Coconut Milk (and Cream)

Makes about 2L

Ingredients

• 200 g unsweetened dessicated coconut
• 1200 g water
• Cheese/Muslin cloth for straining

Instructions

1. Put coconut flakes and water into Thermomix bowl and cook for about 8 minutes/100°C/speed 4, or until you notice the release of steam.
2. Blend for 30 sec/speed 8 while keeping a tea towel over top (to prevent ‘spitting’ of hot liquid.)
3. Pour contents into a muslin/cheese cloth strainer. Lift and squeeze out all the coconut milk into a bowl. This is the 'first milk' which is thick and creamy. (It will have a thick layer of hardened cream on top after cooling.) Set milk aside and proceed to next step: making thin coconut milk.
4. Repeat the process as above by returning the squeezed/strained coconut to the Thermomix bowl and adding the same amount of fresh water. This “second milk” is thinner and without cream, but still highly usable in many recipes such as soups — or freeze it for fruit sorbets.

Tips

• If using fresh coconut, use 100g – 300g. Coconut meat, brown skin removed, broken into 3 cm pieces and add water equal to three times the weight of your coconut
• The strained coconut pulp that is leftover is dry and tasteless but can be surreptitiously added to oatmeal, breads or baked goods for  added fiber.  Also consider toasting it and sprinkling on soups and salads as garnish.

*Credit: Thermomix cookbook 'Fast and easy Indian cooking'