Nankhatai
 | |
| Alternative names | Kulcha-i khaṭāʾī |
|---|---|
| Type | Shortbread |
| Place of origin |  India |
| Region or state | Gujarat |
| Associated cuisine | Indian |
| Main ingredients | Wheat flour, Rice flour, Butter, Powdered Sugar, Milk/Yogurt, Salt, Honey, Baking Powder |
Nankhatai (Bengali: নানখাতাই; Burmese: နံကထိုင်; Hindustani: नानख़टाई (Hindi) / نان خطائی (Urdu); Sinhala: ඤාණකතා; Tamil: நானஹத்தா) are shortbread biscuits originating in the Indian state of Gujarat.[1] It is now popular throughout India and also in the neighbouring countries of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Myanmar. It's also recently gained popularity in Afghanistan and Iran.[1]
Etymology
[edit]The word nankhatai is derived from the Classical Persian نانِ خطائی nān-i khaṭāʾī, lit. 'Cathayan bread, bread of Cathay [northern China]',[2] composed of نان nān meaning ‘bread’ and خطائی khaṭāʾī meaning ‘Cathayan’.[2] 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).[3]
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).[4]
It is also a mispronunciation of نانِ کوتاہ naan-e-koṭah – shortbread where نان naan means Bread, and کوتاہ koṭah means short.[5] So it's a bread which is taken as a snack for settling the 'false' hunger. To support this claim, کوتاہی koṭahi in Urdu means mistake – shortcoming. کوتاہ نظرکوتاہ بین koṭah–nazar in Urdu /koṭah–been in Farsi means shortsighted, someone who doesn't anticipate complex or far fetched outcomes. So Nan-e-Kotahi became Nan-e-Khatai or simply Nan-Khatai as it is easier to say Khatai, than Kothai.
Nankhatai was also spelt nuncatie in English.[2]
History
[edit]Nankhatai is believed to have originated in Surat in the 16th century, when Dutch and Indians were the important spice traders.[6] 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.[7] 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.[8][9] The main ingredients in nankhatai are refined flour, chickpea flour and semolina.[10] Some other traditional nankhatai recipes do not use chickpea flour.[11]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b "Bakeri launches Nankhatai with packaging that makes waves". Aurora. Archived from the original on 2015-04-30.
- ^ a b c 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.
- ^ Myanmar-English Dictionary. Myanmar Language. Sri Lanka in Sinhalese language it noun as "Gnaanakathaa" (ඤාණකතා).Commissionnn. 1996. ISBN 1-881265-47-1.
- ^ "What is the difference between Kulcha and Naan". Chefinyou.com.
- ^ "Google Translate: Persian to English". Google Translate. Jan 2025.
- ^ Merani, Kumud (3 May 2019). "The 150-year-old bakery that invented the famous 'Nankhatai'". SBS Hindi. Retrieved 4 June 2024.
- ^ "About Nankhatai". Ifood.tv. Retrieved 17 August 2018.
- ^ "Nankhatai - The Dying Indian Biskoot - NDTV Food". Food.ndtv.com.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "Ingredients of Nankhatai". flavourhome.com. 3 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
- ^ Anwar, Madeeha (Feb 2022). "Now Delish". Now Delish.
