Coconut Rice

Ingredients:

2 tbsp ghee/ cooking oil

6-8 curry leaves

1/2 tbsp black mustard seeds

2 green chillies chopped fine

1 large onion sliced thinly

1/2 tbsp grated ginger
1 cup green beans

1 1/2 cup Basmati rice

400 ml coconut milk

Salt to taste

400 ml hot water

Method:

Heat the ghee / cooking oil in a deep, heavy bottomed pan on medium heat. When hot, add the curry leaves, mustard seeds and green chillies. When the spluttering starts, add the onions and fry till soft. Add the ginger, stir and fry for 1 minute. Add the beans, stir. Now add the rice and stir again. Next add the coconut milk, hot water and stir well. Add salt to taste. Cook on medium heat till the mixture comes to a boil. Allow to boil for 2 minutes and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover the dish and cook till the rice is done.Serve with any curry or with pickle.

Coconut Barfi

Ingredients:

Cardamoms 10-12 nos

Cashew nuts (small pieces fried in ghee) 12-15 piece

Coconut whole 2 nos

Ghee 250g

Jaggery 500g

Khaskhas (Gasgase) 50g

Maida Flour 500g

Oil 250g

Turmeric Powder 1/2 tsp

Wheat flour 500g

Method: 

Grind fresh grated coconut and put it in a container to heat. Add grated jaggery, ghee, khaskhas, cashew nuts to it. Stir it continuously , until it mixes well and forms a paste. Take out from the stove and add cardamom powder to it. When it is cooled, make small balls out of it and keep aside. Take Myda and wheat flour (or use Maida only). Add oil 5 tsp, turmeric and water, and mix it Well into a smooth dough. Add 2 tbsp of oil on the top of that and keep it aside 15 minutes. Divide dough into small balls, make a hole, insert a sweet ball and cover that hole. Roll them into round shape (Like Parathas). Grease the tava (pan) with ghee and place this over it. When done one side turn and apply ghee on other side. It should be golden brown in color when you remove, Store it in a dry container and eat with ghee on the top.

Chocolate Coconut Cake

Ingredients:

6 tbsp cocoa powder (unsweetened)

6 tbsp chocolate paste

2 cups flour / whole wheat flour

2 tbsp baking powder

3 tbsp corn flour

4 tbsp vanilla powder

1 tbsp vanilla essence/ vanilla extract

4 tbsp milk powder

1 tbsp salt

1 egg

1.5 cup thick coconut milk

3 tbsp olive oil/butter

2 tbsp expresso coffee

1 cup castor sugar/ brown sugar

8 to 10 crushed cashews

Method:

Preheat oven at 180°C exactly 10 mins before baking. Grease the pan with olive oil Or butter just at the bottom not at the sides. Place a butter paper Or parchment paper at the bottom. Sift flour, corn flour, salt, milk powder, vanilla powder baking powder. Keep it aside. Take thick coconut milk in a wok Or vessel. Place on low heat for about 3 to 4 mins. Don’t keep it for too long. Now mix coffee, cocoa powder, chocolate paste. Stir well with a spatula until all blends nicely. Keep this mixture aside. Reserve about 3 tbsp mixture for the cake icing. In the meanwhile cream olive oil / butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat until all combines well. Add warm coffee-cocoa-coconut milk mixture. Now beat this mixture for 3 to 4 mins on medium speed. Just ensure the mixture is not warm else your egg will start cooking. Mix dry with wet ingredients. Fold the mixture nicely. Lastly add crushed cashewnuts, vanilla essence. Bake at 180°C for about 40 to 45 mins Or until it starts leaving the edges of pan Or until skewer comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool. Spread the reserved cocoa-coffee-coconut milk mixture on the cake. Chill in the fridge. Serve chilled on a platter with a dollop of icecream.

Tip:

You could add chocolate chunks if chocolate paste not available. If coconut milk not available you could use cows milk. But the cake wouldn’t be as dense as coconut cake.Skip nuts if you wish to. Skip nuts if you wish to.

Coconut Chicken

Ingredients: 

Chicken (cut to pieces) - 500 g

Coconut (grated) - 1cup

Ginger (crushed) -1 tsp

Garlic (crushed) -1 tbsp

Red chilli powder -2 tbsp

Turmeric powder -1 tsp

Fennel powder - 1 tbsp

Black pepper powder -1 tsp

Vinegar or lemon juice -1 tbsp

Salt - to taste

Oil - enough to fry

Dried red chillies (chopped) - 5

Curry leaves (chopped) - a few

Bread crumbs - ¼  cup

Method: 

Make slits on the chicken pieces with a knife and keep aside. In a bowl, mix the ginger, garlic, red chilly powder, turmeric powder, fennel powder, black pepper powder, vinegar (lemon juice) and salt together to a paste. Now, marinate the chicken pieces with the spices paste and keep aside for an hour. Grind the grated coconut to a fine powder. Heat oil in a pan and fry the chicken pieces on a low flame till they turn golden brown. Remove most of the oil from the pan. In the remaining oil, fry the ground coconut, dried red chillies and curry leaves till they are golden brown in colour. Now, add in the bread crumbs and keep on stirring. When the mixture turns crispy, add the chicken pieces and fry for a few more minutes. Serve sizzling hot.

MIXED VEGETABLES IN COCONUT MILK

Ingredients:

2 medium potatoes

12-15 broad beans (kali seim ki phalli)

1/2 cup green peas (matar) (shelled)

1/4 flower cauliflower (phool gobi)

2 medium carrot (gajar)

100 gms red pumpkin (kadhu)

1 1/2 cups coconut (narial) (scraped)

2 tblsp tamarind (imli) pulp

3 tblsp groundnut (moong fali) oil (tel)

4 red chillies whole

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tblsp coriander seeds

8-10 cloves garlic (lasan)

1 tsp turmeric (haldi) powder

salt (namak) to taste

1 tsp mustard seeds (raai)

1 tsp black gram split (urad dal)

8-10 curry leaves (kari patta)

Method:

Peel and dice the potatoes into 1 inch cubes. String the beans and halve them, cut them into one inch pieces. Shell the peas. Wash cauliflower and separate the cauliflower florets. Peel and dice the carrots into 1 inch cubes. Peel and dice the pumpkin into 1 inch cubes. Add warm water to one cup of scraped coconut and extract thick and thin milk. Keep aside. Dissolve tamarind pulp in half cup of water. Heat a little oil and sauté 2 whole red chillies, cumin, coriander, garlic and the remaining half cup of scraped coconut till a nice aroma is given out. Grind into a fine paste. Boil the vegetables in the thin coconut milk with turmeric powder, tamarind extract and salt till three-fourth done. Add the ground masala and cook for 10 minutes.

Heat a little oil separately and add the remaining red chillies broken into two, mustard seeds and urad dal. Add curry leaves and add this to the vegetables. Continue cooking the vegetables till done. Then add the thick coconut milk and simmer for two to three minutes. Serve hot with boiled rice.