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Nankhatai

Alternative names	Kulcha-i khaṭāʾī
Type	Shortbread
Associated cuisine	Indian, Bangladeshi, Pakistani
Main ingredients	Wheat flour, Rice flour, Butter, Powdered Sugar, Milk/Yogurt, Salt, Honey, Baking Powder
Media: Nankhatai

Nankhatai (Bengali: নানখাতাই; Burmese: နံကထိုင်; Hindustani: नानख़टाई (Hindi) / نان خطائی (Urdu); Sinhala: ඤාණකතා; Tamil: நானஹத்தா) are shortbread biscuits originating from the Gujarat region of the Indian subcontinent, popular in Northern India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Myanmar (formerly Burma).

Etymology

The word nankhatai is derived from the Classical Persian نانِ خطائی nān-i khaṭāʾī, lit. 'Cathayan bread, bread of Cathay [northern China]', composed of نان nān meaning ‘bread’ and خطائی khaṭāʾī meaning ‘Cathayan’. The word has been borrowed into the Burmese language as nankahtaing (နံကထိုင်), in the Tamil language (in East Tamil Nadu) as naanahatha (நானஹத்தா), and in the Sinhala language (in Sri Lanka) as ghanakatha (ඤාණකතා).

In Afghanistan and northeastern Iran, these biscuits are called کلچهٔ خطائی kulcha-i khaṭāʾī in Persian (kulcha is a type of Afghan, Iranian and Indian bread similar to nān).

Nankhatai was also spelt nuncatie in English.

History

Nankhatai is believed to have originated in Surat in the 16th century, when Dutch and Indians were the important spice traders. A Dutch couple set up a bakery in Surat to meet the needs of local Dutch residents. When the Dutch left India, they handed over the bakery to an Iranian. The bakery biscuits were disliked by the locals. To save his business he started selling dried bread at low prices. It became so popular that he started drying the bread before selling it. With time, his experimentation with bread inspired him to ultimately invent nankhatai. The main ingredients in nankhatai are refined flour, chickpea flour and semolina. Some other traditional nankhatai recipes do not use chickpea flour.

See also

• List of shortbread biscuits and cookies
• Polvorón

References

1. "Bakeri launches Nankhatai with packaging that makes waves". Aurora. Archived from the original on 2015-04-30.
2. ^ Indian Antiquary. Vol. 60. 1931. p. 213. The derivation from 'K̲h̲aṭâî,' of Cathay or China is correct. Recipes for making 'Nuncaties' are given in many Indian cookery books, but there is no special mention in any of them of Mr. Weir's six ingredients; and 'leaven produced from toddy' does not, so far as I know, enter into the composition of these cakes at all.
3. Myanmar-English Dictionary. Myanmar Language. Sri Lanka in Sinhalese language it noun as "Gnaanakathaa" (ඤාණකතා).Commissionnn. 1996. ISBN 1-881265-47-1.
4. "What is the difference between Kulcha and Naan". Chefinyou.com.
5. Merani, Kumud (3 May 2019). "The 150-year-old bakery that invented the famous 'Nankhatai'". SBS Hindi. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
6. "About Nankhatai". Ifood.tv. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
7. "Nankhatai - The Dying Indian Biskoot - NDTV Food". Food.ndtv.com.
8. "Nankhatai Cookies With Rose And Chai Spices Recipe". Food.com. 17 February 2015. Archived from the original on 6 October 2017. Retrieved 6 October 2017.
9. "Ingredients of Nankhatai". flavourhome.com. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
10. Anwar, Madeeha (Feb 2022). "Now Delish". Now Delish.

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Snacks and sauces	Achar Alu chaat Alur chop Beguni Bela Biscuit Bhelpuri Chaat Chatni Chanachur Chhana Chotpoti Doi bora Jhalmuri Nankhatai Paan Pakora Phuchka Raita Samosa
Breads	Bakarkhani Bhatoora Chapati Luchi Naan Porotha Alu porotha Moghlai porotha Puri (food) Ruti Rumali ruti Tandoor bread
Beverages	Akher rosh Aamrosh Beler Sharbat Borhani Cha Dudh cha Masala cha Seven-color tea Ghol Khejur rosh Lachhi Matha Rooh Afza Shorbot Taler rosh
Sweetmeats	Borfi Bundia Chhanamukhi Chhenabara Chomchom Doi Mishti doi Curd of Bogra Faluda Gulabjam Gur badam Halua Gajorer halua Jilapi Chhena Shahi Kheer Kulfi Laddu Malpua Mimi Chocolate Morobba Nimki Pantua Pitha Ashke pitha Bhapa pitha Chunga pitha Nunor bora Teler pitha Roshkodom Roshmolai Roshogolla Khondoli Shemai Shondesh Shonpapri Tiler Khaja Tusha Shinni
Bangladeshi diaspora	Chicken tikka masala Phall
Category

• Indian cuisine
• Bengali cuisine
• Pakistani desserts
• Biscuits
• Shortbread
• Burmese desserts and snacks
• Bangladeshi cuisine
• Pakistani snack foods