Saturday, June 5, 2010

Shredded Coconut and Mango Rice

In India everyone is advised to drink water that has been boiled and cooled. In the US where the quality of drinking water is far better than that of many other countries people buy bottled water. I am still not completely sure why people here in the US buy bottled water. My neighbor who buys cases of bottled water thinks that tap water is not fit for drinking.


The only problem I have with my tap water is that it is over chlorinated. A water filter takes care of the problem and the water tastes just fine.I don't much care for spring water shipped from another contintent and I don't trust the picture of a gurgling spring on the bottle. Most times bottled water is regular tap water sent through a filtering process. Minerals are added to the water so that it tastes the same every time.

Bottlers and bottled water manufacturers would like for us to think that there is something very wrong with regular tap water. There argue about the rigorous tests that are being carried out for the quality of bottled water. In Britain Dasani had to withdraw its claims of spring water on its bottled water when it was found out they were just bottling filtered tap water. Thanks to a gullible public which thinks that tap water is dangerous and a bottled water industry which has no problems with accentuating the fear, bottled water sales have sky rocketed.

Empty water bottles are littering everything in sight and most of them end up in land fills. Not to forget the oil that is used to manufacture these plastic bottles. If you drive a hybrid but regularly drink bottled water, the benefits are probably completely lost. Read here for some of the Problems with Plastic Water Bottles.

People who drink bottled water shipped from many miles away do not know or care about the damages caused to ground water for the people who live close to a water bottling plant.



There will always be people who argue that tap water has way too many chemicals, drugs and what not that are mixed into the drinking water for it to be safe for drinking. On the other why does the public trust bottled water so much?

Do you buy bottled water or use tap water?

The recipe was tried thanks to a large quantity of fresh coconut becoming available. Our local Hindu temple was celebrating its anniversary and as is customary there was breaking of coconuts in the function and I got a few. Coconut rice would put the coconut to good use. I never make coconut rice not being fond of the overwhelming coconut taste. The tamarind and coconut chutney my mom makes has always been a favorite. With that in mind I went looking for tender tamarind which is found in our grocery store sometimes, with that not being available raw mango seemed the next best option.



Ingredients
1. 1/2 of a whole coconut
2. 1/2 of a raw mango (combined should yeild 2 cups)
3. 2 Cups of Basmati Rice
4. Seasonings: Curry leaves, 2 tsp channa dal, 1 tsp mustard seeds
5. Cashew or Peanuts - 1 tbsp (optional)
5. Salt to taste

To Powder
1. 4 tsp split urad dal
2. 1 tsp coriander seeds
3. 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
4. 5 red chilies (the rice was spicy, adjust)
5. few pepper corns, methi seeds
Roast each of them separtely and make a powder

Method
1. Shred the coconut and mango in a food processor or grate them
2. Cook the rice and spread it out to cool
3. In a pan heat oil and add the seasonings
4. Now add the shredded coconut and mango mixture and let cook for 6-8 minutes or till the moisture is gone and a good aroma comes
5. Add salt and the powder and the nuts if using and mix it in
6. Add the cooked cooled rice. Mix well.

Serve with raita and chips of choice. The rice was quiet spicy, adjust chilies accordingly.

28 comments:

  1. Yummy looking rice. So mouthwatering. Nice recipe. Never tried this combo of flavors......

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  2. Drinking water bottles littering is omnipresent. Only they are put to use again in India by promptly being filled with ordinary water and sold off by spurious people. Thanks to the quality of govt supplied water in India a huge number of water filters are doing good bussiness ... only the poor consumer is left bewildered at the confusing terms and prices.
    Love the sound of coconut and mang o together ... and that powder sounds great too. :-)

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  3. Thenga Manga Sadham,nalla irukku.

    In chennai, we don't have option than going for Can water.
    though i have aquaguard, it sleeps at paranai, as anytime the drainage water gets mixed with the corporation water...for this water problem alone, i hate chennai.

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  4. in my childhood I have seen my mother boiling big vessel full of water on stove. she used to do it before going to bed as that way we always get to drink cooled boiled water in the morning. then came the era of water filters like aquagourd. once we came to Bangalore we used to buy big jars of water but then we have invested in Kent water purifier. its fine and we occasionally buy drinking water while travelling for few days or so. I also dont like all these plastic bottles littering almost everywhere. here in India the bottles mostly belong to soft drinks...dont know if there is better option to this. they can start selling these in tetra packs also.
    the rice looks nice. love the combination of mango and coconut. am also going to try a new prawn recipe with that. if it turns out well will post in my blog.

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  5. I have been aware of problems with plastic bottles so we boil the tap water and drink..infact my mom boils the water from aquaguard also :)
    Mango rice looks very good

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  6. I must admit here we drink bottle water too, in the begning of the month we stock up soda water and normal water. I think out water has too much chalk in them.
    Delicious looking rice have a nice sunday.

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  7. Bottled water just makes me mad! We strictly use tap water, but filtered through one of those Brita filters because we do live in an ancient building and who knows what the pipes are like :)

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  8. Thanks for sharing the recipe ,was searching a recipe for mango rice right time found yours looks yummy ll try the recipe...

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  9. Wat never thought of making mango & coconut together, sounds interesting..

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  10. One nearby town has banned the sale of bottled water due to the problems the packaging causes. Of course, they had a slight issue when a major water main burst and the whole area was without safe drinking water for a few days. We were not even supposed to *wash* with it.

    That little episode really made me think how much I take safe tap water for granted.

    Coconut-mango rice sounds divine, ISG :)

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  11. Nice combo rice..like the spice powder(ground powder)

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  12. i know, i just don't get people's fascination with bottled water. when i go to the gym and see that the bottled water they sell is $2 for the smallest bottle, it drives me crazy. i use tap water with a brita filter.

    tender coconut must have really made this dish special, didn't it!

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  13. I donnt buy bottled water except when we are traveling.To date ,i boil water everyday to drink.Anytime,i believe tap water is better than bottled water.People go for bottled water just for convenience.

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  14. Even I don't prefer bottled water except for traveling, either use an authentic filter else boil it ... i guess that logical !

    Liked your version on Rice !

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  15. Good Monday morning Indo! :)

    I only take chilled bottled water when we go out in the car, shopping etc. Other than that, I prefer Tap water at home and we have a fridge with chilled and filtered water dispenser, kids always drink from there. I like to drink tap water here, no problems ever for me. Even in India, I drank the water restaurant gave, sometimes chilled or sometimes room temp, didn't have any stomach problems, thank God! :)
    I saw a program on Indian TV that they fill up empty water bottles with fancy "mineral water" label with tap water and seal again to sell. What a waste of money and so unfair!!
    Coconut and Mango rice, looks delicious. Making Rava Idlis today for dinner. Tushar has one more exam tomorrow, then busy days for me cooking lunch for 3 everyday until the end of August.

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  16. Hey Indo.. may I ask how you got the coconut white out of the shell? Once out I understand you grated it in a food processor.

    I have never bought whole coconuts since I don't have the thing that is used to grate out the white parts of the coconut from the shell.

    Bottled water is usually good only for storage/backup in case of hurricanes, earthquakes and such.

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  17. SS, yes I took the white flesh from the shell and then shredded in the food processor.

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  18. Indo, I meant how did you get the white flesh out of the shell? When you crack the coconut open, does the flesh just automatically separate from the shell? or do you have to pry it out somehow?

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  19. SS, ok my mistake. Once the coconut is broken, I use a sharp knife and cut out small pieces from the shell. Pierce the flesh to the shell and it easily pries out provided the pieces are not too big.

    If the flesh comes away from the shell when it is broken without much effort, means the coconut is very mature and not fit for cooking.

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  20. Oh thank you so much, Indo! That's very useful information. I always avoid getting such coconut from temples thinking I don't have the equipment for using them. Will keep your tip in mind for future use. Cheers! :)

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  21. We get brackish water and it's often full of red worms, so we go in for canned water - I'm not confident about that either. The cans it comes in are very dirty - I've been mulling filters but there are two different kinds for different waters and lots of ifs and buts. I brush my teeth with the can water and use it for cooking and drinking. I use the ordinary water supply for other stuff.

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  22. Very unique combination of flavors, sounds intriguing and delicious !

    About water, I always use tap water but filter it at home, tastes much better that way...

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  23. Gosh Indu, I know that this must taste sooooo good!

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  24. We drink only tap water here, with no filter on it either. But during summer we drink the water from the fridge, but no bottled water.
    Just yesterday DH and I were looking around for some coconut rice recipes thanks to the abundance of coconut (same as you).

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  25. I have been drinking tap water when I have travelled to UK or Australia, but in India its bottled water - yes, even at home (from the 25lt ones) - this started 11 years ago in Chennai where we were getting tanker water from god knows where. No municipal supply.

    Continues in Delhi because I dont know the last time my landlord cleaned the tanks - knowing them, probably never. RO filters I don't trust frankly to be able to completely purify.

    Love the rice preparation - perfect for my lunch box!

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  26. I just heard that regulations are stricter on Tap water than bottled water. We always drink water direct from tap at home. I really don't understand why people need to buy bottled water even for at home use.

    BTW I got the mangoes you had mentioned in your earlier post. They were really very good :)

    I have never had a mango rice but I am sure I will love it

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  27. We use tap water. We share exactly the same thoughts as you do about mineral water. But I must confess, we buy bottled water when we travel, because I am not comfortable with the idea of tap water from the hotel room. In slum dog millionaire there is a scene, where the kids are recycling the bottles, filling it with tap water and selling them again- scary but true.

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