As delicious and versatile a coconut is, it is also a notoriously difficult fruit to consume. Even after one manages to peel off the thick outer fibrous covering, there is yet another hard shell to crack into before one can access the nutritious water and pulp.
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This often demotivates young home cooks from using it in their recipes. To solve the problem, celebrity chef and MasterChef India judge Ranveer Brar took to Instagram on May 7 and demonstrated how to break apart a coconut without making a mess in the kitchen.
How to break a coconut
The chef stated that there are three vertical lines that go down a coconut, like longitudes on a globe. If one looks at the top of the coconut, they can see three dark circles, also known as the eyes of the coconut, which are equidistant from each other. The three lines start from between the eyes.
To break apart a coconut with ease, one needs to hold the coconut in one hand and gently tap with the blunt edge of a knife at the centre of the three lines with the other. After that, with a heavier weight like a pestle, one can hit the same spot again with a greater force to break apart the coconut.
It is better to put a bowl underneath the coconut before hitting it for the second time, since the coconut water comes out after breaking, which should be collected and not wasted, shared the chef. Thus, the coconut gets easily broken into halves.
Ranveer Brar’s Kerala-style coconut rice recipe
Ranveer Brar also shared an easy coconut rice recipe that can be prepared with the broken coconut on his blog. The detailed steps are as follows.
Ingredients:
For paste
- 2 tsp Coriander powder
- 1 tsp Turmeric powder
- 2 tsp Fennel seeds
For rice
- 2 tbsp Coconut oil
- 15-18 Shallots, sliced
- 3-4 Cloves
- 1-inch Cinnamon stick
- 2 Green cardamoms
- 1 cup Fresh coconut, grated
- 2½ cups Coconut milk
- Salt to taste
- 2 cups Rice, rinsed and drained
Method of preparation:
- For paste, combine coriander powder, turmeric powder, fennel seeds and a tbsp of water in a mortar pestle and grind to a paste. Keep aside.
- For rice, heat coconut oil in a large pot, add shallots and saute till translucent.
- Add whole spices and fry for a minute till fragrant, on medium flame.
- Now stir in the coconut and saute for a minute. Add in prepared paste and fry for four to five mins while stirring constantly.
- Lower the flame and pour in coconut milk along with three cups of water, add salt and bring to a boil.
- Add rice and again bring to a boil. Lower the heat, cover with a lid and cook till all the water is absorbed.
- Turn off the flame and serve hot.
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