Description of Coconut, Nariyal

Coconut can be peeled or unpeeled, as desired. Using a sharp knife cut it into half from the centre. Cut the half portion into another half and chop it by cutting them in small pieces approximately ¼ inch in diameter, although the chopped food doesn't need to be exactly the same size. If the recipe calls for the ingredients to be "coarsely chopped," make the pieces slightly larger.

For any South Indian dishes, coconut paste is a must. It adds flavour, thickness and taste to the food cooked. The way you grind it and the amount of water added or if you have touched, everything matters. There are two ways you can go about doing this, either by chopping the coconut meat to small pieces or by grating and then making a paste of it. Grating the coconut using the traditional Indian instruments is quite daunting. For making the paste, take enough quantity and grind to a smooth paste. You should not add water; if required; just add a teaspoon for it to run. Other ingredients like ginger, garlic, green chilly etc can also be added while grinding. Coconut Paste is used in many dishes in Malaysia as an additional flavour, especially as a base of Indian Curry. It can make your dishes more delicious and appetizing. Coconut Paste might be a little bit hard in condition; it is natural as the oil is separated from the paste. It suggests that mix well before using it.

Coconut can be grated into thin or thick shreds using a grater. One can also use coconut grater which is especially designed to grate coconut directly from its shell. After grating, place them in a non-stick pan and dry roast on a medium flame till they turn little dry and pink in colour. Cool and store in an air-tight container or use as required.

Coconut can be grated thinly or thickly using a grater as required by the recipe. Thickly grated can be used to make sauce or just simply added to vegetables during sauté. Thinly grated c oconut can be added to beverage or in salad.

Toasted grated coconut
Grated coconut can be toasted either in oven or on gas. To toast it in oven - Preheat oven to 350. Arrange shredded/flaked coconut on a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until light golden brown. Stir and check frequently to prevent burning. Remove from oven and allow to cool before using. And the other way to toast it is by - keeping a non stick pan on a very slow fire. Add in the grated coconut and sauté it till it turns into deep golden brown. Keep on stirring because you want the entire portion to be even brown color. After the aroma starts to permeate the whole kitchen, stop and remove the coconut and cool the mixture. Use as desired.

Cut the coconut in half. Slice using a sharp knife by cutting vertically across the cutting board. Wedge them thinly or thickly as the recipe requirement, can used as a garnish or used in sambhar or dal preparations. It can also be deep fried and added to Chivda.