How the Dying Indian Biscuit (Nan Khatai) Made a Come Back on Breakfast Table

Nankhatai, a crunchy, biscuit kind stuff, always bring back a fond memory of childhood when this product used to beautify our breakfast table.

However, presently, this traditional ‘Indian biskoot’ is on a dying stage. It is fast being replaced by so called jitters of fast food. But, as per the adage ‘the only thing that is constant is change’, things are changing again. People are again opting for nankhatai. The taste which seemed to be going off the screen is making a comeback. And let’s spread a word around about how this biskoot came to India as it’s an interesting story.

Do you know how the word nankhatai was coined? In fact, the word 'Nankhatai' is Persian where 'Nan' means bread and 'Khatai' stands for 'Catai' or 'Cathay', the older name for China. This brands it as the 'Bread of Cathay'.

After knowing about name, one should also know about its origin. The origin of nankhatai too is interesting. It was at the end of the 16th century, when a Dutch couple had set up a bakery in Surat. They kept the Dutch taste in its food products to cater to the needs of the local Dutch populace.

However, when Dutch started leaving India, the owners passed on the bakery to an enterprising employee, Faramji Pestonji Dotivala, who was a Parsi gentleman. The bread had palm toddy for fermentation so it didn't share flavour with Indians. To save his bakery, Dotivala started selling old bread with puff, soon after it dried. He kept a low price for this deal. Now, people were so attracted that they started making beeline to get this product. Hence, the dried version became popular. Now, he started drying the bread before selling it. This dried version was known as the 'Irani Biscuit'.

Dotivala shared qualities of being an entrepreneur. He then created the Farmasu Surti Batasa or butter biscuits. Buoyed by his success, he continued making new stuff and here came the now famous Nankhatai. In those days, ammonium bicarbonate was a raising agent instead of baking soda. Ammonium bicarbonate was used for centuries in China to make Chinese almond cookies and steamed buns. Hence, the reference to China or 'Cathay' came up in Nankhatai. And soon, it transcended all state boundaries to become instant hit. Now, it won’t be wrong to say that the nankhatai, which once became an endangered species, has made a comeback. And hopefully, it will never be extinct. There are many pushcarts seen across the road serving nice tasty nankhatai, pretty much all across the streets in Delhi as well as in Mumbai. Hence, wish them luck and keep our fingers crossed that this crunchy delight keeps its presence marked with its yummy taste. Check Latest Collection of Nankhatai Recipe at http://www.betterbutter.in/recipe/nan-khatai

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