Although the whole country has gone mad for coconut water, in its hairy, round form, the coconut has never been fully accepted into the kitchen of the home cook. It’s always been an outsider, deemed intimidating and impenetrable: the reserve of foodies ... who even knows how to crack them open?
It doesn’t have to be this way: for millions of people in India, using fresh coconut is part of everyday life. While you can buy special tools in the form of coconut scythes, cleavers and special grating stools, all you actually need to crack your coconut is to give it a good hard thwack on the pavement.
The first time I ate fresh coconut was many years ago in my friend Geeta’s kitchen in Kerala, India. I was desperate to try some, though I was sure the convenient desiccated and tinned stuff back in the UK would come close. But there is no comparison. This is partly because it is fresh and so the texture differs in the same way dried tomatoes or tomato paste differs from fresh tomatoes. Fresh coconut is wonderfully juicy, crisp and fruity – nothing like its desiccated counterpart. Flavour-wise, it’s sweet without being sickly, nutty and rich while also being incredibly light. Because it’s delicious all by itself, it can play a leading role, rather than just a sidekick. Ultimately, it is worth a crack.
How to crack, grate and milk coconuts
If you crack, grate and milk your coconuts over a weekend, then all these recipes are easily achievable midweek meals. Two coconuts is enough for all four recipes.
To crack your coconut, hold it in one hand and hold a bowl in the other (if you want to catch the water.) Smack the coconut against a concrete floor or the edge of a sturdy wall until it cracks, then move it over the bowl.
Wedge the tip of a strong knife into the flesh and hoik and pry it out in chunks. If the coconut flesh seems firmly stuck, bake the upturned shells for 15 minutes at 180C/350F/gas mark 4, leave to cool and try again. Each coconut should yield 200–250g flesh.
To grate it, coarsely grind the flesh from 1 coconut (around 250g) in a food processor, or use a hand grater.
To make milk, add the flesh from the other coconut to a blender with 800ml of hand-hot water. Blend for 2 minutes, then strain through a muslin cloth or clean tea towel. Squeeze as hard as you possibly can to get the most out of the flesh. Keep each component in separate airtight containers in the fridge. They will keep for up to 5 days.
The dessert: Coconut ice-cream with spiced pineapple (pictured above)
Heavenly. Although you can eat the ice-cream by itself, the pineapple adds a lovely contrasting acidity to the coconut’s cool creaminess. While it’s quick work to make the ice-cream, you’ll need to start well ahead to make sure it is frozen before serving.
Serves 4
300ml fresh coconut milk
1½ tbsp dried coconut shreds (leftover from the strained coconut and water)
300ml double cream
5 egg yolks
150g sugar
1 tbsp butter, unsalted
1 medium pineapple, peeled and sliced into 8 wedges
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp lime
2-3 cloves, to taste
50g ground or finely chopped pistachios to decorate (optional)
1 Pour the coconut milk, dried coconut shreds and double cream into a saucepan. Warm until hot, but not boiling. Take off the heat and leave to cool for a few minutes.
2 Meanwhile, whisk the egg yolks with the sugar until pale yellow. Add this to the cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to the saucepan and heat very gently, stirring, until it comes together to form a custard. Take off the heat and transfer to another bowl to cool down.
3 When cool, churn in an ice-cream maker until frozen and place in the freezer. If you don’t have an ice-cream maker, put it in a plastic tub and pop it in the freezer. Whisk vigorously after 45 minutes to break up any ice crystals, and then again every 45 minutes for 2‑3 hours, or until frozen.
4 Meanwhile, make the spiced pineapple. Melt the butter in a large frying pan over a medium heat. When hot, add the pineapple wedges. Turn them every 2 minutes, until they start to caramelise and brown. Add the honey, lime and cloves. Stir-fry for another minute and take off the heat.
5 Serve the clove-spiced pineapple alongside a scoop of coconut ice-cream and scatter liberally with ground pistachios.
The stir-fry: Keralan coconut prawns
I am a prawn addict and this may be the best way I’ve ever eaten them. I first tasted this stir-fry at my favourite restaurant in Cochin and was lucky enough to be allowed in the kitchen to scribble down the recipe.
Serves 2-4
3 tbsp rapeseed oil
10 curry leaves
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
5 garlic cloves, crushed
3cm fresh ginger, grated
⅓ tsp turmeric
¾ tsp black pepper
¾ tsp red chilli powder
75g fresh coconut, grated
500g raw and peeled king prawns
1½ tbsp fresh lime juice
½ tsp salt (or to taste)
1 Heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the curry leaves. When they crackle, add the onion. Cook for 8 minutes, or until soft and starting to brown.
2 Add the ginger and garlic. Cook for 5 minutes, then add the turmeric, black pepper, chilli and coconut. Stir in the prawns. Cook for 4 minutes, or until pink. Add the lime juice and salt, give them a final stir, then take off the heat.
The curry: Vegetable ishtu
Take a journey to Kerala using vegetables from an English allotment. If you like your curries to be gentle and flavourful but light and packed full of vitality, then this is the one for you.
Serves 4
800g mixed vegetables (eg 200g new potatoes, 150g carrots, 200g green beans, 200g broccoli, 50g peas)
4 tbsp rapeseed oil
4 cloves
4cm cinnamon stick
12 peppercorns
10 curry leaves (optional)
1 large onion, finely diced
3cm ginger, grated
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1½ green chillies, very finely chopped
500ml fresh coconut milk
⅓ tsp turmeric
⅔ tsp salt (or to taste)
1 Chop the vegetables: cut the potatoes into quarters, the broccoli to the same size as the potatoes, the carrots into batons and the green beans into thirds.
2 Heat 3 tbsp oil in a large, lidded frying pan. When hot, add the cloves, cinnamon, curry leaves, if using, and pepper. When the pepper swells, add the onion. Sweat for 8 minutes, or until soft, but not coloured. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli. Cook for 1-2 minutes.
3 Add the coconut milk, salt, turmeric and potatoes. Bring to the boil, coverwith the lid and leave to simmer for 5 minutes. Add the carrots and simmer for 5 minutes. Add a splash more milk if it’s too dry. When the potatoes and carrots are almost tender, add the beans and broccoli. Cook for a 3 minutes or so. Pop in the peas and cook for a final minute.
The rice dish: Coconut rice with cashews and shallots
This would be one of my desert island dishes, partly because I assume most would have a plentiful coconut supply (and the odd frying pan) but also because this rice is good enough to eat by itself.
Serves 4
300g basmati rice
100g fresh coconut, grated
3 tbsp oil
2 tsp chana dhal (optional)
1 tsp mustard seeds
12 curry leaves
1 cinnamon stick
75g cashews
2cm ginger
1 green chilli, finely chopped
200g shallots or 6, finely sliced
1 tsp salt
1 Wash the basmati rice in a few changes of water, until the water runs clear, then leave to soak for 20 minutes. Cover with fresh water and cook to packet instructions. Drain in a colander, cover with a clean tea towel and leave to steam for 10 minutes.
2 Meanwhile, stir-fry the coconut over a medium heat for 4 minutes, until it is flecked golden brown and smells toasted, then tip out on to a plate.
3 Add the oil to the same pan. When hot, add the dhal, mustard seeds, curry leaves and cinnamon. When the curry leaves crackle and mustard seeds pop, add the shallots, ginger and chilli.
4 Cook the mixture for 10-12 minutes until the shallots are caramelised and dark brown.
5 Return the coconut to the pan, along with the salt. Stir, using a wooden spoon. Gently fold in the rice. You may need to break up any clumps with your hands beforehand.
6 To serve, tip out on to a serving plate. Scatter the cashews and shallots on top.
Meera Sodha is the author of Made in India: Cooked in Britain (Figtree);
@meerasodha
