Oats Nankhatai (Vegan)

cookies garnished with rose petals and pistachios arranged on a baking sheet

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Flavored with cardamom, these nankhatai have a crumbly texture and are vegan and refined sugar-free. They will make great edible gifts for the festive season.

Prep Time10

Cook Time18

Chill time30

Total Time58

Course: Cookies

Cuisine: Indian

Diet: Vegan

Servings: cookies

Author: Manali Singh

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