A Coconut Menu.

The recipes in yesterday’s post made me realize that coconut has not featured to any great extent in this blog over the years – in spite of the fact that I do love coconut. One of these days I will give you a little more of the history of this interesting and versatile food – but that must wait for a little more available research time. Until then, we must be satisfied with historical recipes.

Coconut lends itself to many dishes, both sweet and savoury, and it would be entirely possible to serve a meal in which it was featured in all dishes.

Let us have coconut soup to start with:

Hindu Coconut Soup.

Add the grated meat of half a fresh coconut to 1 quart of white stock. Cook slowly for 20 minutes, then strain through cheesecloth. Add the juice of a lemon and season to taste. Pour the mixture on the beaten yolks of 2 eggs, heat in a double boiler until thickened and serve boiled rice with the soup.

The Land (Sydney, NSW) 15, September 1922

 Yesterday’s source, Cre-Fydd's family fare (London, 1864) gives us our main course and an alternative coconut pudding, in case yesterday’s recipe does not appeal:

Calcutta, Receipt for Curry.

A teaspoonful of turmeric, a tablespoonful of coriander-seed, a tablespoonful of poppy-seed, half a teaspoonful of ginger, a quarter of a teaspoonful of red chilli, half a teaspoonful of cumin-seed, all well pounded; mix the powder with three ounces of butter, and fry it with two sliced onions for ten minutes. Cut up a young fowl; put it into the pan, and simmer for a quarter of an hour; add the milk of one cocoa-nut and a salt-spoonful of salt, stir well, and simmer a quarter of an hour longer; stir in the juice of half a lime or a lemon, and serve, with plain boiled rice in a separate dish.

Cre-Fydd's family fare (London, 1864)

Baked Cocoa-Nut Pudding.

Two-thirds of a cocoa-nut, grated, a quarter of a pound of loaf sugar, three ounces of beef-marrow, chopped, three ounces of dried crumbs of bread, six ounces of any dried fruit, a quarter of a pint of new milk, two fresh eggs, the milk of the cocoa-nut, and the juice of a lemon; beat these ingredients well together; butter a pie-dish or a mould; put in the pudding, and bake in a moderate oven about an hour and a quarter. Turn out carefully,

and serve.

Cre-Fydd's family fare (London, 1864)

We must have a little candy with our coffee too, mustn’t we?

Coconut Candy.

Two grated coconuts, 1 tablespoon vanilla, 2½ pounds sugar. Wet sugar with milk of the coconut and let cook as for icing until it ropes, then add grated coconuts and cook a few minutes, stirring constantly. Pour into a bowl, add vanilla and stir until it begins to harden; then spread on buttered dish and cut in squares. If grated coconut in stock is used, wet with cream or rich milk.

Lima Times Democrat, November 3, 1916, Lima, Ohio