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Indian

Coconut paratha

Vegetarian

Wheat parathas with a sweet filling of fresh coconut cooked with jaggery and cardamom until dry and sticky, griddled in ghee. Soft, fragrant and less sweet than a jaggery paratha.

Coconut paratha is an Indian bread, ready in about 1 hour 9 minutes and made with whole-wheat flour and coconut. It serves 6 and is rated intermediate to cook.

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Prep
25 min
Cook
24 min
Rest
20 min
Total
1 h 9 min
Serves
6
Level
Intermediate
Calories
412

Ingredients

6 parathas

For the dough

For the filling

For cooking

Equipment

Method

  1. Step 1

    Mix the atta (opens in a new tab) and salt, rub in the oil, then add the water a little at a time, kneading for about 5 minutes into a soft, smooth dough that no longer sticks to your fingers. Cover and rest for 20 minutes so it rolls out without springing back.

    Hands kneading dough on a floured surface
    How it looks · Photo: Klaus Nielsen on Pexels

  2. Step 2

    Cook the coconut (opens in a new tab) and jaggery in a heavy pan over low-medium heat, stirring, until the jaggery melts and the mixture dries and leaves the sides of the pan, 8–10 minutes. Stir in the cardamom and cool completely.

    Food safety: Hot jaggery syrup can burn — stir with a long spoon and cool before handling.

  3. Step 3

    Divide the dough and the filling into 6 equal portions. Flatten a dough ball into a 10 cm cup, pack in one portion of filling, then pleat the edges up over it and pinch firmly to seal. Turn it seam-side down, press flat, dust with flour and roll lightly from the centre outwards into a 15–16 cm round.

    If filling peeps through, patch the spot with a pinch of dry flour and keep rolling more gently.

  4. Step 4

    Lay a paratha on a hot tawa or heavy pan over medium-high heat. When small bubbles appear (about 30 seconds) flip it; after another 30 seconds brush the top with ghee (opens in a new tab), flip again and press the edges with a spatula (opens in a new tab) until golden-brown patches form. Brush and cook the second side the same way — 3 to 4 minutes per paratha in all.

    A flatbread cooking on a hot griddle
    How it looks · Photo: Muhammad Khawar Nazir on Pexels

About this dish

Origin
India · Origin uncertainA home-style sweet paratha; similar coconut-filled flatbreads are made in several regions.More food from India
Dish
Breakfast · Snack · Dessert · Breads & flatbreads · Sweets & confectionery
Cooking method
Pan-fried, Sautéed
Taste
sweet, nutty, aromatic / warmly spiced
Diet
Vegetarian (lacto-ovo) · No nut ingredients
All labelsVegetarian (lacto-ovo) · Eggetarian · Lacto-vegetarian · Pescatarian · Flexitarian-friendly · Egg-free · No nut ingredients · Alcohol-free · Pork-free · Beef-free
Worked out from the ingredients. How labels work
Good for
Festive & celebration
Cook more with
Whole-wheat flour · Coconut · Jaggery / palm sugar · Ground cardamom · Ghee
Techniques
Pan-frying · Sautéing · Kneading

Allergens

  • Contains: Milkfrom ghee
  • Contains: Wheatfrom whole-wheat flour
  • Contains: Glutenfrom whole-wheat flour

Based on typical versions of these ingredients and not verified allergen-free. Brands differ and cross-contact happens, so always check labels. For severe allergies, follow your clinician’s advice.

Nutrition

412 kcal per serving

Estimated

1 serving ≈ 137 g · recipe makes 6

Where the energy comes from

  • Protein 7%
  • Carbohydrate 52%
  • Fat 40%
Nutrition per serving and per 100 g
NutrientPer servingPer 100 g*
Energy412 kcal301 kcal
Protein7.7 g5.6 g
Carbohydrate57 g41.6 g
Net carbohydrate48.9 g35.7 g
Sugars18.2 g13.3 g
Added sugars16.2 g11.8 g
Fibre8.1 g5.9 g
Fat19.5 g14.2 g
Saturated fat13.4 g9.8 g
Trans fat——
Cholesterol17 mg12 mg
Sodium207 mg151 mg
Salt equivalent0.5 g0.4 g
Vitamins & minerals per serving
Potassium
313 mg
Calcium
39 mg
Iron
2.7 mg
Magnesium
81 mg
Vitamin A (RAE)
56 µg
Vitamin C
1 mg
Vitamin D
0 µg
Vitamin B12
0 µg
Folate (DFE)
30 µg

How these numbers were made

  • Calculated from USDA FoodData Central (SR Legacy) per-100 g values and the listed quantities.
  • *Per 100 g of combined raw ingredients; the cooked dish may weigh more or less.
  • Jaggery / palm sugar: Brown sugar (FDC 168833) used as a stand-in for unrefined cane jaggery and palm sugar.
  • “—” means the value isn’t known for enough of the ingredients; it is never zero by default.
  • Values are estimates for guidance, not for medical dosing. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service. FoodData Central, 2019. fdc.nal.usda.gov.

Good to know

Tips

  • The filling firms as it cools; shape it into balls before stuffing.

Common mistakes

  • Stopping while the mixture is wet — it leaks syrup on the tawa.

Serve with

  • Serve warm as a tea-time sweet.

Storage

  • Keeps 2 days at room temperature, 4 days in the fridge.

Reheating

  • Reheat on a dry tawa over medium heat for about a minute a side until crisp and hot through.

Original editorial recipe · FriendsPantry editorial · Not yet independently reviewed · Added · Updated

Recipe DNA

How this dish is built

Built from the recipe’s own sections. Each band’s width is its share of the dish by weight. Choose a component to see what it does.

Structure

For the dough

Used in step 1

Baker’s notes

Customise in Bread & Bakery

Timeline and readiness cues

  1. Mix and knead · about 49 min

    Knead until smooth and soft; it should feel like an earlobe.

  2. Rest · about 20 min

    Covered so it doesn't dry out; relaxed dough rolls and shapes without springing back.

  3. Start to finish: about 1 h 9 min. Times are a guide — warmth changes everything; follow the cues.

The dough

The dough in baker's percentages. Flour = 100%.
IngredientRoleWeightBaker’s %
Whole-wheat flourFlour300 g100%
WaterWater189 g63%
Neutral vegetable oilFat9 g3%
SaltSalt3 g1%
Total flour
300 g
Hydration
63%
With milk, eggs…
63%
Wholegrain
100%

Hydration = water ÷ flour × 100. Milk is about 87% water and eggs about 75%, so they’re shown separately as “with milk, eggs…”.

  • Medium dough (55–65%) — soft and easy to knead; sandwich loaves and rolls.
  • Salt 1% — on the low side (1.8–2.2% is typical for bread).
  • 100% wholegrain — absorbs more water and gives a denser, nuttier loaf.

If something goes wrong

  • Gummy or wet crumb

    Likely causes

    • Under-baked
    • Sliced while hot
    • Hydration too high for the flour

    What to do

    • Bake to 93–96 °C inside (cakes: clean skewer)
    • Cool completely on a rack before slicing
    • Reduce water by 3–5% or use a stronger flour
  • Collapsed or sunken middle

    Likely causes

    • Oven door opened too early
    • Too much leavening or sugar
    • Under-baked centre
    • Over-proofed yeast dough

    What to do

    • Don't open the oven for the first two-thirds of baking
    • Measure leaveners exactly with spoons, levelled
    • Test the centre before removing
    • Proof less
  • Pale crust

    Likely causes

    • Oven too cool
    • Too little sugar or no milk/egg for browning
    • Over-fermented (yeast ate the sugars)

    What to do

    • Check the oven with a thermometer
    • Brush with egg wash or milk
    • Shorten the fermentation
  • Burnt bottom

    Likely causes

    • Tray too close to the heat
    • Dark tray absorbs more heat
    • Too much sugar in the dough

    What to do

    • Bake on the middle shelf
    • Double up trays or use a light-coloured one
    • Lower the temperature 10–15 °C and bake a little longer
  • Cracked or domed top

    Likely causes

    • Oven too hot (crust sets before the centre rises)
    • Too much leavening
    • Overmixed batter

    What to do

    • Lower the oven 10–15 °C
    • Use the exact leavening amount
    • Fold just until combined
  • Big holes or tunnels

    Likely causes

    • Overmixed batter (cakes, muffins)
    • Air trapped while shaping bread
    • Uneven proof

    What to do

    • Mix quick breads only until no dry flour shows
    • Degas gently and shape tightly
    • Proof covered in an even, warm place
  • Dry or crumbly

    Likely causes

    • Too much flour (scooped, not weighed)
    • Over-baked
    • Too little fat or sugar

    What to do

    • Weigh flour, or spoon it into the cup and level
    • Check 5 minutes early
    • Don't cut fat or sugar by more than a quarter without another moisture source

Reviews & corrections

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