Indian Keto Coconut Bars
Ankita Nimbalkar- Ready in 3h
- 1.4 g net carbs
- 130 kcal
- Serves 15
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I'd like to introduce Ankita Nimbalkar, a fellow blogger and the creator of KetoTadka. Over the next couple of weeks, Ankita will share two of her favourite low-carb recipes inspired by Indian cuisine. The first recipe are simple & delicious keto and paleo bars that are ideal for fat fasting!
Indian cuisine holds a proud place in the list of distinguished cuisines of the world. With all its exotic ingredients, unfamiliar dishes, and tongue-tingling flavours, Indian Cuisine can be both exciting and intimidating. It uses the whole palette of flavours - spicy, sour, sweet and hot all at the same time making it something that wants to jump off the plate. Contrary to common belief, not all Indian dishes are curries. It is also very famous for sweets and desserts.
Being born an Indian, I have always enjoyed and relished our rich dishes full of flavour and taste. When I started Ketogenic diet, one thing I knew was to never compromise the taste with this diet. I made sure that my food is not boring. I make many Indian versions of Ketogenic dishes, and here to present you a very famous sweet of India – Coconut Barfi/ Coconut bar.
A barfi is nothing but dense milk based sweet confectionery from India, a type of sweet. Coconut barfi is a traditional Indian sweet made in almost all parts of India. It is very easy to make, and just needs few ingredients.
Step-by-step
Take a bowl and mix the shredded coconut with 300 ml (1 1/4 cup/ 10.1 fl oz) of coconut milk. Keep this mixture aside for 30 minutes.
Add remaining 20 ml (0.7 fl oz) coconut milk; add the saffron threads and the erythritol. Mix it properly for the sugar to dissolve.
After 30 minutes, heat a wok and melt the ghee in it. Add the coconut mixture, and keep mixing ensuring the flame is at low and the mixture does not stick to the surface. Keep mixing for 5-7 minutes.
Add the Elaichi / cardamom powder and cook the mixture for another 5 minutes.
Take a baking tray/ barfi tray (I used a 16 cm/ 6.3 inch square baking tray), butter it and spread the mixture evenly, up to 1 cm thick. Optionally, top with chopped almonds and gently press them in. Freeze it for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Cut small squares according to your own liking and the barfi is ready. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or if too soft, freeze for up to 3 months.
Recipe
Indian Keto Coconut Bars
★★★★☆4.2These Indian coconut bars and perfectly spiced with cardamon and saffron and full of healthy high fat coconut ...
- Hands on
- 35m
- Overall
- 3h
- Servings
- 15
- 1.4 g
- Net carbs
- 2.2 g
- Protein
- 12.1 g
- Fat
- 130
- kcal
Ingredients makes 15 servings
Instructions
Take a bowl and mix the shredded coconut with 300 ml (1 1/4 cup/ 10.1 fl oz) of coconut milk. Keep this mixture aside for 30 minutes.
Add remaining 20 ml (0.7 fl oz) coconut milk; add the saffron threads and the erythritol. Mix it properly for the sugar to dissolve.
After 30 minutes, heat a wok and melt the ghee in it. Add the coconut mixture, and keep mixing ensuring the flame is at low and the mixture does not stick to the surface. Keep mixing for 5-7 minutes.
Add the Elaichi / cardamom powder and cook the mixture for another 5 minutes.
Take a baking tray/ barfi tray (I used a 16 cm/ 6.3 inch square baking tray), butter it and spread the mixture evenly, up to 1 cm thick. Optionally, top with chopped almonds and gently press them in. Freeze it for 2 to 2 1/2 hours.
Cut small squares according to your own liking and the barfi is ready. Refrigerate for up to 5 days or if too soft, freeze for up to 3 months.
Nutrition per serving
Carbs 5%Protein 7%Fat 88% of calories
- Net carbs
- 1.4 g
- Total carbs
- 5.4 g
- Fiber
- 1.5 g
- Sugars
- 0.7 g
- Protein
- 2.2 g
- Fat
- 12.1 g
- Saturated fat
- 8.8 g
- Calories
- 130 kcal
- Sodium
- 6 mg · 0.24% RDA
- Magnesium
- 15 mg · 3.87% RDA
- Potassium
- 82 mg · 4.09% EMR
Nutrition by ingredient
| Per serving | Net carbs | Protein | Fat | kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coconut, dried, desiccated, shredded (organic, unsweetened) | 0.6 g | 1.8 g | 1.1 g | 29 |
| Coconut milk (full-fat, unsweetened) | 0.4 g | 0.3 g | 3.2 g | 30 |
| Coconut milk (full-fat, unsweetened) | 0.1 g | 0.1 g | 1.1 g | 10 |
| Ghee | 0 g | 0 g | 6.7 g | 60 |
| Erythritol (natural low-carb sweetener) | 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 1 |
| Cardamom powder, spices | 0.1 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Saffron, dried, spices | 0 g | 0 g | 0 g | 0 |
| Total | 1.4 g | 2.2 g | 12.1 g | 130 |
- Gluten free
- Dairy free
- Egg free
- Nut free
- Nightshade free
- Pork free
- Fish free
- Shellfish free
- Beef free
- Pescatarian
- Vegetarian
- Vegan
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Comments & ratings (35)
would this be okay to make ahead for a potluck? or best made the day of?
Also, I don't have saffron, could I use something else?
Hi Jayme, sorry about the delayed response! Yes, you can make it in advance but I should mention that these don't do well at room temperature. They will be ok for a quick transport but would need to be refrigerated. If you don't have saffron and want to achieve the same color effect, you can add a pinch of turmeric powder.
This is fantastic! I made a batch to share with non-keto friends for Diwali, and it went down a treat 😊 I used a mixture of tinned coconut milk and double cream (because I didn't have enough coconut milk), and also used unsweetened desiccated coconut rather than shredded (because I only had desiccated!) and it still worked extremely well. I found the amount of ghee to be just right (100 g) but did add some stevia powder and monk fruit sweetener in addition to the erythritol, to taste, as I felt that it needd a little more sweetness. Overall, it was super easy to make, so fun, and so yum! Thank you so much, this will be a regular treat for the festive season!
Glad you enjoyed! Thank you so much for all the tips! 😊
when should i add the chopped almond in?
I think these need to be added before refrigeration and gently pressed on top. Thanks for noticing, I'll mention it in the steps.
Delicious recipe. I added a little rose water, as I did not have saffron on hand 😊 my non-keto hubby will love this too!
Thank you Hailey, I'm glad you enjoyed!
Excellent recipe. Can't wait to make it. It would be ideal if you stay up with the latest like this. Thank you for sharing this ........
Hi Martina...i believe the term shredded is used interchangeably, hence i need a clarification..is it dessicated coconut or shredded...the former is almost powdery and the latter is strands of coconut . The shredded coconut is not softened while cooking the bars and remaind chewy. Any tips on that?
I see what you mean! In that case it is shredded. I've seen several brands using these terms interchangeably but I think you are right. Shredded should not be as dry as desiccated.
Can I use Monkfruit sweetener instead of Erythritol?
Yes you can! Here are even more options: Complete Guide To Sweeteners on a Low-Carb Ketogenic Diet
Hello,
Excellent recipe. Can't wait to make it. Can we substitute heavy cream instead of coconut milk.
Thank you.
I don't see why not 😊
I was able to make it with success. I used only 60 grams of Ghee and next time I will even use less. I used full fat coconut milk.
Only part that did not work very well was that I should have further shredded the already shredded coconut. Smaller pieces would easily melt in mouth with ghee and coconut milk. Also , wont require me to chew coconut for long time even when ghee and coconut milk are gone.
May experiment with adding very small amount of coconut flour to give some more stability.
Since I dont strictly follow keto stuff, I used raw honey.
Thank you very much for the tips and feedback!
Hi... a quick question. Does the quantity of coconut milk and ghee remain the same if using fresh coconut? And would the quantity of coconut change in case it’s fresh coconut ( fresh versus dry substitution)? Thanks.
I think you will need to reduce the amount of coconut milk to compensate for the extra moisture. I'd keep the ghee the same.
This recipe looks delish! Thank you
Can this be made without the sweetener?
Yes, of course, unless you are not too specific about the sweet tooth.
Are Indian Keto Coconut bars to be eaten cold or room temperature? Also, can this be baked?
Hi Rowena, I suppose they should always be cold - the ghee would melt at room temperature. I don't think you can bake it because all the fats would separate.
Hello everyone. I am Ankita who introduced these barfis to the blog. You cannot use butter for 2 reasons- it will not hold properly and secondly for the taste, it will not go with the barfis.
About the grams values, they are perfect now as the measurements were messed up due to the USDA values and Indian measurements here. If there is any doubt, you can contact me on nimbalkarankita[at]gmail[dot]com
Hi Ankita, thanks for commenting on the butter as an alternative! How about coconut oil?
Yes, you could use Coconut oil but the flavour would be too coconut-ey. I have not made it with coconut oil, so cannot comment on the measurements. I would like to add here that ghee gives it a rich texture, where every burfi in India is made up of. 😊
Hi there,
Can I use anything else apart from Ghee. Thank you for your time and keep up the good work!!
Hi Sam, coconut oil may work but that's just a guess.
I just made this recipe, following the measurements in cups, not grams. While it wasn't a disaster it does seem like there's too much ghee. The ghee pooled up in some places as it froze and the whole thing is quite soft. If you wanted anything bigger than a 1.5 inch square bar you'd be out of luck; they can't hold up any bigger. I've made fat bombs that are much sturdier. I'll have to keep them stored in the freezer. Flavor is really very good; subtle. I added a pinch of salt. Recipe doesn't say when to combine coconut mixture with coconut milk and saffron mixture. It also doesn't specify what size pan. I used 13x9 with parchment paper, not buttered!
Hi Ulu, thank you for your feedback! The recipe originally said 10 tablespoons of ghee which would be 15 g x 10 = 150 g (according to the USDA database), so I used an equivalent that is about 2/3 cup. I suppose that's where it may have gone wrong and it may be less than 15 g per tbsp. I'm waiting for a reply from Ankita and will update the recipe accordingly.
I can see all the instructions in the recipe steps but just to clarify: Coconut milk + shredded coconut (step 1), remaining coconut milk + saffron + erythritol (step 2), melted ghee + coconut-saffron mixture (step 3), cardamom (step 4).
UPDATE: All has been fixed (grams corrected).
Was really excited to see this recipe for Indan coconut bars. I've just tried to make this and it's a disaster. I've looked at the measures for the ingredients, and as I work in grams, I followed these weights, only to realise that you equate 2 cups to 150g and 2/3 of a cup to 147g. This just doesn't appear right. Hope you can help. Thanks
Hi Sophia, I'm sorry to hear that. I used the standard weights from the USDA database. Just to confirm, which one doesn't seem right? The 2 cups of shredded coconut or the 2/3 cup of ghee? 1 cup of shredded coconut is 75 g, and 1 cup of ghee is 220 g. I'll ask Ankita for the "gram" values just to confirm this. Thank you!
UPDATE: All has been fixed (grams corrected).
So glad you are going to contribute to this blog!!!! I am a vegetarian who prefers Indian food and I try my best to keep it interesting. One quick question. Is the coconut fresh grated or unsweetened dry coconut flakes? And thank you very much for your contribution.
Hi Uma, I asked Ankita and she mentioned that both dried unsweetened coconut and freshly grated coconut would work 😊