Goan Doce | Chana Doce recipe with step-by-step pictures. Chana doce is a traditional Goan sweet often prepared for weddings and other festivities. It is fudgy, soft and absolutely delicious! Learn how to make chana doce with this detailed step-by-step guide!
Hello folks!
How is everyone? How are your holiday preps coming along? Today I have another classic Goan sweet to share with you’ll. ‘Doce’ and ‘grão’ means ‘sweet’ and ‘grain/bean’ in Portuguese. This Goan fudge is made using chana dal (split Bengal gram), freshly grated coconut, sugar and flavored with cardamom. It is quite a tedious and time-consuming dessert, but the results are so worth it! I promise!
Doce is available in most bakeries and stores in Goa, the texture differs from one store to the other, some places you might find it to be hard, whilst some places will have a soft variety. I like the latter, it just melts in your mouth. I can never stop at one!
Doce is always prepared during weddings and other festivities in Goa, in a very traditional way. A certain amount is prepared at the bride’s house and sent to the groom’s place by the Bride’s parents, along with some bananas and another traditional sweet called bõl ( a sweet made of wheat, coconut, jaggery, cardamom, and today), it’s a part of the whole wedding tradition. The groom’s parents give another traditional sweet call orna in return. The doce that is received at the groom’s household is then distributed to all the family members and neighbors. I do not know much about how the origination of Doce , but I love to see the way it’s made traditionally. It has it’s own ‘sweet’ charm 🙂
- HERE ARE SOME MORE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEETS RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY,
- STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE GOAN DOCE | CHANA DOCE | CHONYA DOCE
- HOW TO MAKE GOAN DOCE | GOAN COCONUT DOCE | CHANA DOCE?
- Goan Doce Recipe | Doce De Grão | Chana Dal Fudge
HERE ARE SOME MORE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEETS RECIPES FOR YOU TO TRY,
- Bebinca
- Guava cheese
- Coconut Toffee
- Baath cake
- Milk Cream
- Karanji/Neureos
- Kormolas
- Shankapali
- Marzipan
Let’s begin preparing this classic Goan doce!
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE GOAN DOCE | CHANA DOCE | CHONYA DOCE
1.Rinse and soak the chana dal in sufficient water for about 3-4 hours. Discard the water. Pressure cook the dal with about 2 cups water and salt until tender. (Or you can also boil the dal with enough water until it is cooked through). Once the pressure settles down, open the lid, discard any excess water if present. Let it come to room temperature. Grind the dal to a smooth paste, without adding any water.
Soak chana dal with sufficient water
Chana dal after 4 hours of soaking
Pressure cooked chana dal, discard excess water before grinding it
2.Next, grind the desiccated coconut fine.
3.In a heavy-bottomed, dry pot, add the chana dal paste, ground coconut, and sugar.
Chana dal paste + sugar + desiccated coconut
4.Keep stirring continuously ( or else the bottom might get burnt) for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Now add the ghee and cardamom powder, Reduce the heat to low, continue stirring ( back and forth rather than clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, because the mixture gets pretty tough to mix ) until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and almost comes together like a soft dough.
After 2 minutes of stirring
After 15 minutes of stirring
After 20 minutes of stirring
5.Line a wooden board with parchment paper, grease it with little ghee. Now transfer the prepared dough mixture to the parchment paper. Place another parchment paper over it, and roll it gently to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Let it cool. Cut into diagonals or any other shape. (You can skip the parchment paper, and put it directly on the board or any other flat surface, I like using parchment paper for easier cleanup :p You can also spread this dough in a greased thali (stainless steel shallow dish).
Transfer the dough to a wooden board lined with parchment paper, or a greased shallow dish
Roll it out evenly to a thickness of 1/4 to 1/2 inches
And it’s done 🙂
NOTES
1.Traditionally freshly grated coconuts are used, but when making this at home, all the stirring can get quite overwhelming, desiccated coconut makes it easier as most of the moisture is removed, which means lesser stirring time. The taste was as good as the ones made with fresh coconut. You can use either!
2.The quantity of sugar is double to that of the chana dal, 450 grams of sugar gives enough sweetness which is okay with us. If you want it sweeter, please feel free to add 500 grams.
3.I use a cooktop with electric coils, so the timings may vary a little if you use a gas cooktop. Either way remember to keep the heat on medium.
- Here is an interesting video (By Shanu arts), that I found on YouTube which shows you the traditional way of making Goan doce.
HOW TO MAKE GOAN DOCE | GOAN COCONUT DOCE | CHANA DOCE?
Goan Doce Recipe | Doce De Grão | Chana Dal Fudge
Ingredients1x2x3x
Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
- 250 grams chana dal (split Bengal gram)
- 200 grams desiccated coconut, refer notes
- 450 grams granulated sugar, refer notes
- 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
- 1.5 tbsp ghee, or vegan butter for a vegan version
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Rinse and soak the chana dal in sufficient water for about 3-4 hours. Discard the water. Pressure cook the dal with about 2 cups water and salt until tender. (Or you can also boil the dal with enough water until it is cooked through). Once the pressure settles down, open the lid, discard any excess water if present. Let it come to room temperature. Grind the dal to a smooth paste, without adding any water.
- Next, grind the desiccated coconut fine.
- In a heavy-bottomed, dry pot, add the chana dal paste, ground coconut, and sugar.
- Keep stirring continuously ( or else the bottom might get burnt) for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Now add the ghee and cardamom powder, Reduce the heat to low, continue stirring ( back and forth rather than clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, because the mixture gets pretty tough to mix ) until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and almost comes together like a soft dough.
- Line a wooden board with parchment paper, grease it with little ghee. Now transfer the prepared dough mixture to the parchment paper. Place another parchment paper over it, and roll it gently to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Let it cool. Cut into diagonals or any other shape. (You can skip the parchment paper, and put it directly on the board or any other flat surface, I like using parchment paper for easier cleanup :p You can also spread this dough in a greased thali (stainless steel shallow dish).
Notes
- Traditionally freshly grated coconuts are used, but when making this at home, all the stirring can get quite overwhelming, desiccated coconut makes it easier as most of the moisture is removed, which means lesser stirring time. The taste was as good as the ones made with fresh coconut. You can use either!
- The quantity of sugar is double to that of the chana dal, 450 grams of sugar gives enough sweetness which is okay with us. If you want it sweeter, please feel free to add 500 grams.
- I use a cooktop with electric coils, so the timings may vary a little if you use a gas cooktop. Either way remember to keep the heat on medium.
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at aromaticessence77@gmail.com
You can also follow me on :
Facebook @ Aromaticessence
Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence
Instagram @ aromatic_essence77
Twitter @ freda_dias
Regards,
Freda
Goan Doce Recipe | Doce De Grão | Chana Dal Fudge
Ingredients
Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
- 250 grams chana dal (split Bengal gram)
- 200 grams desiccated coconut, refer notes
- 450 grams granulated sugar, refer notes
- 1/2 tsp green cardamom powder
- 1.5 tbsp ghee, or vegan butter for a vegan version
- 1 tsp salt
Instructions
- Rinse and soak the chana dal in sufficient water for about 3-4 hours. Discard the water. Pressure cook the dal with about 2 cups water and salt until tender. (Or you can also boil the dal with enough water until it is cooked through). Once the pressure settles down, open the lid, discard any excess water if present. Let it come to room temperature. Grind the dal to a smooth paste, without adding any water.
- Next, grind the desiccated coconut fine.
- In a heavy-bottomed, dry pot, add the chana dal paste, ground coconut, and sugar.
- Keep stirring continuously ( or else the bottom might get burnt) for about 15 minutes on medium heat. Now add the ghee and cardamom powder, Reduce the heat to low, continue stirring ( back and forth rather than clockwise or anti-clockwise direction, because the mixture gets pretty tough to mix ) until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and almost comes together like a soft dough.
- Line a wooden board with parchment paper, grease it with little ghee. Now transfer the prepared dough mixture to the parchment paper. Place another parchment paper over it, and roll it gently to about 1/4 to 1/2 inch thickness. Let it cool. Cut into diagonals or any other shape. (You can skip the parchment paper, and put it directly on the board or any other flat surface, I like using parchment paper for easier cleanup :p You can also spread this dough in a greased thali (stainless steel shallow dish).
Notes
- Traditionally freshly grated coconuts are used, but when making this at home, all the stirring can get quite overwhelming, desiccated coconut makes it easier as most of the moisture is removed, which means lesser stirring time. The taste was as good as the ones made with fresh coconut. You can use either!
- The quantity of sugar is double to that of the chana dal, 450 grams of sugar gives enough sweetness which is okay with us. If you want it sweeter, please feel free to add 500 grams.
- I use a cooktop with electric coils, so the timings may vary a little if you use a gas cooktop. Either way remember to keep the heat on medium.
Guava cheese is one of the most commonly prepared sweets in most Catholic households for Christmas. It is chewy and yet a melt in the mouth kind of fudge if prepared correctly. It is known as Perad in Goa. Here’s an easy step-by-step recipe to make this Christmas treat!
Few basic ingredients go into the making of Guava cheese i.e guava, sugar, lemon juice & butter. The short list of ingredients is compensated for the lengthy procedure. But that end result definitely makes it worth the effort. These will disappear faster than the total time it will take you to prepare them. At least I can easily gobble 4-5 in one go 😀 They are extremely addictive.
This guava cheese | perad is quite similar in texture to the guava paste also known as guayabate I’ve seen here in the US, but it doesn’t taste the same. Although, after looking up online, I found that it’s made with the same ingredients. I’m not sure why it still doesn’t taste like the guava cheese I’ve had back home. Probably the taste of guava itself differs, just a guess!
This time I spotted tiny guavas at Walmart, and the first thing that came to my mind was Guava cheese. It’s been a while I last had some guavas. I simply love eating guava fruit with some salt and red chilli powder, and I’m sure you would relate with me if you enjoy eating guavas that way!
I just picked up that box out of impulse and set to make this at 11 pm in the night. Talk about obsession! And imagine my delight, when I saw that beautifully set guava cheese with a beautiful smooth finish, in the morning, I was on cloud 9!!
I couldn’t help but taste a small piece of all my late night hard work. It was perfect, and just melted in the mouth, not overly chewy! Just as we like it 🙂 Yay!! I’m glad to strike off of one more thing from my never-ending but rather increasing to-do list! 🙂
- DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THESE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEET RECIPES TOO
- STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE GUAVA CHEESE | PERAD
- HOW TO MAKE GUAVA CHEESE | PERAD?
- Guava Cheese | Perad Recipe | How To Make Guava Cheese
DON’T FORGET TO CHECK OUT THESE TRADITIONAL GOAN CHRISTMAS SWEET RECIPES TOO
- Rich Christmas fruit cake
- Goan Baath cake
- No cook & egg-free marzipan
- Any much more here .
And now, let’s see how to prepare Guava cheese | Perad 🙂
STEP BY STEP INSTRUCTIONS TO MAKE GUAVA CHEESE | PERAD
1.Wash the guavas well. Heat water in a large pot, once it comes to a boil, add the guavas. Cook until the guavas are tender, drain the water in a bowl and reserve it for further use. Once the guavas are warm enough to handle, peel as much of the skin as you can & scoop out the seeds.
2.Boil the seeds with 1/2 cup of the reserved water.
3.Pass the guava’s through a fine mesh sieve, collect the pulp in a bowl. You may also puree and then pass it through the sieve.
4.Also, pass the seeds boiled in water through the fine mesh sieve and collect the extract in the bowl containing the guava pulp. Weigh out the total pulp. You will need exactly the same amount of sugar or slightly more if the guavas are not very sweet. I had a total yield of 300 grams (1 & 1/2 cup guava pulp), and so have used 300 grams sugar.
5.In a dry pot , add the guava pulp and the sugar. Stir on medium heat to prevent it from burning at the bottom. Use a long wooden handle preferably to make stirring easier.
6.After about 10 minutes, the mixture will start bubbling, add in the lemon juice and continue stirring. If it bubbles vigorously then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring.
7.After another 10-15 minutes of stirring the mixture will have reduced and will begin to thicken. Add butter and the food color, and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the edges of the pan or when you scrape the mixture at the bottom, it stays apart for few seconds.
- To test: Keep a bowl of ice cold water ready, take a little mixture and transfer it to the water, try to form a ball. If you can, it is done.
9.Remove from the heat and immediately transfer to a well-greased plate or tin. Smooth it out on top. Leave it to cool and set at room temperature for 6-8 hours. Cut into desired pieces and store in an airtight container. I got a total of 20 pieces of perad with a 1/2 inch thickness. You can reduce the thickness to 1/4 inch and get double the yield.
HOW TO MAKE GUAVA CHEESE | PERAD?
Guava Cheese | Perad Recipe | How To Make Guava Cheese
Ingredients1x2x3x
Measuring cup used, 1 cup = 250 ml, 1 tsp = 5 ml
- 1.1 lbs / 500 grams Guava’s
- 0.6 lbs / 300 grams sugar
- 2 tbsp butter
- 1/2 tbsp lemon juice
- 4-5 drops of red food color, optional
Instructions
- Wash the guavas well. Heat water in a large pot, once it comes to a boil, add the guavas. Cook until the guavas are tender, drain the water in a bowl and reserve it for further use. Once the guavas are warm enough to handle, peel as much of the skin as you can & scoop out the seeds.
- Boil the seeds with 1/2 cup of the reserved water.
- Pass the guava’s through a fine mesh sieve, collect the pulp in a bowl. You may also puree and then pass it through the sieve. Also, pass the seeds boiled in water through the fine mesh sieve and collect the extract in the bowl containing the guava pulp. Weigh out the total pulp. You will need exactly the same amount of sugar or slightly more if the guavas are not very sweet. I had a total yield of 300 grams (1 & 1/2 cup guava pulp), and so have used 300 grams sugar.
- In a dry pot, add the guava pulp and the sugar. Stir on medium heat to prevent it from burning at the bottom. Use a long wooden handle preferably to make stirring easier.
- After about 10 minutes, the mixture will start bubbling, add in the lemon juice and continue stirring. If it bubbles vigorously then reduce the heat to low and continue stirring.
- After another 10-15 minutes of stirring the mixture will have reduced and will begin to thicken. Add butter and the food color, and keep stirring till the mixture leaves the edges of the pan or when you scrape the mixture at the bottom, it stays apart for few seconds.
- To test: Keep a bowl of ice cold water ready, take a little mixture and transfer it to the water, try to form a ball. If you can, it is done.
- Remove from the heat and immediately transfer to a well-greased plate or tin. Smooth it out on top. Leave it to cool and set at room temperature for 6-8 hours. Cut into desired pieces and store in an airtight container. I got a total of 20 pieces of perad with a 1/2 inch thickness. You can reduce the thickness to 1/4 inch and get double the yield.
I would love to hear from you! Please feel free to share your feedback with photos and suggestions to me at aromaticessence77@gmail.com
You can also follow me on :
Facebook @ Aromaticessence
Pinterest @ Aromatic Essence
Instagram @ aromatic_essence77
Twitter @ freda_dias
Thanks for stopping by!
Regards,
Freda
