Kerala’s Tender Coconut Pudding
- 1 cup Tender coconut pulp
- 1 + 1/2 cups Tender coconut water
- 1 cup Condensed milk
- 1.5 tablespoons Gelatin
- 8 tablespoons Cold water
- 1 cup Fresh coconut milk
- 1/2 cups Sugar
- 50 grams Cashews
- 1 tablespoon Unsalted butter
Take ice cold water in a small heatproof bowl. Sprinkle gelatin powder. Stir gently and keep aside.
Grind one full grated coconut (approx 3 cups) with 3 tbsp of water. Strain to get thick coconut milk. Keep aside.
Scrape the tender coconut pulp. Mix with 1/2 cup tender coconut water and grind. Now add 3 tbsp of thick coconut milk from above and grind to a smooth paste.
In a saucepan, mix the ground pulp, tender coconut water, condensed milk, coconut milk. Place on medium heat. Stir continuously and heat until its warm. Do not boil. Now take off the flame.
Place the bloomed (softened) gelatin over a hot water bath or in a microwave. Melt the gelatin. Do not boil.
Pour the warm gelatin into the warm milk mixture. Stir continuously until it reaches room temperature.
Pour into serving molds, or ramekins or coconut shells.
Chill for a few hours to set. Chill overnight for best results.
To make praline, take sugar in a saucepan and place it on low to medium flame. Do not stir with spoon. Swirl the pan if needed. Melt the sugar until it is golden.
Take nuts in a heatproof bowl. Microwave for 30 sec, so that its warm.
Take the caramel off the flame. Add warm nuts and one tbsp of cold butter.
Pour onto a silicon mat or buttered glass or steel plate. Cool.
Allow the praline to cool completely until it is hard and crisp. Break it into smaller pieces with your hands, then pulse just a few times. For a finer crumb, pulse a little longer, being careful not to over-process, as the nuts can release their oils and turn into a paste.
If you don't have a food processor, place the praline pieces in a sturdy ziplock bag, cover with a kitchen towel, and gently crush them with a rolling pin or meat mallet until they reach the desired consistenc
Sprinkle over set pudding and serve.
Tender coconut - The tender coconut with medium thick pulp. Tender coconut with very thin pulp will not grind well.
Coconut milk - Sometimes more than one grated coconut might be needed to extract one cup of coconut milk depending on the size of the coconut. Make sure it's freshly grated coconut.
Praline - Split cashews before slightly warming them. Use a steel pan or light coloured pan to melt sugar so that the colour change can be easily noted. Colour change can be subtle, so a light coloured bottom can be helpful.
Keep the crushed praline in an airtight container at room temperature for up to a week.