Yudhika Sujanani – The Almond Thief

I remember this biscuits from when I was little…I have somewhat mixed feelings about them! The best thing about Naan Khatay was picking off the whole almonds from the biscuits. Mum would take one look at the naked nutless biscuits and know exactly who the culprit was. Needless to say, I would get one of those old-fashioned Indian Mum hidings!

Yudhika’s Getaway Demo…

The thing about Indian Mum hidings is that you are not allowed to tell anyone…at the ripe old age of 37, I think I can safely spill the beans! And the perfect opportunity came up when I was shooting Season Two of ‘Sugar ‘n Spice’. Revenge is sweet and I mentioned my famous Almond Thief hidings while shooting much to my mum’s embarrassment. It was a real ice breaker…the Ochre team and I laughed hysterically! I then took a quick photo break – I found it impossible to keep a straight face so I struck a few poses instead…

Strike a pose…

Karma always creeps up at sometime…I open the biscuit tin and peer in to find the same sad-looking nutless biscuits! My kids just love nicking the nuts off the Naan Khatay. Could it perhaps be genetic or is it definitely Karma? My money is on Karma!

Fully dressed Naan Khatay

Naan Khatay

Ingredients

125g butter
125ml Spar castor sugar
125ml Spar sunflower oil
65ml semolina
Pinch of salt
2,5ml cardamom essence
5ml ground cardamom
5ml bicarbonate of soda
500 – 625ml cake flour, sifted
Whole blanched almonds, to garnish

Here’s how:

Preheat oven to 190 degrees celsius.
Lightly grease a baking tray with butter.
Place the butter in a Kenwood Chef and cream until light in colour.
Gradually add the castor sugar and beat well.
Pour the sunflower oil into the creamed butter and continue beating.
Add the semolina, salt, cardamom essence, ground cardamom and bicarbonate of soda.
Stir well to combine and sift 500ml of cake flour into the mixing bowl.
A soft dough should form – if the dough is too sticky, add the remaining flour a little at a time until you get the right consistency.
Cover the dough with a damp cloth to stop it from drying out.
Grease your palm with a drop of oil and roll the dough into balls.
Place a whole blanched almond on the ball of dough and flatten gently.
Space the biscuits on a baking tray.
Bake for 10 -12 minutes or until the biscuits are pale golden brown.
Cool on a wire rack.

Yudhika’s tips:
Substitute almonds with pecan nuts and use cinnamon instead of cardamom.
Greasing your palms with oil prevents the dough from sticking.
Place the almonds over the biscuits as each one has been moulded into a ball so that it does not crack.
These biscuits puff out so ensure that there is sufficient space between each biscuit on the baking tray.