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Goan Doce (Doce de Grão)

Doce means ‘sweet’ and grao ‘grain’ in Portuguese, is a Goan sweet that requires very few ingredients but a lot of patience and tremendous amount of stirring. The end result is a simple sweet that still ends up getting consumed too soon. Doce is made during Christmas time, weddings and special occasions. It is also available in the local market throughout the year. This recipe belongs to my husbands Grandma Rosita Pinto.
  • Passive
    15 mins
  • Prep
    20 mins
  • Cook
    1 Hour
  • Servings
    160 Pc.

Ingredients

  • 1 kg Chana dal (split gram dal)
  • 2 kg Granulated white sugar
  • 8 Coconuts (Grated)
  • 200 grams Ghee (Clarified Butter)
  • 2 tsp Cardomom powder

Instructions

  • 1 Boil the chana dal till soft. Grind to a fine paste.
  • 2 Grate the coconuts and grind to a fine paste. Mix the ground coconut, sugar and chana dal well.
  • 3 Keep on a slow fire and keep stirring continuously with a spatula or flat wooden spoon. After half an hour of stirring add the ghee and cardamom powder.
  • 4 Continue stirring till the mixture until it starts leaving the sides of the pan and forms a ball.
  • 5 Spread some ghee on kitchen surface and roll the mixture out while still hot. Keep for about 10 minutes and then make design using a fork.
  • 6 Cut diamond shaped pieces. Cool completely.
 

72 Comments

  1. Do you have a microwave method? Also, theres no way to get fresh grated coconut – any suggestions?

    1. Hi barbara

      no, i don’t have a microwave version of this recipe…I would recommend fresh coconut for this recipe as you could try using desiccated coconut but the taste wont be the same.

    2. Can dessicated be used instead of fresh. Thank you

      1. Hi Mary
        I have not tried with dedicated coconut
        You can give it a try for a little batch and see how it turns
        I would advise fresh coconut

  2. Instead of grating coconuts can i use readymade coconut milk?

    1. Hi sagar

      NO, coconut milk cannot be used here in this recipe. It HAS to be grated coconut.

  3. Hi Xanti. I think these looks exactly how I love them! Do they remain soft and for how long (Im not fond of hard doce though there are people who do)? How do you store it and how long do they remain good for?
    Lastly, can I halve this recipe equally for all ingredients and will it halve the time before we add the ghee and cardamom?
    Thanks

    1. yes patsy this is the soft doce…yes it remains soft or 2 weeks.

  4. Xanti can you please give me the ingredients for hard doce, I tried the above and it came out superb. I want to try the hard doce receipe, please oblige. thks

  5. Can we use dessicated coconut? If so pls let me know the qty and if it has to be just added as is to the boiled daal paste .

    1. Hi Louella

      You can use 1.5 times the quantity of desiccated coconut as mentioned.

      1. Hello Xanti, please give me the recipe for date rolls

        1. Hi
          I don’t have a recipe as yet for date rolls on my website

  6. Hi Xanti
    Please could you tell the combination for just like 2 cups channa dal just to make a small quantity at home for the kids.

    1. Hello Fiona

      1 kg of chana dal is about 6 cups. So adjust the recipe accordingly for all the ingredients. Make it for 1.5 cups chanan dal(quarter the recipe ingredients).

  7. Hi Xanti,can you give coconut quantity in grams..Coconuts are super big which we get in US stores .So 8 coconuts will be alot.

  8. You can cut the coconut in small pieces and grind in mixer. But take out the brown covering first and then grind Barbara

    1. Yes safira … one can do that as well 👍🏻

  9. Yes, Xanti, giving us weight of coconut will help a lot

  10. Why not use coconut cream. My husband uses it and comes out good

    1. Hi suzanne

      good idea:) i have not come across coconut cream in doce…can you please pass the recipe so i can give it a try or understand how its used here 🙂 Thanks in advance 🙂

  11. Hi Xanti

    Yesterday I left a comment I used 500 grams of Chana Dal 800 grams of sugar not 1 kilo of sugar as it becomes too sweet n 2 tins of coconut cream Some ghee n cardamom powder although it it takes a littler longer but the results are fabulous

    1. Hi Susanna
      Thanks for sharing … Nice to know the use of coconut cream here 🙂 something new to learn:) Yes, surely will take longer time due to the liquid content present 🙂 But, yes..worth the effort !

    2. Hi Susanna What’s the quantity of coconut cream u used? 400 ml?

      1. Grated coconut is used not coconut cream.

  12. Should I grind the coconut with water

    1. hi rosie

      not with water …just grind fresh coconut alone …if required maybe a few tablespoons of water 🙂

  13. Should we grind d dal with water

    1. Hi cynoshka
      No , don’t add water . Just grind it

      1. Ty

  14. It looked to delicious and was so delicious to eat ..thank you for d recipe u shared

    1. Your lost welcome cynoshka 😊thanks for sharing your feedback with me.

  15. Hi Xanti,
    If I used powdered Chana dhal (pkg) will that work? Also to get the mixture wet can I use water or coconut milk?

    Thanks,
    N

    1. Hello

      I have not tried using powdered Chana dal, don’t know how it will work out . Sorry , I will not be able to guide you on this one .

  16. Hi Shanti,
    How would I convert 8 coconut into weight of shredded coconut. Thank you.

    1. Hi Isabel
      If I’m not mistaken the frozen shredded coconut that says 2 coconuts in a pack weighs about 340 grams ? I’m not sure on the weight , use coconut with approximation to 8 coconuts

      1. Hi Xanti. Where we are, we do not get coconuts. The coconuts here are already fresh and shredded. Could you give an approx weight equal to the 8 coconuts please. Thanks.

  17. I tried your recipe and turned out well and tasty and kept it overnight to form, my only query is the top has formed but went I was cutting the bottom remained moist and not able to cut into perfect diamond shape, do I cook it again for some time more. Please guide me, thank you.

    1. Hi jessica
      Was it too moist ?
      Then , yes , it should have been cooked for a little more longer time

  18. Hi Xanti,
    Do we need to soak the dal overnight?

    1. Hi Sophia
      Yes

      1. Is soaking the dal overnight compulsory

        1. I always soak any pulses overnight.

  19. do we have to cut in diamond shaped immediately or have to leave it for few hours

    1. Hi tabita
      Maybe after 5 minutes or so

  20. PRAISE GOD EVERY EASY RECIPE TO UNDERSTAND .GOD BLESS

    1. Thanks for the appreciation 😊

  21. Hi Xanti, your recipe looks super easy. However wanted to check if I could substitute sugar with jaggery. If yes, then what quantity

  22. When one boils the dal, does the water have to be strained out or grind it to a paste with the water or it has to be boiled so soft that we just have to directly grind it?

    1. Hi Jennifer
      Throw the water out .

  23. Hi! In this case, “Grão” means “Grão-de-bico”, chickpeas in English. Btw, I’m portuguese and my grandma is from Goa, and I love this delicious treat! 😊

  24. Hi can u pls tell me how many cups does 8 coconut become or how many grams does d 8 coconuts become

    1. Hi pretty
      I didn’t measure it in cups or grams … just whole 8 coconuts scrapped . So ambot tell you exactly how much in grams or cups

  25. Hi..I love Doce and I want try this recipe out. I am planning to use the frozen shredded coconut. My question is if I use a nutribullet or ninja mixer will this grind be sufficient to grind the boiled gram and the coconut to a fine paste?

    1. Hi geanie
      Yes you can

  26. Hey hi xanti do u have d recipe for ash gourd

    1. No pretty I don’t have one

  27. Hi Xanti! I would like to know if we can make this with sugar free using Eritherol. Xanti also if you have any receipes using gluten free and sugar free pls do let me know , I would like to make some kulkals and neureos using almond flour and Eritherol

    1. Hi maria
      Sorry ,I don’t do any gluten free nor sugar free stuff.

  28. Very nice receipe, if I want to make hard doce what are the ingredients, please let me know. Tks n advance. From Saira

  29. Pl give me receipe of hard doce

    1. Sorry saira
      I don’t have the recipe for hard doce …

  30. Hello I tried the recipe today and it turned out awesome … it’s been 3 hours now but it has not yet hardened like the store bought doce.

    Also I didn’t have granulated sugar so I powdered regular sugar .. do you think that could pose to be an issue .. the rest was all followed as mentioned ..
    Thanks

  31. Hi dear.. Can jaggery be used instead of sugar……? If so than could be the quantity for jaggery?

    1. Hi daphne
      No idea on Jaggery for doce.
      Sugar is used to make it.
      Never heard of using Jaggery for doce.

  32. Tried out this recipe and the outcome was wonderful. Thank you Xanti

  33. Thank you Xanti your gram doce recipe turned out fantastic. The taste was fabulous too. I was thrilled with the outcome. Thank you for all of your detailed recipes. I also tried out the kormolas/kulkuls following your recipe they turned out so perfect. Our children were very happy. Thank you so much once again for these lovely Goan sweets which I try out only at christmas time.
    Wishing you and your family a Merry Christmas and a Happy, Healthy Prosperous New Year 2021.

    1. Thanks for sharing your feedback 😊🙏

  34. Hi shanti
    I tried your doce recipe it turned out yum😋my only query when i kept it to dry or set it left out a bit of moisture on the surface,there was no dryness on the surface

    1. Hi
      Probably added lesser sugar ? Or followed the same amount as per the recipe ?

  35. Hi Xanti , I tried your doce recipe. It turned out fantastic. Thanks for all you’ve done. Give our love to your Mum & all of you’ll.

    1. Thanks for trying the recipe and for sharing your feedback 🙏hope you all are doing good

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