How To Make Healthy Wheat Nankhatais For Kids

Give your kids healthy snack options to munch

Summer vacations have begun and I am sure every mother is worried about giving their child something healthy to munch through the day. A lot of parents are today cautious about their child's food habits. I am very particular about what my kids eat. Being a homemaker, I make the most of my free time by preparing healthy snacks for them.

Come summers and your child is going to spend most part of the day playing outdoors and return home hungry. For the younger ones, it is a double task for mothers as they tend to get more hungry when they are at home and playful.

As a child, I remember Aai used to prepare a variety of snacks and all the dabbas in the house would be filled with homemade goodies. Be it her special chivda, ladoo, vadi or cakes, they were delicious.

Snacks during those days were mostly made at home. Aai hardly bought anything from the market for us to eat. But in today's time and age, it may be a task for a working mother or even a homemaker to prepare healthy snacks, which kids would enjoy eating.

I remember Aai buying nankhatais from the local bakery, as baking cookies, biscuits or cakes was not common in those days. She had bought an inframatic grill in the late 80s, which she used to make grilled sandwiches, tandoori chicken and waffles. It was a big thing then.

Nankhatai is an Indian shortbread or a cookie, which is typically made with all purpose flour or maida. As a healthier option, I make nankathais with wheat flour and semolina. The recipe is full of nutritious ingredients that will keep your kids charged through the day.

Wheat Nankhatais have a crumbly, soft and melt-in-the-mouth texture. These should be baked only until the edges begin to brown. This will keep the outside crisp with a soft interior. They are best enjoyed when eaten warm or at room temperature.

Traditionally, Nankhatais are enjoyed with a hot cup of tea or warm milk. Store them in airtight jars for upto 10 days. I bake Nankhatais regularly as it is a perfect snack for my kids.

Recipe for Wheat Nankhatais

Ingredients:

1 ¼ cup whole wheat flour (Atta)

½ cup Semolina (Rava)

1 cup ghee (you may add more if the dough becomes dry)

3/4 cup powdered sugar (add more if needed)

A pinch of baking soda

Method:

1. Sift together wheat flour, semolina and baking soda.

2. Cream the ghee and powdered sugar with a spoon. Add to the dry ingredients to make a dough.

3. Keep this dough to rest in a cool place for 1 hr. After an hour, the dough might become dry when you'll need to add 1 - 2 tsp of ghee.

4. Make small balls (similar to pedha) of the dough and flatten them.

5. Arrange on a greased baking cookie tray and bake for 15-20 minutes or till the nankhatai turns golden.

Note:

1. The unit of measurement used for this recipe is a bowl or a katori (steel one) which yields 12 large nankhatais.

2. If you use the standard baking cup as a unit of measurement, it yields 40-45 small size nankhatais according to the size of the balls.

3. I baked these nankhatais in a gas oven (cooking range). It can be baked in a microwave also in convection mode. Please grease the tray or use a baking sheet while baking in microwave.

Photo credit: Soni Khadilkar

Soni is based in Bahrain, and she blogs at Soni's Kitchen. Since childhood, she has been hooked to cooking and would help out her mother in the kitchen. She makes the most of her time baking, blogging, clicking pictures and of course eating different types of cuisines and experimenting in her kitchen. She loves to share traditional recipes inspired from her mother, tried and tasted by her, family and friends.