Coconut
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The coconut you want depends on whether you need the milk or the flesh: a younger coconut contains more liquid, less solid. The way to test it is to give the coconut a shake. There is no particular picking season because coconut palms are common throughout the tropical world. Dealing with a fresh coconut is nothing like as daunting as it looks, but because coconut is so important in Southern Indian and Thai recipes a number of convenient forms that keep well have been developed.
Coconut – creamed: This comes in block form and can be used to enrich curries and sauces. All you do here is grate it, then, using a whisk, blend it with boiling water to a creamy liquid.
Coconut powder: A great storecupboard stand-by, this is particularly good in Thai fishcakes. If can be tricky to get hold of, but Maggi coconut milk powder is sold in some branches of Tesco and independent stores.
Serves 2Thai Monkfish Lime and Coconut Stir-fry
Packed with classic Thai flavours of lime, coconut milk and fish sauce, this wonderfully fragrant stir-fry takes just 10 minutes to cook, once you’ve marinated the fish. Who needs ready meals or takeaways?
Serves 4Coconut Lime Jellies with a Puree of Mango and Lime
Coconut, lime and mango are all ingredients found in Thailand and, not surprisingly, this easy cheat dessert would slip down really well after a fiery Asian curry.
Serves 4Sri Lankan Curry with Coconut Sambal
This is one of Delia's favourite curries - it uses lamb and fresh coconut which adds a vibrant freshness to the finished dish. Highly recommended!
Serves 4Caribbean Pepperpot
With its explosion of colour and flavours, a spicy mix of Caribbean spices, coconut milk, beef and vegetables brings this vivid, tasty dish to life!
Serves 6Spiced Lamb Curry with Chickpeas, Green Coconut Sambal and Tomato-and-Red-Onion Pickle
There is, I have to admit, some work involved in this one, but I absolutely promise the depth and flavour of fresh coconut is really worth that bit of extra time.
