I never buy packaged coconut milk. Never. If you ask me why, it’s just because I don’t believe in accessing packaged food when I can make it on my own. I stay at a place where the availability of coconut is as good as any other staple. Then why not prepare it in my kitchen? That’s why I keep on encouraging people to make their choice of ingredients at their place. Just remember, South Asian people from the ancient era, say like 5000 years back, started using coconut milk in their cuisine. Fascinating! Isn’t it? Homemade coconut milk has crossed miles and millenniums to reach your kitchen. Then why not accept its legacy? Let’s see how to make it. It’s quite simple and quicker perhaps you ever imagine.
Ingredients:
Coconut – 1 No. (medium size)
Warm water – 2 Cups
Instruments:
Sieve – 1
Cheesecloth – 1
Blender – 1
Procedure:
De-shell the coconut and cut it into smaller pieces. Take it into a blender. Add one and a half cups of warm water.
Blend it.
Now strain the coconut milk through a cheesecloth-lined sieve. Gather the cheesecloth together into your fist. And, now twist it with your hands to squeeze out every drop.
Now, take the coconut remnant into the blender, add half a cup of warm water, and blend it.
Repeat the process one more time if you think your coconut has some more milk to offer.
You will get a thick batch of milk for the first time, and the thickness will gradually come down with the following batches. But, that’s okay. Take all the batches together. You get the final right consistency homemade coconut milk at the very end. It is ready to be used in various dishes.
Nutritional Value of Homemade Coconut Milk per Cup (240 g)
| Calories | 552 |
| Fat | 57 g |
| Protein | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 13 g |
| Fiber | 5 g |
| Vitamin C | 11% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
| Folate | 10% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
| Iron | 22% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
| Magnesium | 22% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
| Potassium | 18% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
| Copper | 32% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
| Manganese | 110% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
| Selenium | 21% of the Recommended Dietary Intake |
Percentage of Daily Value is based on a 2000-calorie diet.
Conclusion:
Homemade coconut milk is an integral part of South Asian cuisine. Indian cuisine, especially South Indian and Bengali cuisine has a different acceptance and reliance on this single basic ingredient from yore. Be it vegetarian or non-veg, it goes hand in hand with almost everything, almost. Being nurtured in a house where everything used to be homemade, coconut milk is one of my favorite basic ingredients for cooking. It does half of my work and I get the full credit for my preparation. Try it for once. You will never pay a visit to your nearest grocery store for a packaged one.
You may read other Recipes here.