Coconut burfi recipe, Thengai burfi

Updated on September 1, 2026 by Raks Anand 92 Comments

Coconut burfi recipe or thengai burfi is very easy to make, just 2 main ingredients. The best part is no sugar syrup consistency in this method! So all you need is basic ingredients from pantry and a little bit of patience as always for any kind of homemade sweet. Let's see how to make it with step by step images.

Make this when you want a festival sweet or a simple sweet you want to gift, that doesn't demand watching a pot for the right syrup stage.

Check out my other Diwali recipes and list of easy Diwali sweets in my website.

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About Coconut Burfi
Stepwise photos
Top tips
My notes
Substitutions & Variations
FAQs
Shelf life/ Storage
Recipe card

I wonder why I have not attempted to make this before. My MIL is perfect in making 'white' burfis. And when she was here last month, I somehow wanted her to make this burfi and learn coconut barfi recipe from her, with her expert tips.

But days flew away and we could not do it. Still after she left, I wanted to try it out myself and searched for white looking burfi recipe. Found a simplest recipe/ method to do it in this site called cookatease. So tried this delightful dessert and succeeded in very first attempt in this method.

Am sure next time I would get the whitest. I personally some how don't like the brown parts of coconut in the burfi. It is a key to get white burfi. So when you grate the coconut, take care not to scrap the brown skin along.

There can be few variations in this burfi recipe. We can add few cashews or we can add few 'pottu kadalai' / fried gram dal. Both are nice in its own way. My MIL even adds a part of fine rava in this to give more volume without changing the taste. I made a simpler version of this coconut burfi recipe. Me and Vj loved it a lot and I am definitely going to make again and again. Also for this Diwali and other festive occasions…

About Coconut Burfi

Coconut burfi also known as Nariyal Barfi in Hindi or Thengai barfi in Tamil, is an Indian fudge made with just two main ingredient - Fresh coconut and sugar. You can make this sweet under 20 minutes without any sugar syrup consistency. You can cook coconut down with sugar until it forms a soft, fudgy mass, it sets to a clean white barfis. It's forgiving enough for a first attempt, yet turns out sweets shop-style every time you get the knack right.

Why you will love this recipe?

Just two main ingredients
No sugar string consistency
Ready under 20 minutes
Lovely whitish burfi that melts in mouth

Stepwise photos

Take a pan and fry 5 cashews, broken into small pieces, till golden brown and set aside. Keep a greased tray ready. Heat 1 cup coconut and 1 cup sugar together. Mix well.
Continue heating with constant stirring in medium heat. the sugar will melt and form a thick liquid.
Keep cooking until the mixture starts leaving the pan and forms a foamy whitish bubbles while stirring. This is the right stage. Colour should not change. Add cashews, ⅛ teaspoon cardamom powder lastly.
Pour immediately to the greased pan and level it with a greased butter paper/ aluminium foil/ a greased spatula or silicone spatula to give it a smooth finish. Cut in to pieces while it is still warm.

That's it! Once cooled, just invert the greased plate and the sweet and flavourful mithai is ready! It gets a nice aroma of the coconut after a day or more resting time.

Top tips

The exact time to reach the right consistency depends on your pan's thickness, your stove's heat and how moist your coconut is. There is no fixed minute cout, so cook by the visual cue - foamy white bubbles, mixture leaving the pan sides.
Keep the flame at medium or low, especially as you get closer to the end stage. This is when it gets overcooked and get caramelized, colour changes.
Cut pieces while the burfi is still warm. Otherwise it becomes too hard to cut cleanly.
For the whitest burfi, buy or grate coconut without any brown sin it it. Do not over cook or cook in high heat.

My notes

If you make in high flame the burfi will not have white color and it will be towards golden hue. Also it can easily turn to a brittle because of high heat.

You can use nuts of your choice, like almonds instead of cashews.

I have not tested this recipe with desiccated coconut/ coconut flakes or jaggery.

If you do not have grater, you can always use a blender to get the same texture. But young coconut tends to become paste than giving a grated effect.

I have used little ghee, but if you like it to be richer and softer, rather than a dry barfi, use upto 3 teaspoons ghee.

Substitutions & Variations

Fried gram dal & Rava - Swap the cashews for pottu kadalai for a different texture. A small part of fine roasted rava to the mixture to bulk up the batch without changing the taste. Useful if you are making a large quantity for gifting. Check out it here: Rava burfi.

My MIL makes a great burfi, I will definitely try to document that traditional way too which uses sugar syrup (single string consistency).

FAQs

Can I use desiccated coconut?

Not recommended for this exact recipe. it does not hold enough natural moisture, so the mixture won't cook the way fresh coconut does.

Can I use frozen coconut to make Coconut burfi?

Frozen grated coconut works fine as a substitute. Thaw it completely before using in the recipe.

Why does my coconut burfi stay gooey?

This usually means too little sugar for the coconut. Follow the recipe. Not cooking long enough also leads to this. Cook until the mixture leaves the sides of the pan and gathers into a single mass.

My coconut barfi crumbles instead of holding together?

Make sure you do not overcook or do not use high heat while making barfi. Especially towards the last stage.

Shelf life/ Storage

Keeps good for 4-5 days at room temperature, upto a week - 10 days in fridge. Store in an air tight container once cooled completely.

Recipe card

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5 from 9 votes