Homemade coconut milk is quite simple to extract from fresh coconut. Coconut milk is an essential ingredient in some south Indian cuisines and extensively used in Thai cuisine. It adds a delicate flavour to curries and other dishes. It is also a delicious addition to smoothies and desserts.
Though a simple post, I think it will be handy to refer to, when I use coconut milk in my recipes. If you refer to my previous post on Coconut milk rice, it uses coconut milk and so I thought of sharing it with you guys. So get ready, today we will go through the process to extract coconut milk at home. The advantage of homemade coconut milk is that it is free from preservatives, though I also use canned coconut milk when I am in a hurry.
Moving on to the process, crack open the coconut and scape out the white meat. Just take care while breaking the coconut, not to hurt yourself. You can grate it or cut it into small cubes and blend directly in a mixer.
Blend coconut for a few seconds in a mixer and then add 1 cup of lukewarm water and grind it to a very fine consistency. Strain the ground coconut using a strainer. You may also strain it in a muslin cloth. Press it with a ladle or squeeze to extract as much milk as possible.This is the first milk or the first extract. It will be thick.
Now add 1 more cup of warm water to the already ground coconut and grind it again to a smooth paste. Again strain the ground coconut with a strainer. The milk extracted now is the second extract and it is thinner than the first. You can add another cup of water and repeat the process to get third extract, which is very dilute, but it is optional.
The first extract is normally creamy and is used in curries towards the end of the process, as it may curdle if boiled too long. You can also combine all the three/two extracts to dilute it and use it when preparing coconut milk rice, Pulav or Biriyanis.
How To Extract Coconut Milk From Fresh Coconut Video
Homemade Coconut milk
Ingredients
- 2 cups Grated coconut from one big coconut
- 3 cups lukewarm water divided
- You also need:
- Strainer
- Blender
Instructions
- Crack open the coconut and scrape out the white meat and grate it or cut it into small cubes and blend directly.
- Blend coconut for a few seconds in a mixer and then add 1 cup of lukewarm water and grind it to a very fine consistency.
- Strain the ground coconut using a strainer. You may also strain it in a muslin cloth. Press it with a ladle or squeeze to extract as much milk as possible.
- This is the first milk or the first extract. It will be thick.
- Now add 1 more cup of warm water to the already ground coconut and grind it again to a smooth paste. Again strain the ground coconut with a strainer. The milk extracted now is the second extract and it is thinner than the first.
- You can repeat the process by adding one more cup of water to get third extract, which is very dilute, but it is optional.
- The first extract is normally creamy and is used in curries toward the end of the process as it may curdle if boiled too long. You can also mix all the three extracts and use it when using for coconut milk rice, Pulav or Biriyanis.
Notes
When cooking with coconut milk do not cover the pan, as this may cause it to curdle.
Coconut milk does not last long, refrigerate and use within two days at most.
Coconut milk can be frozen. A handy trick is to pour the milk into ice cube trays to freeze and use it whenever needed.
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