Spiced coconut pastries
- Published: 28 May 20
- Updated: 18 Mar 24
Writer Dina Begum makes these sweet pastries for the festival of Eid and are one of the reasons she looks forward to the festivities so much. Beautifully crisp on the outside and with a sticky coconut filling, these Indian sweet treats are super moreish.
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Makes 16 -
Hands on time 1 hour 20 min, including resting time
Nutrition
- Calories
- 201kcals
- Fat
- 11.9g (5.6g saturated)
- Protein
- 2g
- Carbohydrates
- 22.8g (6.6g sugars)
- Fibre
- 2.4g
- Salt
- 0.1g
delicious. tips
If you don’t fancy doing the whole recipe, you can make shortcrust pastry tarts with the filling.
The secret to the flaky pastry is in the tiny bit of oil added to the dough, along with salt and sugar – the latter helps give these pastries their wonderful golden hue.
Make sure the pastries are plunged into very hot oil over a high heat, before cooking very slowly over a low heat. This gives a crisp exterior and helps them to cook through evenly.
In Bangladesh the pastries are made with fresh coconut filling, but desiccated
coconut works, too – as long as you don’t rush the rehydration process.The pastries will keep well for a day at room temperature and up to a few days in the fridge, covered. Refresh in a medium-hot oven for about 5 minutes before serving. The filling will keep in a lidded jar for up to a week.
Date molasses (also known as date syrup) is a velvety smooth syrup made from pressed date pulp. It adds a complex dried-fruit flavour with a sweet finish. Use it in baking, stir into porridge or use to finish savoury bakes and casseroles. Buy from larger supermarkets or online at Amazon.
Toasting the coconut in ghee before the molasses is added results in a fragrant caramel filling with hints of cinnamon, cardamom and bay – the triumvirate of Bangladeshi dessert spicing.