SWEET COCONUT MILK FOR APPAM/IDIYAPPAM

    I know two beautiful people who can write off their will for this heavenly Combo - Appam & Sweetened Coconut Milk.  One is my MIL and the other person is my friend Santhini.  I learnt that Santhini loves this combo during one of her visits.  I had made Appam, Chicken Curry & Stew.  But she asked whether I can make Sweetened Coconut Milk for her and serve Appam with Brown Sugar.  Since then, whenever possible I try to make this combo when she visits us.  Santhini, this is a long pending recipe for you.

    Appam being a frequented recipe at home and I often make a batch of Sweet Coconut Milk for me & my daughter too. What took me this long to post this recipe is to get it photographed. Here we go with the recipe of Easy-queasy Sweet Coconut Milk, one best combo which goes hand in hand with Appam & Idiyappam.  My first acquaintance with Sweet Coconut Milk was at Santhi Aunty's house.  She had served it with Idiyappam and the Sweet Coconut Milk was made with Jaggery & flavoured with Cardamoms.

    I usually make this Sweet Coconut Milk with Sugar and that is how my MIL usually makes & likes.  We can get easy when it comes to the sweetener -  Sugar/Jaggery/Palm Sugar.  The choice is yours. And I do not add Cardamom Powder or any other flavouring in Sweet Coconut Milk.  But traditionally the recipe calls for adding Cardamom Powder. 

    The only tedious process in making this recipe is grating, grinding & extracting the Coconut Milk.  Once the Coconut Milk is ready, the job gets easier.  Let's begin with the process, cracking the Coconut into beautiful and equal halves. (No... I cannot do it.  I have a great trouble in this feat that I need somebody to help me do this).  Lucky me, they sell it as grated coconut in local market.  So it is years I have tried to crack open a Coconut, scrap it etc., Well, talking about the tedious process - next feat is scrapping all that beautiful creamy soft flesh.  After this, the process turns out to be quicker.  Grind the grated Coconut in your food processor or a blender, squeeze and sieve it to yield creamy, thick Coconut Milk.  The freshness and flavour of home-made Coconut Milk is worth the process and all the more they have no additives in it. If you are using store-bought coconut milk or Coconut Milk Powder then you can get this recipe incorporated within no time.

For more APPAM RECIPES, Click here...


Cuisine - South Indian, Sri Lanka & Southeast Asian
Course - Side Dish
Difficulty - Easy
Yields - 11/2 Cups - 2 Cups
Author - SM

Preparation Time - 15-20 Minutes
Cooking Time - 8-10 Minutes

For IDIYAPPAM RECIPE, Click here...  

HOW TO MAKE SWEET COCONUT MILK FOR APPAM/IDIYAPPAM

 

SWEET COCONUT MILK FOR APPAM/IDIYAPPAM

 

INGREDIENTS:

For Coconut Milk:

Grated Coconut - 11/2 Cups
Water - As Required.
A Sieve or a Thin Muslin Cloth
Blender or Food Processor

For Sweet Coconut Milk:

METHOD:

For Coconut Milk: 

SWEET COCONUT MILK FOR APPAM/IDIYAPPAM

• Grate the coconut, measure & take 11/2 Cups of fresh coconut.
• In a blender or food processor, add the grated coconut along with 1/2 cup of hot water and grind it for a minute. 
• Can add 1 or 2 Pods of Cardamom while grinding the Coconut, if you want Cardamom flavour in the Sweet Coconut Milk.
  
• Pour the ground mixture into a sieve or thin muslin cloth.
• Squeeze out the milk from the ground coconut. This is the first extract which would be thick.
• You get approximately 1/2 a cup of thick coconut milk from this.
• Return the remaining coconut to the processor and add 3/4 cup of hot water.
• Grind this for a few minutes.
• Pour it into the sieve or muslin cloth and squeeze it for milk in a separate bowl. 
• This gives you about 1/2 - 3/4 cup of thin coconut milk. This is the second extract.
• Repeat the process if you need some more Coconut Milk.  The third extract would yield very thin Coconut Milk.
• We do not need very thin Coconut Milk while making Sweet Coconut Milk.

For a detailed recipe on HOW TO MAKE COCONUT MILK, Click here...

If using canned Coconut Milk - 

• Shake well and pour 1/2 of the content into a bowl and mix it along with 1/2 cup or required amount of water to make coconut milk.

If using Instant Coconut Milk Powder -

• Mix 75 Grams of Instant Coconut Milk Powder with 150 ml of warm water & make coconut milk.

SWEET COCONUT MILK FOR APPAM/IDIYAPPAM: 

SWEET COCONUT MILK FOR APPAM/IDIYAPPAM

 

For Sweet Coconut Milk with Sugar:

• Mix Coconut Milk along with Sugar & a pinch of Salt.
• Cook this on a low flame for a few minutes stirring continuously.
• Cook until the Coconut Milk boils.
• Switch off the flame.
• Serve Sweet  Coconut Milk along with Appam/Idiyappam.
• Can serve this Sweet Coconut Milk hot or @ room temperature.
  

For Sweet Coconut Milk with Jaggery/Palm Sugar:

• Pour 1/2 Cup of Water to the Jaggery/Palm Sugar, boil this on high flame for a few minutes.
• Lower the flame, boil it for about 5-6 minutes and strain for any impurities.
• Mix melted Jaggery/Palm Sugar along with Coconut Milk & a Pinch of Sugar.
• Cook this on a low flame for a few minutes stirring continuously.
• Cook until the Coconut Milk boils.
• Switch off the flame.
• Serve Sweet  Coconut Milk along with Appam/Idiyappam.
• Can serve this Sweet Coconut Milk hot or @ room temperature.
  

SWEET COCONUT MILK FOR APPAM/IDIYAPPAM

 

NOTES:

• Using hot water yields more coconut milk. Can use normal water too.
• I use the 'extractor jar' in my Mixer Grinder to make coconut milk.  This helps me reduce the work.(squeezing through the sieve).
• For a detailed recipe on HOW TO MAKE COCONUT MILK, Click here...
• Can use Coconut Milk Powder or Canned Coconut Milk instead of fresh Coconut Milk for this recipe.
  
• Adjust the amount of Sugar/Jaggery/Palm Sugar to suit your sweet preference.
• Adjust the consistency of the Sweet Coconut Milk to suit your preference.