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These oats vegan nankhatai are not only vegan but also refined sugar-free. Made with oat flour, besan and sooji, these are sweetened with maple syrup. The dough literally takes 10 minutes to come together and there can’t be an easier festive treat to make this Diwali. These will make great edible gifts for your friends and family as well.
One of the very first cookies that I tasted in my life was nankhatai, my maasi actually made it at home. Ovens were not a thing in India back then and she made them using the gas tandoor. I was pretty fascinated by that tandoor and also by the cookies. Since then, nankhatai have been one of my favorite treats to bake at home. I always bake them for Diwali and this year, I thought of giving them a twist and making them vegan and refined sugar-free.
It honestly took me a few trials to get what I was looking for. I used a combination of oat flour, sooji and besan. Sooji and besan are important to get that characteristic nankhatai flavor and in place of ghee, I used vegan butter which worked perfectly.
Let’s Make Vegan Nankhatai
- Mix the flour with butter
I have used 3 different types of flour here- oat flour (which you make by just grounding oats in a blender), besan and sooji. Also a little bit of salt to bring out the flavor together and cardamom powder for that classic nankhatai flavor. It’s very important to use fresh cardamom powder here made by grinding cardamom pods in your spice grinder (pass the powder through a strainer).
For fat, I used plant based butter which was a cashew and coconut oil spread but you can use your favorite brand. Mix butter until the mixture resembles crumbs.
- Mix the maple syrup
Add the maple syrup and mix again to form a dough. This dough will be sticky. I used the paddle attachment of my stand mixer to mix everything but you can also do this with your hands.
- Chill the dough before shaping
Since the dough is sticky, we need to chill it before shaping. Wrap with a cling sheet and chill in the refrigerator for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, take the dough out of the fridge and start shaping it into nankhatai. Take a small ball from the dough (around 25 grams) and roll between your palms to smoothen it out. Then press between your palms to flatten the dough. Shape all the nankhatais similarly. You will get 19 of them, around 25 grams each.
- Garnish & bake
Make an indent in the center with the back of a spoon. I used a 1/4 teaspoon measuring spoon. Place chopped pistachios and almonds in the center. Bake at 350 F for 18 to 20 minutes.
Can You Make Them Gluten Free?
Here’s the thing- I did not test this recipe with gluten free ingredients. But I can see that this recipe should work with gluten free ingredients. I would substitute the regular oats with gluten free oats and sooji with cornmeal. Follow rest of the recipe as is.
Manali’s Tips
I tested this recipe 4 times before finally settling in on this version. I first tested the recipe with more flour and less maple syrup. Then I thought it needed more besan and more syrup. Then I thought it needed some sooji and less baking time. So after multiple rounds here are some of my tips that can help:
- Use fresh cardamom powder: what I mean is that take green cardamom pods, pulse them in your spice grinder until they are powdered. Run the powder through a strainer to get rid of the peels etc. and there you have it, fresh cardamom powder. This will make a huge difference to the final taste of your nankhatai. I did try this recipe with store-bought cardamom powder and it wasn’t the same.
- Jaggery as a sweetener will work very well for this recipe, if you use that, you might have to use some non-dairy milk as well to bring the dough together (if it’s not coming together).
- Do not overbake these cookies. While testing the recipe, I was looking for a crumbly texture which is what you would expect in a nankhatai. I didn’t want to overbake but I didn’t want to underbake either. In my oven, 350 F at 18 minutes is the sweet spot for that perfect texture. You might have to do a few minutes extra depending on your oven.
- Sift the besan and sooji while mixing them in with the oat flour. I feel it helps in the overall taste of the cookies.
Oats Nankhatai (Vegan)
Ingredients
- 1 & ¾ cups oat flour 175 grams
- ½ cup besan 50 grams
- 5 tablespoons sooji 60 grams
- ¼ teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoons cardamom powder freshly ground
- ½ cup vegan butter 113.5 grams , room temperature. I used Miyokos plant milk butter (cashew & coconut oil spread)
- ¼ cup +2 tablespoons maple syrup 90 ml
Instructions
- Grind rolled oats using a mixer, I use my spice grinder to grind it to a fine powder. You would need 1 & ¾ cups (175 grams) oat flour for this recipe. You can also use oat flour directly if you have that. Transfer oat flour to a large bowl (I directly use the steel bowl of my stand mixer).
- Now, sift ½ cup (50 grams) besan and 5 tablespoons (60 grams) sooji into the same bowl using a strainer. Add ¼ teaspoon salt and 2 teaspoons cardamom powder. Use freshly ground cardamom powder for best results (see notes 3). Use a wire whisk to mix everything together or you can also use the paddle attachment of your stand mixer.
- Add add ½ cup (113.5 grams) vegan butter to the flour mix. It should be at room temperature. Mix using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer or use your hand mixer until the butter is well mixed with the dry ingredients. The mixture should resemble like crumbs once the butter is mixed it.
- Now, add ¼ cup + 2 tablespoons (90 ml) maple syrup and mix again using the paddle attachment of your stand mixer (or simply mix using your hands) until the dough comes together. It will be a sticky dough so you will need to pull it from the sides and bring it together.
- Transfer the dough to a cling sheet, wrap and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 350 degrees F and line a large baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once the dough has chilled for 30 minutes, take it out and start making round balls from it, around 25 grams each. Roll each dough ball into a circle and then press it between your palms to flatten it slightly. You would get around 20 cookies weighing approx. 25 grams.
- Arrange them all on the prepared baking sheet. Take ¼ teaspoon measuring spoon and make an indent in the center of each nankhatai. Place chopped pistachios/almonds in the center.
- Bake the nankhatai at 350 F for 18 to 20 minutes. Every oven is different but I bake mine for exactly 18 minutes for that perfectly crumbly nankhatai texture. Let them stay in the baking tray for 2-3 minutes once you take them out of the oven and then transfer onto a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
- Store the nankhatai in an airtight container at room temperature. They should be good for 7 to 10 days.
- You can even flavor these cookies with saffron and rose water.
- Grind green cardamom pods in a spice grinder and then pass the mix through a strainer to get fresh cardamom powder. That will make all the difference, so do it!
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Can I use coconut oil instead of vegan butter ?
Use it in semi-solid form, not melted
Thank you for sharing this recipe! If I dont wish to make it Vegan can I use regular ghee instead? If yes, what would be the quantity? Thank you in advance and I look forward to baking them soon ❤️
yes you may, same quantity, use ghee in semi-solid form