Nankhatai

Nankhatai
Alternative names	Kulcha-e-Khataye
Type	Shortbread
Place of origin	Surat
Main ingredients	Wheat flour, Rice flour, Butter, Powdered Sugar, Milk/Yogurt, Salt, Honey, Baking Powder
Cookbook:Nankhatai  Nankhatai

Nankhatai (Hindi: नानख़ताई Urdu: نان خطائی‎) are shortbread biscuits popular in India and Pakistan.^[1] The word Nankhatai is derived from Persian word Naan meaning bread and Khatai from an Afghan word meaning Biscuit.^[2][3] In Afghanistan and Northeast Iran, these biscuits are called Kulcha-e-Khataye. Kulcha is a type of bread similar to Naan.^[4]

History

Nankhatai is believed to have originated in Surat in the 16th century, the time 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.^[5] The bakery biscuits were disliked by the locals.^[6] 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 ultimately gave birth to Nankhatai.^[2][3]

References