Bolinhas: Prepare these Goan coconut cardamom cookies for Christmas

Crisp on the outside, and soft on the inside, Bolinhas, the simple Goan cookie made with semolina and coconut is a Christmas season delight. According to many food experts, the dish represents Goa’s connection with the Portuguese as the name means ‘cakelets’ in the language. Goans love this dessert that can also win over anyone who tries it for the first time. Here’s the recipe:

Ingredients
250 gms semolina
250 gms sugar
1 tbsp ghee
1 cup of scraped coconut
3 tbsp all-purpose flour
3 egg yolks
1 egg white
1 tsp baking powder
A pinch of salt
Water
1 tsp cardamom powder

Preparation
Grind the coconut with a little water to a paste and keep it aside
Prepare sugar syrup in a deep non-stick pan, by heating sugar on low flame with a little water
Add semolina to the syrup, stir well
Add the coconut paste, ghee, and salt, stir well, and combine them
Cook till the mix is thick
Once cooked, let it cool and refrigerate it overnight
The next day, take it out of the fridge and keep it aside till it attains room temperature
Add egg yolks, and mix well
Add cardamom powder, mix again
Add sifted maida and baking powder to this, little by little, mix it all
Beat egg white well and add it to the batter, mix it all again
Keep the mix in a fridge for 20 minutes
After that, make small balls out of the dough
Roll them on a rolling board in the shape of cutlets
You can also make designs on their surface with knives or forks
Preheat the oven to 180 C
Grease baking trays with ghee, place bolinhas on it
Make sure they are kept at a distance from each other
Bake them with just the base heat on, first
After 15 minutes, switch to top heat and bake till they are slightly brown
Take them out of the oven depending on how brown you want them