Nan Katai
For some of us, growing up with Nan Katai meant gifting or receiving a Tupperware with grease proof paper seperating the layers. It is made for Diwali, and for Eid. For teatables when someone left or returned from Hajj. It seems as if this culture and heritage was forged around the tea table.
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I want for my children to grow up with these very memories. Some things can never leave us, despite where we might move to, or who we might marry.
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I want to share a recipe that doesn’t require ghee. For some, it’s difficult to find or purchase ghee so this recipe uses butter and oil (making it cost-effective somewhat).
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INGREDIENTS
- 250g butter
- 1 cup of oil
- 1 cup castor sugar
- 4 tbsp ground almond
- 1.5 tsp ground cardamom
- Half a tsp nutmeg
- 4 cups of flour
- 1 tsp baking powder
- Half a tsp bicarb
- 2 tbsp semolina
Instructions
- Beta the butter and oil very well for 4 minutes until well combined.
- Add the castor sugar and continue to beat until well incorporated.
- Sift in the flour with the cardamom, nutmeg, baking powder and bicarb and semolina.
- Add it into the mixture and finally add the ground almond.The dough should start to form immediately. Do not add any additional flour.
- Use a spatula to get the bottom bit of butter out from under the dough and continue to mix until everything is combined.
- Leave the entire mixing bowl in the fridge for 30 minutes or as long as you have while you tidy up and set the table for tea.
- Line a baking tray with baking paper and switch the oven on to 180 degrees. Using your hands, roll small balls. Balls should be approximately 1.5 to 2cm at the most. Insert a whole almond, or half an almond into the ball sideways. Do not flatten the ball.
- Put into the oven and when you notice the cracks on the top, drop the temperature to 160 degrees. This should happen after 10 to 12 minutes of baking. Bake for a further 10 minutes, even up to 15 minutes making sure it doesn’t over brown neither should the under burn.
- Remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack then serve with masala tea.
#NaqiyahBakes #bakinglove #baking #bakingfromscratch #baked
