Nan Khatais (Indian Butter Biscuits)

The treats are packed up and we are ready to hit the road tomorrow. We are going to California on a road trip and meet a couple of our friends and cousin on our way. I am very excited to see'em and happy to deliver these home made biscuits in person. Well, to talk about the biscuits, these are light, buttery sweetnesses that literally dissolves in your mouth. The nuts are so rich and crunchy, that makes irresistible and you can't stop just munching one. And these are egg-less cookies that are very popular and called biscuits in India. They are served as a evening snack along with coffee or tea. The buttery aroma while baking, smelt heavenly and perfumed the whole kitchen.  Also, i have made two versions of butter biscuits here, other than flour combination, the methods are pretty similar. Here it goes,

This is a pistachio butter biscuit, topped with chopped pistachios and made from a combination of three flours. This one was Senthil's pick among the two.
Ingredients:

1/3 cup APF (Maida)

1/3 cup fine Semolina (Rava)

1/2 cup Gram Flour (Besan)

1/2 cup unsalted Butter (at room temperature)

2/3 cup Sugar

3 green Cardamom Seeds (powdered)

1 pinch Baking Soda

1-2tbsp Pistachios (coarsely chopped)

 How to:

• Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Mix together the maida, semolina, gram flour, cardamom and baking soda.

• In another bowl, blend the butter and sugar together.

• Now, blend the flour mixture in batches to the butter-sugar mixture.

• Divide the dough into small lime size balls, smoothen'em with your palms, make a grid or star with a knife and gently press the chopped pistachios.

• Do the rest of the dough in a similar manner and arrange'em on the baking sheet.

• Bake for 13 mins or until they turn golden brown on top.

• Remove the baking sheet and let rest for 3 mins, before you transfer'em to cooling rack. (The half bitten biscuit, that was me hehe, couldn't resist)

• Serve as a snack or dessert.

Almond Pressed Butter Biscuit:

This is an Almond Butter Biscuit, made from maida (APF) and warm butter with an Almond pressed on each of its center. This one is the winner in my taste testing.

Ingredients:

1 cup APF (Maida)

1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

1/2 cup unsalted Butter (melted)

1/4tsp Baking Soda

3 Green Cardamom Seeds (crushed/powdered)

1 pinch Salt

8-10 Almonds (for garnishing)

How to:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
• Mix together the dry ingredients: APF, sugar, baking soda, cardamom and salt.

• Pour the butter over the flour mixture and knead, resulting a soft dough.

• Divide the dough into 12 equal parts, smoothen in between your palms and press the center with your thumb and place an almond.
• Follow the same procedure for the remaining dough and arrange it on the baking sheet.

• Bake for 20 mins and cool in a cooling rack.

• Serve the biscuit as a snack or dessert.

Baked Onion Biscuits

Hi friends, how are you all doing? Its been a long time since i posted a new recipe. Got a bit lazy during the holidays and a few short trips on top of it kept me from posting one. Well, here is a new recipe, Onion biscuits. Wondering, what the heck are they? Well, they look much like crackers, but the texture of'em, when you bite into it, made me call 'biscuits'. As i was googling for a snack to beat my evening hunger and ta-da, landed on this wonderful page 'Indianvegetariankitchen' and immediately i knew that i am gonna taste'em with in a couple of hours and i did. The best part is, 'it is baked'. Thanks to her fantastic recipe, i gobbled 3 to 4 biscuits at a sitting and can't keep my hands off  of it. Here it is for you to try and enjoy just like me.

Ingredients:

1.5 cups Whole Wheat Flour

1/2 cup Rice flour

1/2 big Yellow Onion (finely chopped)

3 Small Green Chillies (finely chopped)

1tsp Black Sesame seeds

1tsp Cumin seeds

1/4tsp Asafoetida (hing)

2tbsp Cilantro (chopped)

1/4 cup  Water

1/2 cup Oil

1tsp Salt

How to:

• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with foil and keep it aside.
• In a bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. (flours, sesame seeds, cilantro, asafoetida and salt.)

• Then add the onions, green chilli and cilantro.

• Pour the water and gently mix it, followed by the oil. 

• Pour it slowly and knead it for 5 mins. The kneaded dough should be soft and easily breakable.

• Take a lime size ball (or any size of your desire), place it on the foiled baking sheet and gently press with both hands to form a flat, thin, rough rounds. (You can also use a cookie cutter or any round mouth cup to perfect the shapes or just leave it like that.)

• Do the rest of the dough in a similar pattern and bake'em for 30 minutes or until the top is evenly browned.

• Let the perfect and/or rough shapes cool on a cooling rack before you store'em in an airtight container.

• Serve with tea or coffee and enjoy the crunchiness.

Tips:

• Do not add too much of water. After using a 1/4 cup, sprinkle once or twice, if needed. (I sprinkled it twice.)
• Press the dough balls thin before baking. The thinner, the better.
• You can also try adding ajwain seeds or minced garlic to pump up the flavor.