# Ideas for fresh coconuts?



## urmaniac13 (Apr 5, 2006)

We found the other day in a market fresh coconuts were on sale at 50 cents a piece.  We bought four mainly because we wanted to cut the shells in half and make cool ice cream bowls.  This was done with great success (and coconut shell saw dust all over the place...), then we realised we had a lot of fresh coconut flesh to be consumed.  We grated them all and made ice cream, coconut custard crostata, then coat some fish fillets with them and skillet fried, they were all delicious but we still have quite a lot.  We may freeze some of them but we really would like to use them fresh as much as possible and I don't think they will keep in the fridge a whole lot.
Anyone has some unique, new recipe idea (sweet or savoury) using grated fresh coconuts?


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## buckytom (Apr 5, 2006)

you could cut them in half, clapping them together and skip around the house pretending to be riding horses. 

just a thought.


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 5, 2006)

buckytom said:
			
		

> you could cut them in half, clapping them together and skip around the house pretending to be riding horses.
> 
> just a thought.


 
I guess you have seen the great "Monty Python's Holy Grail" flick, haven't you...


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## Yakuta (Apr 5, 2006)

Here is a recipe that you make like.  It's sweet and I think you can find most ingredients easily. 

Coconut - I would use 4 cups freshly grated
3 cups of ricotta cheese
2 cups of dry milk powder
2 sticks of unsalted butter
2 tsp of freshly ground cardamom powder
Heaping pinch of saffron 
1 can of condensed milk or you can use 1.5 cups of regular sugar (or to taste)

In a saute pan, add the butter.  Once the butter heats up add the ricotta and cook in until the water evaporates.  Add the coconut and sugar or condensed milk (I prefer the milk) and the milk powder.  Keep stirring until the mixture is incorporated and lumpy and some of the oils are released (takes about 30 minutes of elbow grease and continuous stirring).  Add the cardamom powder and saffro and cook it for another minute.  The mixture should resemble a dough ball and should leave the sides of the pan (so little to no liquid). 

Pour it in a greased tray and let it cool.  Cut into diamonds and sprinkle with slivered almonds and serve. 

Buon appetito - Excuse my Italian, I tried


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 5, 2006)

Yakuta that sounds delicious!!  So this is like a Indian style nougat?  I never tried cardamom or saffron on sweet recipes, but I trust you as your suggestions are always spot on!!  We have all the ingredients on hand, too!!  I will give it a try, thanks!!  btw is there a name for this dessert?

And your Italian is perfect!!


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## Yakuta (Apr 5, 2006)

Hi ur, yeah it's Indian for sure (cardamom and saffron).  It does taste really good even if cardamom sounds strange  

It's called Coconut Barfi (sometimes Indian stores will label it as Burfi but it sounds more like the a than the u).  We make similar Barfi's with fruits (mango, figs, dates etc.) with chocolate and with nuts (blanched and ground almonds, raw sweet cashews, sweet pistachios, walnuts) etc. 

The Burfi base is always a rich ricotta sort of a cheese and milk powder, butter and sugar.  It all comes together nicely and you can cut the peices and store them in a cool dry spot or refrigerator. A lot of people  may find these creations scary because they sometimes use food color to color them (e.g. green in pistachio barfi) but it's really a cheese and milk base along with some sugar and then nuts, fruits and some food color.  Try it and tell me what you think.


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 11, 2006)

Yakuta!!  We made this the other day (sorry I didn't respond earlier... I have been scarce from the puter for a few days!) and it was delicious!!  Cris came up with an idea to coat some of them with chocolate, it turned out like "Bounty Deluxe" with a nice twist, we loved it!!  
Thanks for the great idea, as usual you rock!!


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## buckytom (Apr 11, 2006)

urm, the next time you want to make coconut bowls, you don't have to saw all the way thru. you just have to score the coconut shell where you want the cut, then tap around that circle. it should crack on the scoring.

*I've Got a Loverly Bunch of Coconuts*

I've got a loverly bunch of coconuts,
There they are, a-standing in a row;
Big ones, small ones, some as big as yer 'ead
Give 'em a twist, a flick of the wrist,
That's what the showman said.
He said: 
I've got a loverly bunch of coconuts;
Every ball I throw will make me rich
There stands me wife, the idol of my life,
Singing, Roll-a-bowl-a-ball-a-penny-a-pitch!​


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## Alix (Apr 11, 2006)

Y'know...I saw the thread title...I saw buckytom as poster and somehow I KNEW what I would find here. Now I'm going to be singing THAT little ditty all day!


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## Dakota Rose (Apr 11, 2006)

_ Singing, Roll-a-bowl-a-ball-a-penny-a-pitch! _Help, make it stop! Back to the question: 1) Have on hand ingredients for mojitos. 2) Using a vegetable peeler,  peel off long, thin strips of coconut flesh. Place on baking sheet. Salt! Spritz with vegetable or olive oil. Bake @ 350, turning occasionally, until strips turn golden or lightly brown. Watch carefully, they burn easily.  Voila! Munchie addictables! Serve as an appetizer  — with mojitos, of course! 

Dakota


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 12, 2006)

We also minced up what little there was left of the coconut really fine and made pina colada with it, we usually use the coconut milk but this chunky version was also very very nice, I wish we had some more left to try out that crisps of Dakota Rose... there is always a next time though


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## Yakuta (Apr 12, 2006)

urmaniac, I am glad you like the recipe.  If you get a hold of fresh coconuts ever again try the recipe I have listed below.  It is a chutney recipe and it turns out really good. 

1/2 of a fresh coconut (you can chop it into small cubes)
2 bunches of corrainder washed and roughly chopped
1 green chilli or more if you like it spicy
juice of 1 lemon or lime
4 cloves of garlic (if they are large you can chop it roughly or if small leave them whole)
salt to taste
2 tsp of sugar

Blend all of this together in a grinder (with as less water as you can).  I prefer to use the lime or lemon juice.  The texture of it should be thick not runny. 

We normally use this as a sandwich spread and top it with some sliced boiled potatoes, sliced fresh tomatoes and cucumbers.  It's healthy and tasty. 

We also use it as a side with south indian dishes like idli and dosa (not sure if you have heard about them).  It also goes well with just dahl and rice as as chutney to dip pappads in.


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 12, 2006)

wow yakuta, you never cease to impress me more and more every time...  I can already think of many usage for this recipe and my mouth is watering... we have used up the last batch but fresh coconuts are quite readily available here, so this one will be the next up for our experiments when we get them!


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## Yakuta (Apr 12, 2006)

Hi good to know you can be creative with it.  I guess it's just a standard Indian chutney but a lot of folks don't know about it since the chutneys in the west are not very authentic to their Indian counterparts. 

Anyway, it goes well with fish and poultry as well.  You can add a little to chicken or top a grilled chicken or beef or fish peice with it and you will see the flavors explode in your mouth. 

Good thing is that there is no oil except from the coconut which some say is not that great for you but hey I happen to love coconuts and everything in moderation is good.


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## biev (Apr 16, 2006)

I pick up lots of coconuts around here during storm season, since the wind will knock them down. My favorite thing to do with them is to keep all the pieces in a large container filled with rum. Then I just have a piece of rum-flavored coconut with breakfast, mmm..... You can also grate it and blend it with the coconut water and some regular water to make coconut milk. That has so many uses, I can't even count them. I use it in everything, most frequently curry, coconut rice or soups. 

Easy and delicious coconut rice

I will post more recipes if you want.


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 27, 2006)

Yakuta said:
			
		

> Hi good to know you can be creative with it. I guess it's just a standard Indian chutney but a lot of folks don't know about it since the chutneys in the west are not very authentic to their Indian counterparts.
> 
> Anyway, it goes well with fish and poultry as well. You can add a little to chicken or top a grilled chicken or beef or fish peice with it and you will see the flavors explode in your mouth.
> 
> Good thing is that there is no oil except from the coconut which some say is not that great for you but hey I happen to love coconuts and everything in moderation is good.


 
Yakuta, we made the coconut "chutney" with coriander leaves the other day and we loved it!!  We wanted to couple it with a good swordfish steak but we didn't get to the market early enough and all the nice fish were finished, so we opted for plan B, grilled chicken with couscous.  We blended in the chutney with couscous, topped it with sliced grilled chicken breast and garnished it with extra chutney, it was delicious!!  Now we can't wait to try it with a fish steak!!







Also we came up with a brilliant repartoire which is also very pretty to look at.  We just kinda winged it and named it "Fish Mimosa"   We used a fish called "spatola", I am not sure what it is called in English but a whitemeat fish with very firm flesh.  We made it into strips (or they turned into that way rather... while Cris was preparing the fish---strictly his job---the deboning process got complicated and it became bunch of small pieces...), we breaded them and fried it.  Separately we cooked the fresh coconut flakes with lemon zest in butter, with a touch of saffron, and dressed the piping hot fish.  We definetely impressed ourselves!!  






We are fastly becoming coconut specialists


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## Yakuta (Apr 27, 2006)

Wow Ur, you are not only quite the cook but also a great food stylist.  One thing I am bad at is to make dishes look all pretty.  I am normally pretty tired after a long day of work or running and cleaning behind kids that food is just something on their plate.  

Anyway your fish dish sounds great and looks even great and the coconut, lemon and saffron flavors are right up my alley.


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## urmaniac13 (Apr 27, 2006)

Yeah, I guess I am fortunate to be able to stay at home (except for going to the gym and the market!!) so I have the luxury of investing a lot more time into my kitchen adventures.  I need to mention this on that "what have you appreciated today" thread!!  But it is true that it makes me extra happy when our food comes out not only tasting good but also looking very smart.  Another lucky thing for me is that Cris is also just as much, if not even more of a foodie as I am and helps me with inspirations (and cleaning the fish ).  Yes this must go into that appreciation thread, too 

Anyways try that "Mimosa" recipe, I am sure the coconut/lemon topping will go well on a grilled fish too(that was our initial plan before it became into small pieces!!).  The rich yet light and refreshing flavour that burst in your mouth is totally enticing!!


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## Shaheen (May 2, 2006)

Yet another coconut recipe,

Corn Bhel- It's really simple and healthy.
Mix these together:
1 cup grated coconut
1 cup sweet corn ( you could change the proportion according to your liking)
Then top it with chopped coriander and _sev _(you will find that an Indian store)

This is the way I make it, but you could add chopped fresh tomatoes or onions.


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## katluvscake (May 11, 2006)

You could invite some friends over and fry up some coconut shrimp!


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## bubblygal (May 16, 2006)

Another suggestion is u can cook coconut rice with the coconut milk
In singapore, its a well-known malay dish serve with fried chicken wings, sambal chilli, peanuts.. in fact, anytings u like...


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## Jikoni (May 17, 2006)

Urmaniac, try 'chicken in coconut sauce from my 'african recipes'Make cocnut milk by blending the grated cocnut in water until it's smooth. and yes, coconut rice is great too. I cook it a lot of the times instead of just steamed rice. Also you can make maandazi(african recipes) I use cocnut milk, but I recall my mum using grated coconut.yakuta's recipes are so yummy, I have to find a coconut! and your presentation makes me want to stare at the food the whole day.


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## urmaniac13 (May 17, 2006)

Thanks Jikoni for the tip for the homemade coconut milk!!  I like a recipe very similar to your "chicken in a coconut sauce", I always used a ready made coconut milk from a tin.
I was always wondering about how you would make a coconut milk, I had imagined it may be the liquid at the centre but I found out the liquid is actually clear.  can I use that liquid to blend the grated coconut with?  I also wanted an idea for the usage of that liquid!!


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## Always Hungry (May 17, 2006)

How about peeling the coconut with a vegetable grater until you have small
slivers of coconut. Let it dry a bit, but not so that it's brittle and stale.
Get some of your favorite bread and lightly toast it. After, spread a slight
bit of honey and sprinkle the coconut shavings on top.


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## Yakuta (May 17, 2006)

Hi Ur, on making coconut milk at home and yes I also use the canned ones but guess what the real deal is much better.  I have heard that some canned varieties add cornstarch to thicken the milk.  Now the ingredients don't say that but most of these are exported and I am not sure how honest they are about disclosing the contents. 

The water inside a coconut (green or brown) is to drink.  The brown ones are drier and hardly have any water.  You can by all means use the water to grind the coconut. 

To make coconut milk is extremely simple.  It is once you get the coconut shelled and cut into small cubes.  I normally throw it into a blender with 2 or 3 cups of plain water.  Blend it and then strain it in a colander so that you can squeeze out the milk from the fleshy chewy part.  Keep pressing until all you have left is husk looking pulp.  

I will sometimes reblend the husk looking pulp once more with a cup of water to ensure I get as much as I can out of the coconut.  I don't believe in waste  

Use this milk to make curries or any other dishes that you fancy.  I am assuming italian food does not use coconut milk but hey you can always experiment right. 

You can freeze this milk as well in an airtight container and use it later.


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