Frozen Coconut is a boon for me. I grew up in Coastal Karnataka (South India) where every other house has a coconut tree. Most of the dishes my mother makes has some traces of coconut in it :-) So grating coconut is a daily job. Somehow I hate grating the coconut to the core. But still there is no option other than grating your own. After my marriage I came to US and was very happy to see the frozen packet of grated coconut. I would always tell my mother that now I don't have to grate the coconut.
But sometimes I was not happy with frozen coconut. In due course of time I got a valuable tip from a friend and it made my life better. So I wanted to share that tip from a long time but somehow it never happened. Better late than never :-)
#I use lot of coconut. Whenever I want to make a coconut based dish, I simply remove the packet and pop it in microwave for 60- 90 seconds. Remove the desired amount and put the packet back in the freezer (the packet I use is resealable which is another advantage). I never thaw my frozen coconut.
#While making Chutney or any Coconut based gravy , always use hot water (I just heat the water in microwave). This way you don't end up in a chutney or coconut based masala which has oil residue. This is a very important point to be noted.
#Some people thaw the grated coconut (But then you need to plan in advance). If you want to speed up the process of thawing then place the packet in a large bowl containing warm water.
#For people who live in India or any other place where frozen shredded coconut is not available - You can grate the coconut in the weekend (for working women) and store them in freezer safe boxes. This way you don't have to grate on a weekday. It saves lot of time.
#During festivals, sometimes you end up with lot of fresh coconuts which has to be used within few days. The best thing to do is grate them and put it in freezer safe containers. They will freeze well for few months. This is the tip I learnt from my MIL. She always does this. This method prevents lot of wastage and also decreases the pressure of using all of them within few days.
#For people like me who don't have a coconut grater but still get fresh coconut for festivals - In this case I just make small pieces of coconut using a knife and put it in a ziploc and freeze. It stays good for months. Use these pieces for making gravies.
I hope these tips will help all of you. If you have any other tip related to this, please feel to share by leaving a comment.
But sometimes I was not happy with frozen coconut. In due course of time I got a valuable tip from a friend and it made my life better. So I wanted to share that tip from a long time but somehow it never happened. Better late than never :-)
#I use lot of coconut. Whenever I want to make a coconut based dish, I simply remove the packet and pop it in microwave for 60- 90 seconds. Remove the desired amount and put the packet back in the freezer (the packet I use is resealable which is another advantage). I never thaw my frozen coconut.
#While making Chutney or any Coconut based gravy , always use hot water (I just heat the water in microwave). This way you don't end up in a chutney or coconut based masala which has oil residue. This is a very important point to be noted.
#Some people thaw the grated coconut (But then you need to plan in advance). If you want to speed up the process of thawing then place the packet in a large bowl containing warm water.
#For people who live in India or any other place where frozen shredded coconut is not available - You can grate the coconut in the weekend (for working women) and store them in freezer safe boxes. This way you don't have to grate on a weekday. It saves lot of time.
#During festivals, sometimes you end up with lot of fresh coconuts which has to be used within few days. The best thing to do is grate them and put it in freezer safe containers. They will freeze well for few months. This is the tip I learnt from my MIL. She always does this. This method prevents lot of wastage and also decreases the pressure of using all of them within few days.
#For people like me who don't have a coconut grater but still get fresh coconut for festivals - In this case I just make small pieces of coconut using a knife and put it in a ziploc and freeze. It stays good for months. Use these pieces for making gravies.
I hope these tips will help all of you. If you have any other tip related to this, please feel to share by leaving a comment.
I do everything same process and also same coconut packet :) same pinch :))
ReplyDelete:-)
DeleteI sometimes thaw the whole packet a lit bit just enough to break thm into pieces, cut them into small squares and then save them in regular ziplock. saves lot of time when we are pressed for time.
ReplyDeletewhen needed i pick up few cubes and microwave it as you have said in your post. this way its very quick.
Very helpful post to the readers. Thanks.
Wow..This is great Idea too. Sometimes I too break small pieces in the packet itself. Next time I needn't heat the whole packet for a small amount. But then I forget to do it all the time. Thanks for sharing your method Sumi :-)
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ReplyDeleteAnother thing I noticed about frozen coconut packets in the US is there are two types of packets; one that says "Shredded coconut" and the other that says "Grated coconut". For amchi kind of cooking Grated coconut is the most suitable kind. Shredded Coconut has no coconut milk left in it, as it is already squeezed out of it and whatever "saw dust" kind of texture is left as a result, is what is in that packet. Very disappointing, to say the least! So once burnt, I always make it a point to get Grated coconut and not the Shredded kind.
ReplyDeleteThat's a good information Sri. Didn't know about it. Thanks for sharing it here.
DeleteWhy don't you thaw your frozen coconut?
ReplyDeleteOf course you can. It takes long time to thaw.
DeleteI left a bag of frozen coconut in the frig to thaw. That was 2 weeks ago. Is it still ok to use?
ReplyDeleteLove to know the answer to this question??? I left a bag of frozen coconut in the refrigerator to thaw. That was 2 weeks ago. Is it still ok to use?
ReplyDeleteIf it smells good then I would go ahead and use it 🙂
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