ROASTED COCONUT POWDER - MAKE AHEAD RECIPES

Chicken in roasted coconut gravy or vegetables in roasted coconut gravy is a very popular malabar dish which tastes great with malabar rice pathiri or ghee rice. The most demanded chicken recipe in my blog is varutharacha chicken curry / chicken in roasted coconut gravy. The fine aroma and texture from this curry recipe itself makes you drool. Lets come to the point. Making chicken curry is quite simple for everyone. But it is little hard and time consuming to dry roast coconut and other spices while making chicken curry in a hurry. So most of us prepare this coconut mixture ahead of time so that you can use them instantly without any mess. Just few teaspoons of this coconut mixture  grinned along with milk or water to a fine paste is enough for making a special and inviting chicken curry. If you are bored of having the same recipe for chicken curry, you must surely try this twist with this roasted coconut powder that gives you a luscious chicken curry. Like so, you can also add this roasted coconut paste in your veg curry, mutton curry, beef curry, prawns curry, fish curry, peas curry (kadala curry) etc.The taste of thenga varutharacha curry is very popular among keralites and is a common dish during the holy month of Ramadan. As ramadan is around the corner, many of my readers are requesting for 'make ahead food recipes'. So i thought to start with this simple but most demanded recipe of dry roasted coconut powder. You can prepare this coconut powder ahead before the holy month arrives. Though ramadan fasting is all about getting close to god through prayers, feeding of the fasting person is also rewarded and is our duty towards our family. So these ahead recipes are very helpful during these days. Here is the recipe showing how to make roasted coconut powder / easy make ahead meals /make ahead recipes /fresh coconut recipes /muslim food recipes / ramadan recipes /kerala recipes / varutharacha chicken curry /thenga varuthath .

Previous recipes 
Mango phirni recipe
Fish egg fry recipe

Related recipes
Prawns curry varutharachathu
Vendakka theeyal okra in roasted coconut gravy
Chicken in roasted coconut gravy
Egg in roasted coconut gravy

INGREDIENTS

Coconut scraped                         - of one whole coconut

Shallots                                       - 4 nos, chopped

Fennel seeds / perum jeerakam   - 1 tbsp

Turmeric powder                         - half tsp

Curry leaves                                 - 2 sprig of fresh leaves

PREPARATION

ADD 2 TBSP OF THIS COCONUT POWDER ALONG WITH QUARTER CUP OF MILK TO MAKE A SMOOTH  PASTE

• Add all these ingredients in a non stick pan or in an iron wok. 
• Dry roast these ingredients over a very low flame, sauteing continuously. 
• Roast it well until you reach a slight crispy texture. You must saute over a very low flame which is very important. It will take around 20 to 30 minutes. 
• Add this coconut mixture into a grinder and pulse it for few seconds to make fine powder. (do not grind more as the coconut  will release oil)

NOTE

• I used non stick pan for dry roasting the coconut mixture. 
• The coconut must be scraped very finely or thinly so that you can roast them perfectly. But as am residing in uae i have to depend on store bought scraped coconut .
• You have to saute this mixture continuously until done. Do not take your hands off. 
• Do not make the flame high as it will burn the coconut mixture leaving a smoky flavor to the whole dish.
• You can prepare this coconut powder in bulk (with 3 whole coconut or more) and can store in an air tight container in refrigerator for months. 
• In kerala (among muslims), this is one of the most important make ahead foods for ramadan. 
• Add 2 tablespoon of this powder along with quarter cup of milk and grind to a smooth paste. You can add this coconut paste to chicken curry , veg curry, mutton curry etc which makes that dish heavenly delicious.