Nan-e Nokhodchi
Chickpea flour cookies with cardamom · نان نخودچی
- 30 min Prep
- 15 min Cook
- 30 Servings
- Medium
Tiny, melt-in-the-mouth clover-shaped cookies of chickpea flour, cardamom and butter, topped with pistachio. A Nowruz essential.
Nan-e nokhodchi is the cookie of Nowruz, stacked on platters next to tea for visiting guests. Made from roasted chickpea flour, it is naturally gluten-free and so crumbly that it dissolves on the tongue.
The traditional shape is a small four-leaf clover, cut with a special cutter sold at Persian groceries; any small cutter works.
Ingredients
Servings
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Instructions
- Beat the ghee with the powdered sugar for 5 to 8 minutes until pale and fluffy. Beat in the cardamom and rosewater.
- Add the chickpea flour gradually, kneading by hand until the dough comes together and feels smooth, like soft clay. Wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
- Heat the oven to 150°C (300°F) and line a baking sheet. Roll the dough out between sheets of baking paper to 1.5 cm thick and cut out small clover shapes.
- Place on the sheet, press a pinch of pistachio into the centre of each, and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. They should stay pale and barely colour underneath.
- Cool completely on the tray before moving them; they are very fragile while warm. Store airtight for up to two weeks.
Tips & variations
- Use roasted chickpea flour (sold as nokhodchi flour at Persian groceries), not raw besan; raw flour tastes beany.
Where to buy the ingredients
Persian grocers carry the saffron, dried herbs, spices and long-grain rice that Persian cooking depends on:
Rather eat out?
Persian bakeries and sweet shops:
Persian Halva
Sholeh Zard
Faloodeh Shirazi