Oats Coconut Barfi
- 10 min prep
- 95 min
- Cook
- Serves 10
- 210 kcal
- 3 g protein
Roasted oat flour and desiccated coconut cooked in a jaggery syrup with ghee and cardamom, set in a tray and cut into squares. Festival-ready in under two hours.
Ingredients
- 1½ cups (135 g) rolled oats
- ¾ cup (60 g) unsweetened desiccated coconut
- ¾ cup (150 g) grated or powdered jaggery
- ½ cup (120 ml) water
- 3 tbsp (40 g) ghee, plus a little to grease
- 6 soft dates, pitted and finely chopped (40 g)
- 3 tbsp (20 g) sliced almonds
- 1 tbsp (8 g) chopped pistachios, to garnish
- ½ tsp green cardamom powder
- A pinch of salt
Method
- 1Grease a 7-inch (18 cm) square tin or a steel thali with ghee and keep it ready.
- 2Dry-roast the rolled oats in a heavy kadhai on low-medium heat for 4 to 5 minutes, stirring, until they turn a shade darker and smell toasty. Cool for 5 minutes, then grind to a fine flour.
- 3In the same kadhai, toast the desiccated coconut on low heat for 2 minutes until it just starts to turn cream-coloured. Tip it out.
- 4Add the jaggery and water to the kadhai and stir on medium heat until it dissolves. Strain it if your jaggery has grit, then return it to the pan and boil for 4 to 5 minutes, until a drop pressed between two fingers pulls into a single thread.
- 5Lower the heat. Stir in 2 tbsp ghee, then add the oat flour and coconut a few spoons at a time, stirring hard after each addition so no dry pockets form.
- 6Keep cooking and stirring for 5 to 7 minutes. Add the remaining ghee halfway. The mixture is ready when it gathers into one mass that leaves the sides of the pan and looks glossy.
- 7Switch off the heat and fold in the dates, almonds, cardamom and salt.
- 8Tip into the tin, press flat with a greased spatula to about 2 cm thick and sprinkle over the pistachios, pressing them in. Score into squares while warm, then let it set for at least 1 hour before cutting through.
Notes from the Department
- If the mix goes dry and crumbly before it comes together, sprinkle in 1 to 2 tbsp hot water and keep stirring.
- Score the barfi while it is still warm. Once it fully sets, clean cuts get harder.
- Swap the ghee for coconut oil to make it vegan.
Nutrition per serving
- Energy
- 210 kcal
- Protein
- 3 g
- Carbohydrate
- 29 g
- Fat
- 10 g
- Fibre
- 3 g
- Sugars
- 16 g
Why this works
Most barfi relies on khoya or condensed milk for its fudge. Here the job goes to a one-string jaggery syrup and roasted oat flour. The syrup sets as it cools, and the oat flour thickens it from the inside, so you get a soft, sliceable square without milk solids.
Roasting the oats before grinding matters. Raw oat flour tastes floury in a sweet; toasted, it reads as nutty and goes well with coconut and cardamom. The dates add chew and a darker sweetness, so the jaggery does not have to do all the work. One tin gives about 20 small squares.
Swaps
Fresh grated coconut works in place of desiccated; use 1 cup (80 g) and cook the mixture two or three minutes longer to drive off its moisture. Sugar can replace jaggery one-for-one by volume, which gives a paler barfi. Figs, cashews or walnuts can replace the dates and almonds. For a gluten-free barfi, use certified gluten-free oats, since regular oats are often processed alongside wheat.
Storage
Keep the squares in an airtight box at room temperature for 3 to 4 days, or in the fridge for up to a week. They taste better on day two, once the flavours settle. Serve at room temperature with a cup of masala chai. The Department of Festive Boxes recommends a double batch around Diwali.
Questions people ask
- Can I use oat flour instead of grinding rolled oats?
- Yes. Use 1¼ cups (125 g) of oat flour and dry-roast it on low heat for 3 to 4 minutes, stirring constantly, until lightly golden. It catches faster than whole oats, so keep the heat low.
- Why did my oats barfi not set?
- The jaggery syrup was not cooked to one-string consistency, or the mixture was taken off the heat before it left the sides of the pan. Return it to the kadhai and cook a few minutes more, stirring, then set it again.
- Can I make this barfi vegan?
- Yes. Use coconut oil in place of ghee, in the same amount. The rest of the recipe is already free of dairy.
- Is oats barfi gluten-free?
- It can be. Oats themselves do not contain gluten, but they are often processed with wheat, so buy oats labelled certified gluten-free.
Inspired by Indulgent Detours. Method, notes and photograph by the Ministry of Oats.
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