Coconuts

[karadekoolaid Profile]

A while ago, ZeroCook asked for some coconut recipes with (a) chicken and (b) tofu. Finally, I got round to finding them. Here´s the first chicken one - from SE India. Down there, they like their food searingly hot, so I´ve cut back on the chile. This a a dryish dish - but absolutely divine - and the recipe (with some modifications ) comes from " 50 Great Curries of India"
Chettinad Chicken

(For the spice paste)
2 tsps poppy seeds
1/2 lb (225 gms) freshly grated coconut
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cinnamon stick ( about 2")
4 green cardamoms
4 cloves
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala

Oil/butter for frying
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsps fresh ginger, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
1 whole star anise
1/2 - 1 tsp chile powder
1 kg chicken cut into pieces ( drumsticks work best)
3 chopped tomatoes
salt
Squeeze of lime juice
coriander to garnish

Grind all the ingredients for the paste together. Heat the oil and fry the onion until it wilts. Then add the garlic and ginger. Stir two or three times, then add the anise and chile powder, stir once, then add the spice paste. Sauté gently for about 5 minutes, adding a drop or two of water if the paste dries out.
Now add the chicken and cook , turning frequently, for about 5-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and season with salt. Add about 400mls water ( about a cup and a half) and mix well. Cook until the chicken is done and the dish is almost dry. Add the lime and coriander just before serving.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Here´s another lovely, easy chicken dish from Indonesia.

Petjel Ayam
800 gms chicken (I use breast, but you can use what ever you prefer)
1 large onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece of ginger, minced
2 small green chiles, minced
1 tsp turmeric
1 Tbsp coriander powder
250 mls coconut milk *
basil leaves
salt to taste

Brush the chicken pieces with a little oil, sprinkle with salt and grill briefly until sealed. Remove and set aside.
Fry the onion, garlic, ginger and chiles in a little oil until soft. * Add the spices and stir for a minute or so, then add the coconut milk and the basil leaves. Stir briefly to mix. Add the chicken pieces, cut into bite sizes, and cook for about 10-15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through.
*I cooked this dish at a restaurant once, in a course on Indonesian food. They forgot the coconut milk, so I improvised with fresh, grated coconut and some chicken stock. I toasted the grated coconut after frying the onion, etc., and the dish tasted just as good.

[ZeroCook Profile]

Ooo thanks KDKA Just seen this!

I've used some of the frozen coconut pieces recently in a coconut daal- they're not easy to grate and really hard to blitz. Not vey nutty but nutty enough to give the blitzer a hard time. Is a hand grater better?

On a nutritional note, I can hardly believe the calories in coconut and coconut milk

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Right - tofu. To be honest, I almost never use it, but I´ve got a recipe book from the mid-90s, written by a vegetarian Thai cook, which has some interesting tofu recipes in it.
The first is a green curry, with tofu, aubergines and straw mushrooms. If you can buy green curry paste, you only need to fry it for a bit, add the tofu, aubergines and straw mushrooms and half a cup of grated coconut + half a cup of coconut milk.
The second is a famous Massaman Curry, which used tofu instead of beef. Since the massaman curry paste can be bought, it´s worth giving it a try.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

they're not easy to grate and really hard to blitz

I´d let them defreeze first, then you can blitz them.
As for getting extra flavour from the coconut, I´d highly recommend toasting it or frying it until it browns. Seems to accent the coconut flavour.

[ZeroCook Profile]

I think I got a slightly immature coconut I picked the biggest one there. It was actually pretty fresh and the husk was more beige than dark brown and had a lot of water in it, which I like. The flesh was solid tho a tad thin but still quite milky and tender, not nutty and fibrous. Too soft to grate well. But it wouldn't blitz very well before or after freezing and I thawed it out, too. Might have to pestle it.

There's a good massaman paste on bbc food. Ive never been a fan of bought pastes I have to say. So easy and so much better to diy.

[karadekoolaid Profile]

Here´s the Massaman paste from Vatcharin Bhumitchitr. His exact instructions, although I find it pretty hard work to make a smooth paste with a pestle and mortar:

10 dried long red chiles, deseeded and chopped
1 tsp groud coriander seeds
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp ground star anise
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 tsp white pepper
6 small shallots, roughly chopped
4 tbsps garlic cloves, roughly chopped
2" piece lemon grass, chopped
1/2" piece galangal, chopped
1 tbsp kaffir lime peel
1 tsp salt
In a large mortar, pound together all the ingredients a few at a time, working them well in to form a smooth paste.

[Pepper Pig Profile]

There’s a nice-looking Coconut and Grapefruit cheesecake in today’s Guardian. Remember Benjamina?

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2021/m ... ina-ebuehi