Learn how easy it is to make coconut milk at home not only to use in recipes but also to use as a dairy-free, nut-free, vegan alternative in place of using regular milk. Making coconut milk at home is not only economical but also healthy and way better than using store-bought canned milk.
You can use coconut milk in recipes like this vegetable stew, appam, palappam, nendram pazham pradhaman, sweet potato kheer and as plant-based milk to make smoothies like this green smoothie.
Coconut is considered holy, sacred and an auspicious ingredient in India that signifies prosperity & growth.
That is why it is used in all poojas and cracked open before beginning any new project. It is also used for worshipping whether at home, work, temples and in all celebratory functions like naming ceremonies, housewarming and weddings.
It is also one of the staple kitchen ingredients to use in cooking across South India and along the coastal regions of India, and most prefer to extract from a fresh coconut at home from scratch rather than buying canned milk.
Coconut is used in the form of milk, or ground as a paste along with whole spices and powders that form a base like in this mixed vegetable kurma and this chettinadu manathakkali vathal kulambu. Coconut oil is also used for cooking.
Table of Contents:
How to break open a coconut easily?
You need to immerse the whole coconut in water for 15 to 20 minutes, then hold the coconut horizontally in your palm and using a heavy object like a hammer, keep hitting the whole coconut in the middle till it cracks open.
I use a pestle made of stone, and this gets the job done easily by breaking open the coconut at the centre into two equal halves.
Is coconut high in cholesterol?
If you are a person who has bad cholesterol in your blood level, it is better if you have coconut in moderation, limiting your daily consumption.
Only when you consume coconut in a cooked form does the bad cholesterol in your blood increase.
So make sure to always consume coconut in its raw forms like coconut milk, coconut oil and coconut water in moderation on a day-to-day basis.
Avoid consuming coconut-based food that has been reheated.
How to remove coconut from its shell easily?
After breaking open the coconut, simply placed them in the freezer for 15 to 20 minutes or in the hot sun outside for half an hour. Now it will be very easy to remove the coconut meat from the shell with the help of a sharp knife.
Ingredients
Coconut: I prefer using newly cracked open coconut for extracting the milk. But you can also use desiccated coconut from the shops to make the milk as well.
Water: Use normal room temperature tap water.
Instructions
To make coconut milk at home,
Take chopped coconut and tap water at room temperature in your blender jar.
Grind till it becomes a paste for 2 minutes using the ‘nut milk’ function.
Meanwhile, line a colander with cheesecloth and place it over a wide bowl.
Gently, tip the ground paste into the cheesecloth.
Gather the corners of the cheesecloth and squeeze it well to extract the milk. Discard the coconut dust or compost it.
Homemade coconut milk is ready. Pour it into a glass bottle and store it in the refrigerator. Use it within 2 or 3 days.
To make first thick coconut milk, second milk and third thin milk please refer to the recipe card below and the video
Recipe Notes
Avoid using coconut that has been left in the refrigerator for a number of days. The milk extracted from this coconut will not taste fresh and will give a stale smell as well.
You can use flavourings like vanilla essence or cinnamon powder to flavour the milk as well.
Nutrition Profile
Coconut milk is
- Dairy-Free
- Gluten-Free
- Low Carb
- Nut Free
- Soy-Free
- Vegan
- Vegetarian
FAQ's
Sometimes the water will settle at the bottom of the glass jar and the coconut cream will float to the top. This is unavoidable and does not necessarily mean that it has gone bad.
Simply take out the bottle and shake it well for both the water and cream to combine, and then use it.
Homemade coconut milk stays good for 2 to 3 days when refrigerated, and after that, it will start giving a bad smell and the colour of the milk will also change. So, do not store beyond that and discard it.
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Recipe
How to make Coconut Milk at Home
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1 cup fresh Coconut chopped into 1 inch pieces
- 2 cups Water at room temperature
Instructions
To use as dairy free vegan milk
- If using a high-speed blender: Place the chopped coconut into the blender along with water.
- Run the blender after selecting ‘Nut Milk’ function & switch off the machine.
- Line a colander with either ‘cheese cloth’ or ‘muslin cloth’ and place it over a wide bowl.
- Pour the ground coconut paste into the cheese cloth and gather the corners to the top and squeeze with fingers and palm, extracting the milk completely.
- Discard the coconut dust or use it as compost.
- Pour the coconut milk into bottles and refrigerate. Use within 2 days.
- If using a regular mixier grinder: Heat 2-½ cups water in a saucepan and bring it to a rolling boil.
- Add the coconut pieces to it & close the pan with a lid. Let it rest till the water reaches lukewarm.
- Tip the entire contents into a mixie jar and run the mixer for 1 min till the coconut is ground to a fine paste.
- Follow the steps 3 & 4 to extract coconut milk.
To use in recipes
- For thick coconut milk or first milk: Take 1 cup coconut in a mixie jar.
- Add ½ cup water & grind for 1 min or till it becomes a thick paste.
- Line a colander with either ‘cheese cloth’ or ‘muslin cloth’ and place it over a wide bowl.
- Pour the ground coconut paste into the cheese cloth and gather the corners to the top and squeeze with fingers and palm, extracting the milk completely.
- For second coconut milk: After extracting first milk, transfer the ground coconut remains to the mixie jar.
- Add 1 cup water now and grind for 30 to 40 secs. Place the cloth line colander over a separate bowl and follow steps 3 & 4 to extract second coconut milk.
- For third coconut milk or thin milk: After extracting second milk, transfer the ground coconut remains to the mixie jar.
- Add 1 cup water and grind for 20 to 30 secs. Place the cloth line colander over a separate bowl and follow steps 3 & 4 to extract third coconut milk or thin milk.
- Discard the coconut dust or use it as compost, as it will be difficult to extract any more coconut milk from the remains.
- Use the first, second & third coconut milks as required in recipes that uses coconut milk.
Video
Notes
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