dotiwala in Surat when he was handed over a bakery owned by few Dutches.Thanks to him that we can proudly flaunt our very own Indian short-bread cookie to the world.These cookies are very delicious,soft and crumbly with tiny cracks on top.But sadly with time the importance of nankhatai is losing it's worth in front of the fancy cookies and biscuits that various companies are bringing in the market these days.There might be a time when nankhatai might be an extinct  name in the culinary world.But let's not be pessimist right away.So reviving our childhood memories and the aroma of freshly baked melt's-in-you-mouth nankhatai here i present to you jumbo besan ki nankhatai.These cookies are the size of your palms perfect for your cookie cravings.But if you don't like to stuff yourself with such big cookies you can even make tiny ones.Traditionally or as others do they put pistachios or almonds on top.But i didn't have neither of the two hence it was cherry on top at last.I was Inspired by Nisha madhullika ji's recipe of making nakhatai's without oven.Thanks to her easy peasy wonderful recipe.

Ingredients Serves-3 jumbo cookies

• 1 cup besan or chickpea flour
• 1/2 cup melted ghee or clarified butter 
• 1/2 cup powdered or icing sugar
• Cardamom powder of 2-3 cardamom pods
• 1/2 tsp of baking powder
• Cherries for garnish
• Butter paper or butter or ghee for greasing

Method

1.Sift chickpea flour,icing sugar,cardamom powder,baking powder in a bowl.Add in the clarified butter and knead it into a soft dough.Don't add the whole amount of ghee at once.Add in portions.Once the dough forms stop adding any further ghee into it.(When i made these cookies around 3 tbsp's of ghee were still left)

 2.Take large portion of the dough and form into a ball.Slightly press them between your palms.Add a cherry on top.

3.Meanwhile heat up the cooker(remove the whistle and gasket) on medium flame for 5 minutes with a stand or wire rack on top.(I used a small cake tin)

4.Take a plate and grease it with butter or ghee or use butter paper inside and place your cookies.I used my cake tin to place the cookies.I could bake only 1 cookie at a time as both my cooker and cake tin are small.

5.Once the cooker is pre-heated add in the plate with cookies inside,And let it bake for 15 minutes.Your yummy nankhatai's are ready.Take a glass of milk dunk them into it and Eat it up! :)

Tips:-

1. For baking in a microwave with convection mode preheat the oven for 10 minutes and bake the cookies for 15 minutes at 180 degrees.Keep an eye on them.
2. Once the cookies are baked the exterior will be very soft.Let it cool for a while.The texture of the cookie should be soft and not crisp like a biscuit.They taste even better the next day.
3. I baked one of the cookie(in the picture) a little longer for a good browning on top.The bottom surface got a little dark brown and there were more cracks than those which were baked only for 15 minutes.Nothing to fear even they taste great.But when i say dark brown i literally mean dark brown and not burnt brown.Don't burn them in order to have a browning on top.