Coconut Macaroons

Coconut Macaroons have a wonderfully sweet coconut flavor with a crispy exterior and a soft and chewy. A very simple recipe that can me prepared in just few clicks. 

Coconut Macaroons

Ingredients:
Eggs - 3
Coconut – 3 cups
Sugar – 1 cup
Salt – 1 pinch
Plain Flour – 1/2 cup
Vanilla extract - 1/4 tsp

Method:

Beat eggs until frothy.

Add salt, vanilla or almond extract, sugar and whisk everything.
Add coconut and mix everything.

Scoop small amounts onto baking sheet

Bake them for 14 – 18 minutes in a pre-heated oven at 1500 C.

Tip:
You can top them up with glazed cherries or tutti frutti.

Kobbari lauju / Coconut fudge

This is an Indian variety of coconut fudge. Unlike the other sweets where you need some expertise to make the sugar syrup, this recipe need not require any experience. Instead of using sugar, I have used jaggery which will give a nice caramel taste and colour. Also, instead of making the sweet in squares, I shaped them in laddu form.

Ingredients:

Fresh grated coconut - 4 cups
Jaggery - 3 cups
Cardamom powder - 2 pinches
Ghee – 1 tbsp to mould the coconut mixture.

Jaggery and grated coconut

Method:

Take a large pan with wide bottom. Add 3/4th cup of water and melt the jaggery. Keep the heat on medium-low allowing the jaggery to melt completely.

Add the grated coconut and cardamom powder to the jaggery syrup.

Keep the heat on medium and cook, stirring frequently to prevent the mixture from sticking to the pan. In about 30 minutes, the mixture will be reduced, becomes very thick and comes away easily from the sides of pan - this is the signal to turnoff the heat.

When the coconut mixture is warm enough, then smear your hands with ghee and make the laddus. Or you can spread it on a greased tray and cut into squares.

I found an empty chocolate box and I filled it with these coconut laddus.

Kobbari Podi - 2

This is another version of spicy coconut powder. Adding daal to the coconut will give the mouthful taste. Instead of stir fries, we can have this spicy powder as a side dish.

Spicy coconut powder

Ingredients:

Grated coconut - 1/2 cup

Toor daal / Kandi pappu - 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds - 1 tsp

Dry red chili - 5-6

Garlic cloves - 2-3

Salt

Oil - 1 tsp

Red chili, dry coconut, toor daal, coriander seeds and garlic

Heat a tsp of oil in a heavy bottomed vessel and roast the daal on low heat till light brown and the daal releases its flavor. Remove and cool.

In the same vessel and dry red chillis and the coriander seeds and fry them till they change their colour. Remove and keep them aside. 

To the same pan add the grated or sliced coconut pieces and roast on low heat for 3-4 minutes. Dont add any more oil to roast the coconut pieces.

Once the daals, red chillis and coconut pieces are cool, place them along with garlic cloves and salt in a blender and grind to make a powder of a crumbly consistency.

Store in an air tight container.

Coconut burfi

This sweet can be prepared when you have lots of fresh coconut. Normally, we will end up with lots of coconut during festive seasons. By giving the touch of lemon colour, the sweet looks more elegant.

Coconut burfi

Ingredients:

2 cups of fresh grated coconut

1½ cups of sugar

1/2 cup water

Food colour (optional)

Method:

In a big sturdy vessel take water and sugar. Keep the heat on medium-low allowing the sugar to melt completely to prepare the sugar syrup. Cook it until the sugar syrup reaches one string consistency. To test this, take a little bit of sugar into the spoon. Allow it to cool a little bit. Now dip your index figure into the syrup and press it against the thumb. Now when you separate the figures, the sugar syrup should form like a thread.

Sugar syrup which has reached single thread consistency

Add the grated coconut and cardamom powder to the sugar syrup along with the food colour. Keep the heat on medium and cook by stirring frequently.

 In 10 to 15 minutes, the mixture will be reduced and becomes thick and comes away easily from the sides of pan. Immediately pour this mixture into the greased tray. Level it evenly with a spatula, and cut into squares when it is luke warm.

I have used baking sheet instead of greasing the tray.

Coconut burfi, ready to cut

You can store this sweet for up to 10 days.

Chewy coconut burfi, ready to serve

Roasted Chickpea chutney with Coconut

A simple chutney with little effort. Unlike peanut chutney, you don't need to fry any thing. Just grind the ingredients and do the seasoning. You can also have it without any seasoning.

Roasted chickpea & coconut chutney

Ingredients:

Pappulu / putnalu (Roasted chick pea) – ½ cup
Fresh coconut chopped into thin strips – ½ cup
Green chilli – 6 - 8
Salt
Amchur powder – ¼ tsp. You can substitute this with tamarind also.

Roasted chickpea, fresh coconut and green chili

For Tampering:
1 tbsp of Oil, Mustard, Cumin seeds, Urad dal, Curry leaves, Dry chilli

Method:

Grind roasted chickpea, coconut, green chillies and salt by adding little water into paste, like chutney consistency and keep it aside.

Take a pan and heat it with oil. When it is hot enough add Red chilli then urad dal, when they change colour, add mustard, cumin and curry leaves. Saute for less than a minute and pour on to the top of chutney.

Chickpea & coconut Chutney with Jonna dosa

Coconut Chutney

This is another best companion of South Indian breakfasts. Either you can prepare the plain chutney just by adding 1 or 2 green chilies or you can add mint / corriander / ginger of your taste. I like the plain one. 

As coconut have the sweet tendency, I have added aamchur / dry mango powder to suppress the sweetness and enhance the taste.

Coconut chutney

Ingredients:
Fresh Coconut - 1/2 Kernel
Green chili - 2
Aam chur / dry mango  powder - 1/4 tsp
Salt
For Seasoning
1 tbsp of oil, Red chili, mustard, cumin, curry leaves and urad daal

Fresh coconut

Method:

Either chop the coconut into thin pieces or grate it. Grind the coconut, green chili, salt and aamchur powder into fine paste. Do the seasoning by adding oil in a pan and add all the seasoning ingredients one after the other. Pour the seasoning over the chutney.

Coconut chutney

Coconut Laddos

My kids are great fans of these laddus due to its chewy nature. I have lifted the look and feel of the laddus further more by adding the warm orange colour and placed them in the paper moulds. Outside, you can store them not more than 3 days, but in the refrigerator you can store them for up to 7 days.

Ingredients:
Desiccated Coconut (Fine variety) – 2 cups
Condensed milk – 1 cup
Whole Milk – ½ cup
Food colour (Optional)

Method:

Heat a pan and boil the whole milk. When the milk reaches the boiling point add the desiccated coconut and condensed milk along with the food colour (if using) and keep stirring until the coconut absorbs all the moisture and the mixture becomes thick and consistent to make laddus.

Initially though it looks bit loose and wet, when it gets cold if will become tight. Allow the mixture to cool down. Take 2 tbsp of desiccated coconut in a plate and scoop some amount of laddu mixture in to your palm, roll them in the desiccated coconut and make round balls.

Coconut Rice

This recipe is prepared at home usually the day after the festival as we break the coconut on the festival day which is handy for the following day. I follow the quick tip to extract the coconut from the shell.  keep the coconut in the freezer for at least 8 to 10 hours or until you use it. I know, many times I have noticed the fungus developing inside the kernel even if we keep it in fridge or sun dry them. I feel this is the best practice to store the coconut and keep it fresh. To use it, remove from the freezer an hour before and place it in  the water. Remove the shell and chop the coconut into thin slices and slightly pulse them in mixer or food processor with out adding any water. Make sure it should resemble the grated coconut rather than paste.

Coconut rice with brinjal curry / Guthi vankaya koora

Ingredients:
Rice – 2 cups
Fresh coconut grated – 1 cup
Green chilli – 4 - 5
Onion – 1 chopped into thin slices
Curry leaves
Coriander
Mustard + Cumin – 1 tsp
Chana daal – 1 tsp
Urad daal – 1 tsp
Cashews - 10
Dry chilli - 2
Oil – 4 tbsp
Salt
Lemon juice – 1 tbsp

Method:

Wash and soak rice in 3 ½ cups of water for 30 minutes. Cook the rice and spread in a wide plate.
Heat a pan with oil. Add the seasoning ingredients like Urad daal, Chana daal, Dry chilli, Mustard, cumin cashews and curry leaves. Add chopped onion and chilli and fry them until they become transparent. Add coconut along with salt and fry for few minutes (about 5-6) until the moisture evaporates from coconut. Finally sprinkle some chopped coriander and lemon juice. Stir once, cover the lid and turn off the heat. Add this mixture to the rice and mix every thing gently.

Kobbari thalimpu / Fresh coconut stir fry

Fresh Coconut is very rich in protein and fibre. It require less oil to prepare this recipe as coconut itself is origin of natural oil.

 

Coconut Fry / Kobbari thalimpu

Ingredients:

Fresh coconut grated – 1 cup
Green chilli – 4 - 5
Onion – 2 chopped into small pieces
Curry leaves
Coriander
Mustard + Cumin – 1 tsp
Chana daal – 1 tsp
Dry chilli - 2
Oil – 2 tbsp
Salt
Lemon juice – 1 tsp

 

Fresh coconut, Green chili paste, Onion

Method:

Heat a pan with oil. Add the seasoning ingredients like Chana daal, Dry chilli, Mustard, cumin and curry leaves. Add chopped onion and chilli and fry them until onion become transparent. Add coconut along with salt and fry for few minutes (about 5-6) until the moisture evaporates from coconut. Finally sprinkle some chopped coriander and lemon juice. Stir once, cover the lid and turn off the heat.

You can serve this with rice or roti.

Roti with coconut fry

Kobbari podi (Coconut powder)

This is a simple spicy powder with minimal ingredients. We use this powder is most of the stir fries (Thalimpulu)

Ingredients:

Dry coconut grated - 1 cup (Or chop the dry coconut into thin slices)
Red Chilli powder - 1 tblsp
Garlic cloves - 6 - 8
Salt

Chilli powder, coconut, garlic

Grind them all together to fine powder and store in a bottle and occasionally use in the recipes.

Coconut powder ready to go into the bottle

Note: Do not remove the skin from the garlic cloves as it enhances the aroma further.