Keto Tiganites or Fritule – Mediterranean mini doughnuts

Keto Tiganites or even Lukumades could sound like another impossible task to anybody who knows the Greek way of cooking! Flour, and then some more wheat flour! Right? Well, not quite right!

To us, Keto Greeks, this is a challenge! Tiganites are almost ancient dessert that has been aromatising the kitchens and bakeries all over Greece for centuries. Have you ever visited Greek islands or the mainland and had a chance to try them?

How about Croatia? They call them Fritule there!

Just a few days ago my wife and I spend a mini-vacation in the picturesque city of Split. Croatian coast is so attractive that I totally understand my ancestors, ancient Greeks who decided to found numerous colonies there in ancient times. At night, when we went for a walk in the historic city centre, we were amazed by the smell of Fritule. They were offering them in every corner. My wife said:

– We must ketonise them!!! 

The historical connection of Greece and Croatia

We actually stayed in Stobreč, which is a suburb of Split. In fact, it’s a small town known to Romans as  Latin: Epetium, and to my ancestors as Greek: Εpetion. The perpendicular rock above the village of Stobreč hides the remains of the citadel which is the most massively reinforced establishment in the region of Split. The city gate is a component of the Greek protective walls and is the only preserved Greek gate in the Adriatic region! The Greek era recognised this establishment under the name Epetion. It was found sometimes in the 3rd century BC as a Greek colony of Issa, from the nearby island of Vis. 

What are Fritule

Fritule is a festive Croatian pastry made particularly for Christmas. They resemble little doughnuts, the Italian zeppole, Venetian frìtole, and the Dutch Christmas snack “oliebollen” (“balls of oil”). However, they are usually flavoured with rum and citrus zest, topped with powdered sugar.

The taste is identical

From the list of ingredients, I could say, the ketonisation will be easy. We’ll just replace the wheat flour with a combination of almond flour, coconut flour and psyllium. Then, we’ll use stevia powder instead of powdered sugar and everything else will stay the same! After we actually made them, we were surprised how similar to the original Fritule or Tiganites they tasted! You will not be able to tell the difference!

Ketonising your frying oil

Original Tiganites and Fritule are usually fried in sunflower oil. In Greece, in some archaic recipes, you’ll find them fried in olive oil which would be a healthier version! However, for the sake of high-temperature resistance, we used coconut oil. Naturally, we aromatised the oil with some cloves, to make it smell more like the Mediterranean dish. Alternatively, you can use a mix of butter and olive oil. If you want to make it 100% Greek, use goat butter and extra virgin olive oil.

Let’s get to the super easy keto Tiganites or Fritule recipe