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The love affair of Indians with chai is no stranger to us. A cup of hot tea served along with some snacks makes for a perfect evening. What is commonly paired with chai are biscuits or rather, cookies. Comforting and delightful, cookies are sometimes eaten after a sip of tea while a few others like to dip it into their cup and enjoy the cookie melting in their mouth. Cookies are flat and round, baked snacks that are sweet and filled with things like choco chips, dried fruits too at times. In India, you’ll find cookies hailing from various regions and in different shapes and sizes.
From Kerala’s achappam to Pune’s Shrewsbury cookies, there is no dearth of cookies when it comes to Indian snacks. Each of them has a distinct shape and taste. A mix of sweet and savoury bites, here are some of the native Indian cookies that you cannot miss out on.
1. Nan Khatai
The soft, melt-in-your-mouth cookies are believed to have originated from Gujarat. The thick and round pieces of this Indian cookie are a combination of oodles of ghee and sugar. What makes the Nan Khatai so creamy is the use of yoghurt in its preparation. The eggless cookie batter is also given a healthy touch sometimes by substituting maida or all-purpose flour with besan, wheat and semolina. The cookies are then poured in moulds and baked in the oven, to be served with masala chai.
2. Murukku
The crunchy and crispy bites that are spiralled into loops and eaten for snacks are actually a savoury cookie. Murukku is a popular snack from Tamil Nadu that is made with rice flour and deep-fried until crispy. The dough for the cookie is a combination of lentils like urad dal or gram flour and rice flour, that are kneaded together and then pressed into the cookie moulds designed for murukku. This is what lends it a unique spiral shape.
3. Khara Biscuits
If you’ve been to Karnataka, there is a high probability that you must have come across Khara Biscuits during tea time. Bengaluru’s Iyengar bakeries are often credited with the popularity of this favourite evening snack that is usually savoured with chai. Also known as masala biscuits, the buttery and flaky texture of these snacks is enough to keep one hooked on to them. Flavoured with coriander leaves, curry leaves and chillies and made soft with the addition of yoghurt, you won’t be able to stop at one.
4. Shankarpalli
Known by a variety of names in different parts of the country like shakkarpara, khurma, murali etc., this is a sweet cum snack from North and Western parts of India. The sweet biscuit is made from maida or all-purpose flour mixed with ghee, milk and sugar. Often prepared during festive occasions like Diwali, the Shankarpalli is available all around the year these days. The flavour of the green cardamom seeds powder is what makes it so delicious.
5. Achappam
Not a fan of sweet cookies? These Kerala-special savoury treats are a must-try then. The cookies come in a beautiful rose shape due to which they are often called rose-shaped cookies too. Unlike the name, they aren’t sweet but savoury, made with wheat flour, eggs, coconut milk as well as rice flour. The crunchy, deep-fried Achappams are popularly made and served during Christmas celebrations in Kerala Syrian Christian households.
6. Roth
A quintessential Kashmiri cookie, this isn’t any ordinary tea-time snack. The Kashmiri Roth is a special cardamom-flavoured preparation that is made on a special occasion called Pann Deun. The ritual followed in Kashmiri Pandit households on this day is that the eldest married woman in the house has to prepare the Roth for bhog offered to the Goddess of Harvest. This special cookie is a combination of maida, milk, butter, sugar as well as hints of coconut slices.
7. Shrewsbury Cookies
Certain foods are a reflection of the historical foreign influences on our culture and cuisine. Shrewsbury cookies are one such example. If you happen to be in Pune, you have to stop by the famous Kayani Bakery and dig into the authentic Shrewsbury cookies. Also known as butter cookies, the soft and melt-in-your-mouth texture is all thanks to the butter imported from a town in the UK that goes by the same name. What makes the texture and taste so delightful is the margarine, sugar, butter, eggs, and milk that go into its making.
There's Nan Khatai for those who like it sweet and murukku for those who like it crunchy. In India, there is such a wide variety of cookies that you'd be spoilt for choice when it's time to pick your snack for tea.
