Homemade Coconut Milk, making coconut milk from the fresh coconut at home is easier than you thought and it's so flavorful and absolutely delicious. If you've been following me for a while, you might know by now how much i like coconut or anything with coconut.
As i grew up in South Tamilnadu, coconut plays a major role in our cooking. There were times that i couldn't imagine making a meal without coconut. For all three meal, we used to include coconut in one or other form when we are in home town.
So, making coconut milk at home is very common sight in our household.Coconut milk is used as accompaniment for breakfast such as idiyappam and appam or in curries like sothi kulambu or in dessert varieties like payasam or snacks like paal kozhukattai and so on. In recent times, coconut milk is so popular and have seen recipes using coconut milk as a vegan substitute for many milk based recipes.
What is Coconut Milk and how to choose coconut for coconut milk?
Coconut milk is a milky white liquid extracted from the matured coconut. Since matured coconut has a lot of milk in it, it's advisable to choose coconut with dark colored coconut shells to make coconut milk.
How much Coconut Milk is extracted from a coconut ?
It's really hard to say because every coconut slightly yields differ amount of coconut milk depending on how mature it is.
is it necessary to use warm water to extract coconut milk?
Not always. Back in India, we never used warm water to extract coconut milk, ordinary tap water works fine. But here in US/Canada, i have found the fat from the coconut easily separated while grinding because of the cold weather, so using warm water helps to avoid the fat getting separated.
What's 1st & 2nd Coconut Milk ?
These terms are mostly used in Indian Cooking. The freshly squeezed coconut milk from the coconut flesh is known as "1st coconut milk". After the first squeeze of coconut milk, the left out coconut debris is grounded again with some water and squeezed again and that's known as "2nd coconut milk".
In Indian Cooking, 2nd coconut milk is often cooked along with veggies and it's ok to boil 2nd coconut milk and it doesn't curdle because of its low fat content . First coconut milk is mostly added in the end of stew, payasam for richness and mostly it's advisable not to boil the first coconut milk vigorously
If you're planning to serve coconut milk as it is along with idiyappam and appam, then mix both 1st and 2nd coconut milk together and use.
How long can i store the coconut milk ?
Honestly, we never store the coconut milk at our homes. Always make them fresh for all the dishes and personally i like the freshly squeezed coconut milk more than any canned coconut milk. Once you have tasted the fresh coconut milk, you never go back to those canned coconut milk.
Coconut milk is a milky white liquid extracted from the matured coconut. Since matured coconut has a lot of milk in it, it's advisable to choose coconut with dark colored coconut shells to make coconut milk.
How much Coconut Milk is extracted from a coconut ?
It's really hard to say because every coconut slightly yields differ amount of coconut milk depending on how mature it is.
is it necessary to use warm water to extract coconut milk?
Not always. Back in India, we never used warm water to extract coconut milk, ordinary tap water works fine. But here in US/Canada, i have found the fat from the coconut easily separated while grinding because of the cold weather, so using warm water helps to avoid the fat getting separated.
These terms are mostly used in Indian Cooking. The freshly squeezed coconut milk from the coconut flesh is known as "1st coconut milk". After the first squeeze of coconut milk, the left out coconut debris is grounded again with some water and squeezed again and that's known as "2nd coconut milk".
In Indian Cooking, 2nd coconut milk is often cooked along with veggies and it's ok to boil 2nd coconut milk and it doesn't curdle because of its low fat content . First coconut milk is mostly added in the end of stew, payasam for richness and mostly it's advisable not to boil the first coconut milk vigorously
If you're planning to serve coconut milk as it is along with idiyappam and appam, then mix both 1st and 2nd coconut milk together and use.
How long can i store the coconut milk ?
Honestly, we never store the coconut milk at our homes. Always make them fresh for all the dishes and personally i like the freshly squeezed coconut milk more than any canned coconut milk. Once you have tasted the fresh coconut milk, you never go back to those canned coconut milk.
But you can store any leftover up to 3-4 days in the refrigerator and for more days, store it in the freezer. Right before using it, bring the coconut milk to room temperature because the fat tends to settle on top and leaves the water at the bottom. Keep it in warm water for a few minutes, mix it well and use.
Hopefully i have answered all the basic FAQs about coconut milk, now let's check out how to make coconut milk at home.
Procedure
Hopefully i have answered all the basic FAQs about coconut milk, now let's check out how to make coconut milk at home.
Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut
Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Coconut Milk | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Recipe Category: Coconut Milk | Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Ingredients
Coconut - 1
Warm Water - as needed
Coconut - 1
Warm Water - as needed
Break the coconut into two, take the coconut flesh from the shell using sharp knife and cut into small pieces.
To strain the coconut milk, line the strainer with thin cotton cloth/cheese cloth and keep it ready. Add the coconut pieces into the mixie/blender jar and grind into coarse mixture.
Then add about 1/2 cup of warm water and grind into smooth paste.
Transfer the coconut paste into the cotton cloth and squeeze out all the milk from it. That's it, it's our first coconut milk.
To make second coconut milk, add the left out coconut mixture from the cloth into mixie/blender jar along with some warm water and grind it into smooth paste.
Squeeze out the milk from it again. That's our second coconut milk. It's little bit watery compared to first coconut milk. Still it's so flavorful.
Fresh Homemade coconut milk is ready.
For more kitchen basic recipes , do check out here.Fresh Homemade coconut milk is ready.
Notes:
- Depends on how mature the coconut is and the amount of water we used in making coconut paste, the coconut milk quantity varies.
- No need to peel the brown skin of the coconut for making coconut milk.
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