Nankatai ( snowballs)

For many years I tried to get that melt-in-your-mouth consistency of my paternal grandmother's Nankatais.  I finally stumbled on the secret and that is to use ghee for the fat in the recipe.  The other secret is to bake on low heat.  This works out perfectly - dainty little white balls that leave nothing more to be desired in taste or presentation.
This is the first Christmas sweet I am making this season, and I dedicate this blog to my paternal grandmother "Mama" (Joanna Vaz), who was an aficionado in the baking department.
Whenever we visited Mama as young children in Africa, we were never disappointed at the array of Goan baked sweets she turned out for us. When Mama visited the family in Canada I was in University.  No matter how late I came home from school, Mama was at the door with a big hug and her hands digging deep in the pockets of that inimitable house duster she wore.  I would wait as she retrieved whatever sweet treat  she had hidden away for me because I was never home for tea .
Mama I love you and I miss you.  When we meet again somewhere out there where the angels hang , I know you will have a pocketful of sweets for me, and a big hug!  God Bless you Mama, you taught me how to be generous, loving and strong.

Ingredients

2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup ghee/clarified butter or vegan substitute ( you may substitute butter, margarine if you do not have ghee)
1 cup icing sugar

1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom (optional)

Method

I use my food processor with the chopping blade to make all my dough. You could also beat by hand or use a stand up mixer, or hand beater.

Put the ghee and icing sugar into the bowl of the food processor.  Beat until the mixture is smooth and creamy.

 Now add the flour ( and cardamom if using) and turn the processor on in pulses until a soft dough is formed, and the mixture binds together.

Preheat oven to 275 F

Remove the dough from processor and make small equal sized balls.  You can make any size you want, but during Christmas when so many other sweets will be served, the small dainty portions are the perfect size!
Note: If the dough is too creamy to handle, pop it in the fridge for 15 minutes and it will become manageable.

Bake for 12-15 minutes.   Remove and let cool.   Do not panic and leave in the oven for more than 15 minutes.  They will harden as they cool.
When cool, store in an airtight container in a cool location.