Showing posts with label Coconut Milk. Show all posts

Monday, November 1, 2021

Coconut Milk Murukku | Thengai Pal Murukku

Coconut Milk Murukku, a delicious, crunchy and flavorful snack made from the rice flour as main ingredient and flavored with coconut milk. It's one of our favorite snacks to munch on any time.

Back in days when we were in hosur, we used to buy this coconut milk murukku from the local bakery whenever we pass by that store. The flavor and the taste of the murukku is simply amazing. Later i had tried a few proportions to recreate that murukku taste and finally the recipe that i'm sharing today is my keeper for making this delicious murukku!

Before check out the recipe, let's see some of the FAQs

Can i use store brought coconut milk for this recipe ?

Yes, of course ! But here, i have used homemade coconut milk only. Make sure to use the brand that doesn't have any artificial flavor for best taste and aroma.

Why did my murukku break into oil ?

If the dough doesn't have enough moisture in it, the murukku breaks easily in the oil and also it breaks while squeezing the dough. So add a little more coconut milk in the dough, mix it well and use.

Why is my murukku not crispy ?

If the oil is too hot, then the outer turns darker easily and it won't be crispy. Cook it in the medium flame for the whole process helps to get crispy murukku.

Why is my murukku hard?

It doesn't have enough fat in it. Butter used in the murukku helps to keep the murukku crispy and as light.

Does the murukku burst in the oil?

Chances are there!!

If the dry ingredients like rice flour and any other flour used in the recipe has any big granules. So make sure to sieve all the flour once before making dough
Once all the dough is squeezed, don't tempt to roll the left over dough into seedai and fry. It has the chance to burst.

Coconut Milk Murukku

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 25 mins | Serves : 25
Recipe Category: Curry | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

Rice flour - 2 cups
Roasted chana dal/Pottukadalai/Dalia flour- 1/3 cup
Butter - 2 tbsp
Cumin seed - 1 tsp

Coconut Milk - 1 cup(approx)
Salt - 1/2 tsp

Oil - for frying

Procedure

Take rice flour, pottukadalai flour, cumin seed and salt in a large bowl, mix it all well together, then add the butter.

Incorporate butter with the flour until it all mixed well. Next add the coconut milk little by little and make a soft dough.

Take the murukku press and add the three hole disc in it. Then fill 3/4 of the murukku press with the dough.

Close the murukku press with the lid. Take a few slotted laddle or small plates and squeeze the dough in circles and keep it ready. Heat the oil for deep frying. Add a piece of dough in the oil, if it rise up immediately, then the oil is ready to fry murukku.

Add a few pressed murukku dough and cook it on medium flame.

When the "shh" sound stops and the murukku floats on the top, remove it from the oil and place it on tissue paper. Let them cool completely and store it in air tight container.

Tasty, crunchy and flavorful coconut milk murukku/Thengai pal murukku is ready.

Related:How to make Omapodi/Plain sev

Notes:

Make sure to store the murukku when it's completely cooled down.
Tastes and flavor intensify after a few days.
Instead of cumin seed, you can also use the sesame seeds for flavoring.

Friday, June 12, 2020

Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut

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.

Related : How to make Curd at home

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.

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.

Homemade Coconut Milk from Fresh Coconut

Preparation Time : 15 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Coconut Milk | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Coconut - 1
Warm Water - as needed

Procedure

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.

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.

Wednesday, May 13, 2020

Strawberry Coconut Milk Popsicle | Summer Treats

Strawberry Coconut Milk Popsicle, a delicious and healthy popsicle without any artificial sweetener. All you need is some strawberries, coconut milk and honey, throw everything in the blender, puree and pour into popsicle mold and freeze. Yep, it's that simple, your home made strawberry popsicle is ready to devour.

I had this popsicle recipe in mind for a while to try, so bought a pack of strawberries with the thought of making it last weekend and in the next morning, it started to snow here. Yeah, in May!!! I was brought up with the idea of not eating anything cold even when it's drizzling outside and now it's snowing!! Had the dilemma but went with my plan anyway and enjoy it after two days when the temperature is bit better :-)

For the past couple of days, the temperature is so pleasant here to go outside and finally spring is here !! The trees begin to sprout the leaves & buds and it's amazing to witness the whole world around you awakens and slowly everything in grey and black starts to become colorful :-) I'm from the place(Tamilnadu,India) where autumn and spring are not in our weather seasons, hence i'm always fascinate about these seasons and after all these years still i'm at awe when the leaves fall and sprouts again!!

Related: How to make Mango Falooda

Ok, now coming back to the recipe, the amount of each ingredients used in the recipe is up to my preference. There is no hard rule here in making popsicle, you can add more or less of any ingredients as per your liking. Use this as guide and make as you like. Now let's check out how i have made this delicious strawberry popsicle.

Strawberry Coconut Milk Popsicle

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 0 mins | Serves : 6 small pops
Recipe Category: Popsicle | Recipe Cuisine: General

Ingredients
Strawberry - 1/2 lb
Coconut milk - 1/2 can(around 3/4 cup)
Honey - 2 to 3 tbsp

Procedure

Trim the top of strawberries and chop them into small pieces. Add into the blender along with coconut milk.

Next add honey and grind them into smooth puree. Take the popsicle mold and stick few strawberries on the sides of the mold(it's purely optional).

And pour the strawberry puree into the mold and cover it with lid. Freeze it for 6 to 8 hrs.

Delicious Strawberry Popsicle is ready.
For more summer treats and popsicle recipe, check out here

Related: How to make Watermelon Popsicle

Notes:

To remove the popsicle from the mold, keep it under running water for a while or put it in glass with warm water for a while
Depends on the sweetness of the strawberry, you can add more or less of honey. Mine was so sweet, so i used 2tbsp of honey only.
Instead of canned coconut milk, you can use fresh coconut milk also.
For additional flavoring, you can add a dash of vanilla extract.

Monday, December 16, 2019

Brinji Rice with Coconut Milk | Brinji Rice

Brinji Rice, a delicious and flavorful one pot rice made with coconut milk. In tamil, bay leaf is known as "Brinji Elai", as this rice uses bay leaf as one of the flavoring spice, it got its name as "Brinji Rice".

In today's recipe, i have made this rice plain without any vegetables, but you can add any veggies that can be used in vegetable biryani like carrot, peas, potato & so on. I like the mild flavor of this rice, you can serve this with simple ratia and/or with any spicy curry/korma. My personal favorite to have with rice is either chicken/mutton kulambu, both taste heavenly with brinji rice.

I packed this rice a couple of times for ST's lunch box along with simple curry. One day, after lunch he called me and said how delicious the rice was and he had a really hearty meal. Do i need to say more about this rice?? It tastes best when it rests for 1 or 2 hrs, so that the flavor becomes intense and tastes delicious.

Amma always says that the one pot rice like Kootan choru, Ulunthu Choru & Nei Choru all taste even better when you had at night, because in the afternoon, we have it immediately once it has been prepared and the flavor doesn't get intensified in short span of time.

Related : How to make Nei Soru / Ghee Rice

I didn't realise or even paid attention to that detail before because I like to have my food(even the sweets) hot. After i started to pack lunchbox, i was more aware of this and understood how the flavor gets intense with time and this rice is one among them and tastes best for lunch box. Now let's move on to the recipe!!

Brinji Rice with Coconut Milk

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Rice | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Basmati Rice - 1 cup
Water -1 cup
Coconut Milk - 1 cup
Ginger Garlic paste - 1 tsp
Curry leaves - 1 spring
Mint - a handful
Coriander leaves - a handful
Green chili - 2
Onion(medium) - 1/2
Tomato(medium) - 1/2
Cinnamon - 1 inch piece
Cloves - 3
Cardamom - 2
Bay leaf - 2
Turmeric powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt - to taste
Oil - 1 tsp
Ghee - 1 tsp

Procedure

Soak the basmati rice in water for 20 mins. First cut the onion into thin slices, tomato into small pieces, slit the green chili and keep other ingredients ready.
Heat the pressure cooker with oil, add cinnamon,cloves,cardamom & bay leaves, let it fry in oil for 30 secs.

Add the onions with pinch of salt, then add the curry leaves and green chili.

Saute till the onions are translucent, then add the mint, coriander leaves and ginger garlic paste.

Saute till it's aromatic, then add the tomatoes, give a quick stir and add coconut milk.

Next add the water, give a good mix, then add the turmeric powder.

Add enough salt, mix well and bring into boil.

Drain the water from the soaked rice and add into the pressure cooker, give a gentle mix and finally add the ghee.

Close the pressure cooker with lid and cook it for 2 whistle. Let the pressure release by itself and open the pressure cooker and transfer the rice into another bowl to avoid further cooking of the rice.

Delicious Brinji Rice is ready to serve.

Related: Raita Recipe Collections

Notes:

For the given quantity of green chili, the rice has very mildly spice
For a cup of rice, it needs 2 cups of liquid, so you can add more or less coconut milk and use water for the remaining.
No need to cook the tomato until it's mushy like other pulao or biryani.
For more coconut flavor, you can use coconut oil instead of flavorless oil.
If you're using can coconut milk, make sure that it's pure coconut milk without any gum.

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Chakka Pradhaman | Jackfruit Payasam | Onam Sweet Recipe

Chakka Pradhaman, a delicious kheer made from jackfruit and coconut milk. It's one of the famous kheer recipes made during Kerala festival, Onam.

Initially I thought of making ada pradhaman to share here in the series of onam recipes. But here in the Indian store, ada(rice flakes) is only available in large quantities, that will last for many months or even a year for me.

So thought of making ada at home, again finding banana leaves(it's used for steaming the ada) is really difficult here, so the plan got dropped.

But over the weekend, we went to the well known asian store here for the first time to explore. When I found the jackfruit there, i was so excited and bought some to try this chakka pradhaman.

I had tasted ada pradhaman a few times at restaurants back in chennai and also in friend's place. But i never tasted chakka pradhaman before, but how come jackfruit, coconut milk and jaggery combination goes wrong, so i was 100% sure that it would be lip smacking delicious even before trying.

I referred a few recipes and made little changes to our preference. I thought in addition to jackfruit puree, adding a few pieces of jackfruit as it is would improve texture, so i did.

But you can make the whole jackfruit as puree and make this pradhaman. Also I haven't added any nuts because I want the coconut flavor to be dominant. But feel free and add any nuts you want.

The jackfruit variety that I had bought here was quite firm and was less sweet. But, back in India, you can get jackfruits that melt in your mouth.

In such a scenario, no need to cook & puree the jackfruit, add as it is in the jaggery syrup. I will disintegrate into jaggery syrup easily.

Also if the jackfruit is more sweet, you may not need the whole 1/3 cup of jaggery, just 1/4 cup of jaggery or less will be sufficient. If you love jackfruit flavor, then I'm sure you would love this payasam. Now let's check out the recipe for chakka pradhaman.

Chakka Pradhaman | Jackfruit Payasam

Preparation Time : 10 mins | Cooking Time : 15 mins | Serves : 2
Recipe Category: Sweet | Recipe Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients
Jackfruit - 1 cup(chopped)
Jaggery - 1/3 cup
Coconut milk - 1/2 cup
Cardamom - 2
Coconut bits - 1 tbsp
Ghee - 2 tsp

Procedure

Take 3/4 cup of jackfruit in a sauce pan and add just enough water to immerse and cook till the pulp softens.

Once it softens, remove from the flame and let it cool. Cut the remaining 1/4 of jaggery into small pieces.

Next add the jaggery into sauce pan and add 1/2 of water and let the jaggery melts.

Once the jaggery melts, strain it once to remove the impurities and add into the sauce pan again and then add the chopped jackfruit and let it cook until it's tender.

In the mean time, grind the cooked jackfruit into smooth puree and ground the cardamom seeds into fine powder.

Add the jackfruit puree into the jaggery syrup, mix it well and then keep the flame in low and add the coconut milk.

Mix it all together well and add cardamom powder, keep it in low flame for 2-3 mins & switch off the flame. Heat the ghee in a pan.

Add the coconut bits and roast till they are nicely brown and then add into the pradaman.

Tasty Chakka Pradaman is ready to serve.

Related : How to make Javvarisi Semiya Payasam

Notes:

You can use the canned jackfruits also
Add coconut milk only when the flame is low.
Also don't let it boil once the coconut milk is added, otherwise it might be curdled.
Serve it hot or cold, both tastes good.
Coconut bits gives nice flavor and crunchiness to the pradhaman. I would highly recommend to add it.
Instead of coconut milk, you can make this with dairy milk also.
In addition to coconut bits, cashews and other nuts can also be added.
Depends on the sweetness of the jackfruit, add more or less of jaggery as per your liking.

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Monday, November 1, 2021